ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has sent a letter to the United Nations formally requesting that his country be renamed “Turkey”, the state news agency reported. The move is seen as part of a push by Ankara to change the name of the country and dissociate its name from the bird, turkey and some negative connotations associated with it.
Anadolu news agency said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, confirmed receipt of the letter on Wednesday afternoon. The agency quoted Dujarric as saying that the name change had taken effect “from the moment” the letter was received.
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been pushing for the internationally recognized name of Turkey to be changed to “Türkiye” (tur-key-YAY) as it is written and pronounced in Turkish. The country was renamed “Türkiye” in 1923 after its declaration of independence.
In December, Erdogan ordered the use of “Türkiye” to better represent Turkish culture and values, including the demand that “Made in Türkiye” be used instead of “Made in Turkey” in exported products. Turkish ministries began using “Türkiye” in official documents.
Earlier this year, the government also released a promotional video as part of its attempts to change its name to English. The video shows tourists from all over the world saying “Hello Turkey” to famous destinations.
The Turkish presidency’s Communications Directorate said it had launched the campaign “to more effectively promote the use of ‘Türkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms”.
It was unclear whether the name, with a letter that does not exist in the English alphabet, would have a large presence abroad. In 2016, the Czech Republic officially registered its abbreviated name, Czech, and although some international institutions use it, many still refer to the country by its longer name.
Turkey’s English-language state broadcaster TRT World has switched to “Türkiye”, although the word “Turkey” is among journalists still trying to change.
TRT World explained the decision in an article earlier this year, saying that in Google “Turkey” appears a “confusing set of images, articles and dictionary definitions that combine the country with Meleagris, also known as the turkey. , a large bird native to North America, which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners. ”
The network continued: “The Cambridge Dictionary passes and” Turkey “is defined as” something that goes wrong “or” a stupid or stupid person. “
TRT World argued that the Turks would prefer their country to be called “Türkiye”, “in accordance with the country’s goals of determining how others should identify it”.