ANKARA
Turkey's deputy prime minister said on Thursday that Kurdish, Arabic and Zaza languages would be elective courses in schools in the new education year in Turkey.
Besir Atalay said that the National Education Ministry would take into consideration demands of people, and might also add a Black Sea language as an elective course in schools.
"Children can learn their own mother tongues at schools from now on," Atalay said as he visited Anadolu Agency (AA) Editors' Desk in Ankara.
Moreover, Atalay said the terrorist organization PKK had extensions in not only neighboring countries but also European countries, and it had financial support in many European countries.
"We have had a trilateral mechanism with the United States and Iraq for a long time regarding the presence of the terrorist organization in north of Iraq," Atalay said.
Atalay said Turkey had held talks with the regional administration in north of Iraq, and said Turkey wanted the north of Iraq to clear its territories from terrorism.
"This problem has to end for north Iraq's development and economic activity in the region," Atalay said.
Atalay said the regional administration was aware that the problem had to be ended and was working for that.
Reporting by Hasan Oymez
