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Viewing cable 06ADANA56, TURKEY: PRIVATE BROADCASTERS BEGIN KURDISH LANGUAGE

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06ADANA56 2006-03-24 14:28 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Adana
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS ADANA 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL TU ADANA
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  PRIVATE BROADCASTERS BEGIN KURDISH LANGUAGE 
BROADCASTS IN SE 
 
REF: A) 2005 ADANA 163 B) ANKARA 99 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  Three private, local stations began 
Kurdish-language broadcasts in Turkey's southeast on March 23. 
The landmark broadcasts mark the end of nearly four years of 
obstructionism by GOT broadcasting authorities.  Though strapped 
with severe restrictions on air time and Turkish-language 
translation requirements, these broadcasts represent some 
progress in expanding freedom of expression for Turkey's Kurdish 
population.  It is not yet clear whether the tightly restricted 
programming will be able to attract an audience.  End summary. 
2. (SBU) On March 23, GUN TV and SOZ TV in Diyarbakir and Medya 
FM Radio in Sanliurfa made their first legal broadcasts in the 
Kirmanci dialect of the Kurdish language after a long and 
hard-fought struggle (reftels) with the High Board of Radio and 
Television (RTUK) to gain the right for private stations to 
broadcast in a non-Turkish mother tongue.  The television 
stations will be allowed to broadcast in Kurdish for only 45 
minutes per day, four hours per week, while radio stations will 
be allowed to broadcast for up to one hour per day, five hours 
per week.  The stations must also provide Turkish subtitles, or 
follow-on Turkish translations. In press reports RTUK officials 
emphasized that "all these broadcasts should be in line with the 
rule of law, constitutional principles, fundamental rights and 
freedoms, national security, fundamental values of the Republic; 
and should not violate the integrity of the state." 
3. (SBU) GUN TV's managing director told us that the station's 
first program, entitled "Cradle of Civilization," aired between 
8:15 and 9:00 p.m. on March 23.  The program discussed the 
history and culture of the region around Diyarbakir, and will 
continue to be aired at the same time on Mondays and Thursdays. 
GUN TV told us that Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, of the 
pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), as well as other 
Kurdish political figures, expressed great interest in the 
broadcasts by visiting the studio to watch the first program. 
In man-on-the-street interviews following the broadcasts, 
viewers told CNN Turk and NTV that Kurdish broadcasts were not 
dividing the country, as some critics had previously warned, and 
that broader freedoms for Kurds should be allowed. 
 
4. (SBU) A representative from SOZ TV told us the station lacked 
the infrastructure to broadcast extensively in Kurdish, so they 
were able to air only 10 minutes of Kurdish language news 
between 8:00 and 8:10 p.m. on March 23.  SOZ TV told us that 
they anticipated making regular broadcasts of music and 
documentaries in Kurdish in the future. 
 
5. (SBU) Sanliurfa-based Medya FM Radio's General Manager told 
us the station's first Kurdish-language broadcast was a one-hour 
program consisting of four 15-minute segments of 
Kurdish-language news, music, documentaries and cultural 
programming between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., followed by the same 
series of programs translated into Turkish between 7:00 and 8:00 
p.m.  Medya FM told us that after their first Kurdish-language 
broadcast they received many calls from listeners who provided 
mostly positive feedback on the broadcasts; some even offered 
news and programming tips for future broadcasts.  Medya FM said 
that the station also received some threats and curses on the 
internet from anonymous, ultra-nationalist listeners.  The 
General Manager told us that RTUK had agreed to Medya FM's 
request to broadcast in Kirmanci, but had denied the station's 
original requests to also broadcast in the Zaza dialect of 
Kurdish as well as Arabic. 
 
6. (U) The state-run TRT (Turkish Radio-TV) was the first 
station to broadcast in Kurdish and other minority languages 
after Parliament in 2002 removed the prohibition on 
minority-language programming.  Since June 2004, TRT has 
broadcast news and documentary programs in one minority language 
per weekday for 30-minutes. 
 
Comment 
------------ 
 
7. (SBU) These Kurdish-language broadcasts represent important 
yet limited steps forward in expanding freedom of expression for 
Turkey's Kurdish population.  We hope that the severe 
restrictions on air time and translation requirements do not 
make these broadcasts too expensive for the these small, local 
stations.  Because of the heavy financial costs of meeting the 
extensive RTUK regulations, some observers wonder whether 
Kurdish-language broadcasting could suffer the same fate as the 
private Kurdish-language courses, which were not economically 
viable under the official restrictions and closed in 2005 after 
less than one year of operation.  Many contacts also question 
whether the restricted programming can compete with Roj TV, 
which broadcasts in Kurdish 24 hours a day from Copenhagen (see 
reftel B).  We will continue to track this. 
 
REID