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Danish court orders unfreezing of Kurdish
ROJ TV station accounts
7.12.2010 |
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December 7, 2010
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, — A Danish court on
Monday ordered the unfreezing of 10 bank accounts
belonging to a Kurdish TV station accused of being a
propaganda outlet of Turkey's rebel PKK movement, a
lawyer said.
The appeals court in the Danish capital confirmed an
October ruling to unfreeze the accounts of Roj TV,
which contained 327,000 kroner (43,900 euros, 58,400
dollars).
The accounts were frozen in August at the end of a
five-year investigation into the channel, with
prosecutors accusing Roj TV of broadcasting
propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers' Party,www.ekurd.netor
PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by
the EU.
The judge said freezing the accounts violated
European rights laws on freedom of expression, said
Bjoern Elmquist, the station's lawyer.
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Kurdish ROJ TV |
Roj TV began
broadcasting in 2004 from Belgium to 68 countries in
Europe and Asia, prompting angry criticism from
Ankara, which says the channel is a mouthpiece for
the PKK.
Since it was established in 1984, the PKK has been fighting the Turkish state,
which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to establish a Kurdish
state in the south east of the country.
But now its aim is the creation an autonomous region and more cultural rights
for ethnic Kurds who constitute the greatest minority in Turkey, numbering more
than 20 million.
PKK's demands included releasing PKK detainees, lifting the ban on education in
Kurdish, paving the way for an autonomous democrat Kurdish system within Turkey,
reducing pressure on the detained PKK president, stopping military action
against the Kurdish party and recomposing the Turkish constitution.
PKK demanded to stop military and political operations and to release
Kurdish politicians who are unjustly detained. The organization also requested
to enable imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's active participation in the
process.
The PKK is considered a 'terrorist' organization by
Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the
blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which
overturned a decision
to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its
political wing on the European Union's terror list.
Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population
as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural
rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish
language and private Kurdish language courses with
the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish
politicians say the measures fall short of their
expectations.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency, AFP | ekurd.net | Agencies
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