Turkish PM to announce democracy package with simultaneous translations in English, Arabic

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s official statement is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sept. 30 and will be attended by Cabinet ministers. AA photo

The Turkish prime minister’s announcement of the much-anticipated democratization package will be simultaneously translated into English and Arabic, sources from the Prime Minister’s Office said Sept. 27.
 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s official statement is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sept. 30 and will be attended by Cabinet ministers.
 
Editor-in chiefs and bureau chiefs of written and visual media have also been invited to the press conference.
 
The reform package is seen as a crucial bid from the government, particularly to regain lost momentum on the Kurdish peace process initiated nine months ago.
 
Some reports have hinted that reforms, such as the suppression of a ban on letters used in the Kurdish alphabet – “q,” “x” and “w” – as well as a cancelation of political parties conducting their activities in languages other than Turkish.
 
Although many officials have issued cautious statements warning the package will not contain any reform which has not been on the agenda, Erdoğan said the content would “surprise” more than one segment of the society. 
 
“This package is the result of an 11-year process. But there will never be an end. Because this isn’t simple mathematics or geometrics. This is an ongoing social and political process,” Erdoğan said Sept. 26.