VOA标准英语2008年-Dismissed Turkish Mayor Continues Quest to Make

A mayor offering services in different languages to his multi-ethnic¹ community may not sound like anything out of the ordinary. But in Turkey the local mayor in city of Diyarbakir was dismissed and is possibly facing prison for speaking Kurdish. Abdullah Demirtas is charged with violating Turkish laws which stipulate² only the Turkish language can be used by state organizations. Dorian Jones went to Diyarbakir the main city in the region and filed this report.

Walking through the labyrinth³ of narrow streets in the Sur district of Diyarbakir, Abdullah Demirtas is stopped every couple of minutes by locals shaking his hand and offering support.

Everyone speaks to him in Kurdish. The 41-year-old former teacher says he won the election by a landslide⁴, giving him a mandate⁵ to keep his promise to make his mayoral term more accessible to his electorate⁶ by speaking Kurdish. But, by keeping his promise, he also brought about his downfall.

Although the law officially banning the language was struck down in 1991, Kurds still face legal restrictions⁷ over the use of their language.

In his office, Abdullah shows off a Kurdish childrens' book about caring for the environment. He says the book reflects the commitment he made to the voters to serve them in their own languages.

"When I was elected, I ordered a survey of the people," he says. "The overwhelming majority asked for services in their mother tongues, which were 72 percent Kurdish, 24 percent Turkish and two percent Arabic. Consequently, I ordered that all information about training and services be made available in those languages. But, the Interior Minister said this was illegal as Turkish is the only official language. I was removed from office and the authorities have started 20 cases against me for publications in Kurdish."

Despite his dismissal, many people interviewed in his office say he's still their mayor.

Chatting over strong tea in traditional bell-shaped glasses, the men said to understand the importance of Demirtas's work, one would have to speak with their mothers.

Z. Corun, 70, speaks little Turkish. She grew up in a village at a time when girls didn't go to school. She and her family were forced to move to Diyarbakir 15 years ago when their village was destroyed in fighting between the Turkish army and Kurdish separatists. Corun says leaving the countryside for city life was brutal⁸. But Demirtas's initiatives changed her life, but only briefly⁹.

"I was so happy when the mayor introduced Kurdish services," she says. "Until then, everything official was in Turkish. When I needed to get help for my sick husband I was always afraid they would make fun of me trying to speak Turkish. This is humiliating at my age. But with our mayor it was different. Officials greeted you in Kurdish. All information was in our language. It changed my life. But when there is a good mayor who does something for the people, the state always gets rid of him."

Some steps have been taken to loosen the controls over the use of the Kurdish language. As Turkey tries to enter the European Union, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Kurdish broadcasting is to be extended to 24 hours.

However, this government, like its predecessors¹⁰, remains¹¹ strongly opposed to the official use of Kurdish.

Professor of Politics Kemal Kirisci of Istanbul's Bosphorus University says such opposition¹² is based on the fear the country could disintegrate¹³.

"Who is really Turk in the ethnic sense of the word? When you scratch the surface of a Turk, under it you very quickly find many whose descendants are Bosnians, are Tartars, are Turks from the Balkans, Pomaks, maybe Arabs in the southeast, Kurds certainly. Such a social composition does generate concerns amongst officials and some of the public that if one group is given special status, then the next step will be others seeking it too," he said.

Demirtas is back in his office working hard to help former constituents¹⁴, who still come to him. He's also preparing to run again in next year's mayor election.

"I met with a London mayor and asked him is if it's a crime to produce information in languages other than English. He said it's a crime not to. What's normal around the world is illegal here. But I believe the strength of any society is its diversity," he says.

"It breaks my heart," he continues, "that all my life, I've been told that I am a Turk and my mother tongue is Turkish. To deny this, he says means being called a terrorist, something he does not accept. The country must embrace its diversity which he says, is Turkey's strength and not its weakness."

Balancing the fear that greater cultural rights could ultimately lead to the disintegration¹⁵ of the Turkish state versus¹⁶ Kurdish demands for full recognition of their cultural identity, is the conundrum¹⁷ faced by all Turkish governments since the formation of the republic 85 years ago. Experts say until that balance is found, permanent peace in the predominantly Kurdish southeast will continue to remain illusive¹⁸.

 

1 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

2 stipulate   

vt.规定，（作为条件）讲定，保证

参考例句：

• International rules stipulate the number of foreign entrants.国际规则规定了外国参赛者的人数。
• Some manufacturers stipulate the price at which their goods are to be sold.有些制造商规定出售他们生产的商品的价格。

3 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

4 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

10 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 disintegrate   

v.瓦解，解体，（使）碎裂，（使）粉碎

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• The plane would probably disintegrate at that high speed.飞机以那么高速飞行也许会四分五裂。

14 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 disintegration   

n.分散，解体

参考例句：

• This defeat led to the disintegration of the empire.这次战败道致了帝国的瓦解。
• The incident has hastened the disintegration of the club.这一事件加速了该俱乐部的解体。

16 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

17 conundrum   

n.谜语；难题

参考例句：

• Let me give you some history about a conundrum.让我给你们一些关于谜题的历史。
• Scientists had focused on two explanations to solve this conundrum.科学家已锁定两种解释来解开这个难题。

18 illusive   

adj.迷惑人的，错觉的

参考例句：

• I don't wanna hear too much illusive words.我不想听太多虚假的承诺。
• We refuse to partake in the production of illusive advertisements.本公司拒绝承做虚假广告。