Following a statement by Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtas, who said the Kurdish language should be usable in all aspects of life in Turkey, including in the official sphere, the Turkish Armed Forces General Staff reacted strongly against a bilingual Turkey.

The General Staff issued a written statement saying that discussions on language are nearing the point of radically altering the “founding philosophy” of the republic and that this situation is a big concern for the armed forces.

“The Turkish Armed Forces have always been and will continue to be on the side of the unitary, secular nation state, which is enshrined in the Constitution,” the statement said. It recalled that, according to the Constitution, the official language of the state is Turkish and that it is among the unalterable articles of the Constitution, Sunday's Zaman reported.

“Language, culture and unity in ideas are the indispensable parts of being a nation,” the statement reads.