disseminate those other languages. 43. A breach of the language laws was liable to punishment by terms of imprisonment ranging from six months to three years. The prohibition as to language resulted in inequality before the law, for the sentence of anyone speaking Kurdish in court was increased as a result of that additional offence. Penalties could be imposed for each fresh statement :in Kurdish, and cumulatively could result in life imprisonment. Many Kurds had been arrested and sentenced for opposition to the forces of law and order me:rely because they had not understood an order or a question. The prohibition as to language also resulted in inequality of education, for Kurds were compelled to study in Turkish, a language foreign to them, unrelated to Kurdish. 44. The so-called revolutionary and nationalist laws of Ataturk, whose principles were safeguarded in the present Constitution, contained prohibitions on the wearing of certain articles of clothing, provisions concerning the compulsory translation into Turkish of forenames and family names and systematic translation into Turkish of place-names. 45. Kurdistan, which had been recognized from the time of the Seljuks until the end of the Ottoman Empire, had abruptly ceased to exist. By 1986, 80.8 per cent of place-names in Kurdistan had been changed. Twelve thousand eight hundred and sixty-one small villages, out of a total of 34,957 in Turkey, and 271 larger ones, out of a total of 881, were affected. 46. Seven hundred thousand Kurds had already been deported between 1914 and 1919. Hundreds of thousands of others were deported in the years that followed, since when Kurdistan had been subject to special legislation. Today some 30 deportation laws were in force and there had been a succession of states of emergency or of exception in Kurdistan, the most recent dating from 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be discussing the historical and ongoing struggles of the Kurdish people in Turkey, focusing on the suppression of their language, culture, and identity. The text highlights the imposition of Turkish language and culture, forced assimilation, and the erasure of Kurdish identity through changes to place-names and the deportation of Kurdish people. The text does not mention economic development, natural resources, or environmental issues, but rather focuses on the human rights and cultural aspects of the Kurdish people.

**Category**
Culture, Humanitarian aid and relief