ANKARA, Jan 1: Turkey on Thursday launched its first 24-hour Kurdish-language television station while its prime minister uttered a few words in the once-banned tongue, in a marked shift of policy toward the country’s minority Kurds.

State-run television’s Kurdish station, TRT 6, went on air at 1700 GMT with an image of the Turkish flag being hoisted to the sound of the country’s national anthem, followed by a concert by popular Kurdish singer Rojin.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first leader to speak Kurdish at an official setting when he said “May TRT 6 be beneficial” at a news conference.

The channel marks a change of policy in a country where speaking Kurdish was banned until 1991. Under pressure from the European Union to strengthen the rights of minority Kurds, state television began broadcasting documentaries and news in Kurdish in 2004, but for only about 30 minutes each week.—AP