Human history has been practiced on self-knowledge and rejection or acceptance of others. Three important influences come to the fore in self-knowledge: language, culture, and geography. These three influences are also reflected in the rejection or acceptance of others. Today, the programs carried out against the Kurds are based on the rejection of these three principles. Language, culture, and geography are three principles and this mix reflects the character of a nation. That is, rejecting and attacking the three principles means destroying the nation.

In the northern part of Kurdistan, the Turkish state is trying to erase the reality of the Kurdish nation by rejecting these three principles. Special attention has been paid to these three principles in the plans and projects prepared. Since the beginning of the Republic of Turkey, the projects prepared for the Kurds have been long-term projects. Today, the results of these projects can be seen in Kurdish practices and reactions. One of these important projects is the Eastern Reform Plan (Şark Islahat Planı). The report highlights the interference in Kurdish demographics and the Kurdish language. "Large families should be removed from Kurdistan or spread out and relocated to Turkey, and Turks living in different countries should be resettled in vacant areas," the report said. One of the Kurdish cities is Kharpet, which is in a bad situation in terms of Kurdishness today. The reason for this change is one of the projects to change the Kurdish demographics.

This document was published on January 14, 1934. As the document states, at that time, in only one month, 2453 Turks were brought from Romania and settled in Kharpet. This demographic change will cause changes in the language and culture of the region and these changes will also bring about a change in geography, i.e., they will be removed from Kurdistan territory and gradually all Kurdish cities will be emptied from Kurds. The proof is that they can say that the people there are Turks in language and culture.

Again, in the reports of the Eastern Reform Plan, to eradicate the Kurdish language in all fields and institutions, speaking other than Turkish is prohibited and punished, and it is determined that Kurdish employees cannot work in Kurdistan. It has also been discussed that dormitories, especially for girls, should be opened. In these projects, we see that special attention has been paid to Kurdish girls. They have tried to bring Kurdish girls into the education system. Louis Althusser, a French Marxist, defines the education system as one of the ideological tools of the state. This tool is not used for the success and development of the individual or society but for the implementation of the “official ideology” in society. These ideological tools of the state are still the most powerful weapon for Kurdish assimilation.

The two photographs tell the story of one Kurdish girl who was forcibly taken from her family since childhood, educated in dormitories, and eventually assimilated. This photo and news were included in the news as a success of a project and as a pride in the results of these works and this girl is from Kharpet. Here again, it is specifically mentioned as "a Turkish girl who speaks Turkish fluently." She was sent back to her village as an official after this ideological training. The results show that the meaning of education systems for dominant and subjugated nations differs. Education leads to progress for the dominant nation, while assimilation for subordinate nations.

The program that the Turkish state has conducted (and continues to do) is the program of colonization. Their documents also state that Kurdistan should be governed by a "mistemleke" program. One of these reports was prepared in 1931 by Fawzi Chakmak, then the military commander of the Republic of Turkey. “Officials of Kurdish origin should be removed from the area. Well-trained idealistic officers should be sent to Dersim. As a result of the program held in Dersim, girls from Dersim were admitted there and placed in the Kharpet Girls Institute.

As a result of these reports, it can be seen that the program implemented in the Northern part of Kurdistan is a program of oppression. These reports are only part of those programs. The mistemleke system paid special attention to language, culture, and geography. The importance of language and culture is reflected in the transformation of Kurdish women. The transformation of Kurdish women brings an assimilated society and changes in demographics and geography. The importance of the mistemleke program on Kharpet, for example, has brought about changes that can still be seen today. Of course, this situation is similar in many cities in the Northern part of Kurdistan today.

Language is a symbol of survival for a nation. Destroying the language is destroying the history, culture, art, etc. of that nation. These activities of the Turkish state are continuous and aim to destroy historical memory and language.

Sources:

https://www.bernamegeh.com/saark-island-plan-report/

Bitlisname.com

https://www.bernamegeh.com/saark-island-plan-report/

Güllistan Yarkın, “İnkar Edilen Hakikat Sömürge Kuzey Kürdistan”, Kürt Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2019, r.6

Güllistan Yarkın, “İnkar Edilen Hakikat Sömürge Kuzey Kürdistan”, Kürt Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2019, r.11