Turkey's first 24-hour Kurdish channel launched

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Today at 1700 GMT, Turkey launched its first 24-hour TV station that broadcasts in the Kurdish language. Dubbed TRT 6, the state-run channel carries the motto, “We live under the same sky”.

The channel’s opening program, which featured the hoisting of the Turkish flag to the national anthem and a concert by a popular Kurdish singer, also featured a message by PM Erdogan, in which he emphasized the themes of “unity and togetherness”. His speech ended by his declaring (in Kurdish), “TRT ÅžeÅŸ bi xw?r be” (Let TRT 6 be beneficial).

Following the military coup of 1980,the Kurdish language was officially prohibited, and while the restrictions are said to have eased, Article 42 of the Turkish constitution states that No language other than Turkish shall be taught as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens and the Law on Political Parties prohibits the usage of languages other than Turkish.

The launch of TRT 6 is seen as a significant step by Turkey in response to pressure by the European Union to improve its human rights record, and an attempt to curtail the popularity of Roj TV, which the Turkish government perceives as a mouthpiece for the PKK.

Speaking of the channel, TRT General Director Ä°brahim Åžahin stated:

“Our intention is not to scare anybody. We sincerely want to meet the need for a TV channel for people who couldn’t learn Turkish. This channel will be a family channel, like TRT 1, that will have series, entertainment programs and news programs. It will have everything that a family channel offers. As long as our national unity, integrity, anthem and flag are not disrespected, we will produce the same programs for the Kurdish channel that we do on other TRT channels. In the Constitution, Article 2954 clearly indicates our principles and mission and, on the condition of remaining within these boundaries, our colleagues will be able to freely say and produce whatever they want”

Below are some of the quoted reactions -both positive and negative – by Kurds to the launch of the station:

Ä°brahim Halil Åžahin (Sanliurfa province): “If they do things like this in Turkey, the southeastern people will see this positively”.

Mehmet ÖksüzoÄŸlu (Sanliurfa Young Businessman’s Association Chairman): “Everyone who wants Turkish unity and to protect Turkey’s integrity should be proud. I see it as a late but extremely positive step”.

Abdullah Ä°brahimoÄŸlu (Mush province): “This is a democratic step. We see this as an important step for freedom, brotherhood and peace. I hope the TRT 6 would become an important instrument in preserving the Kurdish language and culture”.

Refik Korkusuz (Assistant Professor in the law department at the Diyarbakir Dicle University): “Those who wanted Turkey’s unity also wanted to have a sense of belonging and expected Kurdish TV because of that. I think this is a delayed but very positive development; I wish the best of success and that it becomes an important milestone in our brotherhood.”

Altan Tan (Kurdish writer): “Some segments are unnerved by the TRT’s Kurdish broadcasts. There are those who want peace, and then there are those who want war. Kurdish television is for those who want peace. Some are openly disturbed. But the initiative should continue. Those who want peace should add new steps to similar initiatives”.

Sezgin Tanrıkulu (Former Diyarbakır Bar Association President):
“”This is an important and serious step. This shows that the state has moved on from the stage of denying the existence of Kurds to acknowledging Kurds. We can discuss the content of the channel, but regardless of all of that, it is important that a public broadcaster is allocating one channel for this.”

Tarık Ziya Ekinci (Kurdish intellectual): “This is an important step, but the legal basis should also be provided. You do this at one point, but in some other place, a judge convicts someone for singing a song in Kurdish. Steps that would establish this as the overall state mentality in the citizens’ viewpoints are needed. Without doing these, Kurdish TV is starting from the end,”

Seydi Fırat (Spokesperson for the Peace Council): “The broadcasts should be appreciated. But we do have doubts. There is the worry that the state might use it for political purposes, to make its own policies dominant. There have been television stations broadcasting in Kurdish for years, so I don’t think it is a novelty. But if there is going to be such broadcasting, it shouldn’t be done with the state mentality. If the channel can be a place where people can express themselves individually, then it would be a positive step.”

Abdurrahman Kurt(Kurdish legislator from ruling AK Party): “This is a revolution which amounts to unification of the Turkish state with its citizens. Kurdish channel is not a favor, but the return of the people’s denied right. ”

Murat Karayılan (PKK commander):
“Such a television channel project and discussions on opening Kurdology departments at some universities actually have a weakly organized war plan underneath. These have a target of hurriedly making some broadcasts to win votes for the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] before the elections. Taking part in this project and supporting it is betraying the cause of Kurdish freedom,”

Ahmet Turk (Democratic Society Party’s leader): “There is a need for a broadcasting policy that understands Kurds and meets their demands. We are carefully observing the process. We will see in time whether this is something that was initiated with the elections in mind”

Nejdet Atalay (DTP Batman mayoral candidate): “For years, Kurdish was recorded in police records as an ‘unidentified language.’ They used to tell us that Kurds do not exist. Now they are going to tell us that there is no such thing as Kurds in Kurdish.”