For the first time, the Kurdish language will be spoken in a Turkish national theatre, the Antolia news agency reported on Tuesday. The use of the language, which used to be banned, will break a long running taboo.

The play entitled "Long live death", by well-known Turkish writer Orhan Asena, deals with vendettas and so-called "honour crimes", centuries-old traditions particularly in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country, the agency said.
 

The play is in Turkish but will include some dialogue in the Kurdish language because it takes place in a Kurdish region, the play's director, Tamer Levent, told Anatolia.
 

Local officials have said that the play will open on October 1st in Diyarbakir - the main city in the southeastern region of the country.
 

For the past month the Turkish government has been preparing a series of measures to increase the democratic participation of the country's Kurds, a move aimed at ending 25 years of insurrection.
 

The measures are set to be presented to parliament at the start of next month. They are also aimed at boosting Turkey's efforts to meet criteria for eventually joining the European Union.
 

In the past decade, Turkey has already lifted restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language, and earlier this year launched a public television channel with programmes in Kurdish.
 

Source: AFP
(Photo:  kurdistan كوردستان on Flickr)