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Kurdish mayors urge Denmark not to
'silence' Kurdish TV station
30.12.2005
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DIYARBAKIR, Kurdistan-Turkey, Dec 30 (AFP) -
12h38 - Fifty-six mayors from Turkey's mainly
Kurdish southeast have appealed to the Danish
government to resist Ankara's efforts to have a
Denmark-based Kurdish TV station banned for alleged
links to armed Kurdish rebels.
"For a truly democratic life to flourish in Turkey,
ROJ TV should not be silenced," read the letter in
English sent to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh
Rasmussen on December 27 and obtained by AFP on
Friday.
"The elimination of the voice of Roj TV would mean
the loss of an important vehicle in the struggle for
democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms of
democratic civilization," the mayors said.
They said the government's efforts to press Denmark
into banning Roj TV fell foul of its Turkey's
professed aim to improve its rights record as it
seeks to gain entry into the European Union.
Turkey has asked the Danish authorities to revoke
Roj TV's broadcasting license on the grounds that it
has ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), an armed group considered a terrorist
organization by Turkey, the EU and the United
States.
Ankara charges that the channel, on the air since
March 2004, incites hatred by openly supporting the
PKK, which has been fighting the Ankara government
for self-rule since 1984.
Denmark's broadcasting watchdog ruled at the
beginning of the year that Roj TV's programming
contained no incitement to hatred of Turkey.
Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said last
month that he had seen no proof of the station's
links to the PKK.
AFP
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