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ISTANBUL, (AFP) - A musician from Turkey's Laz
minority group said the country's public television
refused to allow him to perform his songs, claiming
that new laws adopting democratic European standards
exclude the Laz language.
The Laz musician, Birol Topaloglu, said he had been
invited to participate in a musical special on March
18 in Ankara on the national television station
TRT-INT. He has been involved since 1997 in trying
to preserve the culture of the Laz community of
about 250,000 people in northeast Turkey.
"But when I arrived at the studio with my pipes and
violin, I was told that my songs would not be part
of the program," Topaloglu said.
The artist protested the decision, pointing out that
his compositions in the Laz language had already
been broadcast on two occasions in the past on the
public channel.
Topaloglu said the television network refused him
access because of reforms required by the European
Union, which Turkey hopes to join in the future.
The reforms authorize the broadcasting of programs
in five minority languages -- the two Kurdish
dialects of zaza and kurmanci, Arabic, Bosnian and
Circassian -- but no mention of Laz, he said.
TRT television declined to comment when contacted by
AFP.
The Turkish Parliament approved the broadcasting of
programs in minority languages in 2002, which was
seen as a symbolic gesture toward the EU which has
been engaged in opening negotiations about Turkey's
possible accession to the bloc.
TRT began in June 2004 to broadcast daily programs
in five languages entitled "Our cultural richness."
AFP
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