|
Denmark: More PKK connections to Kurdish
TV station exposed
31.5.2010 |
|
|
|
May
31, 2010
COPENHAGEN, — Berlingske Tidende newspaper’s
allegations that ROJ-TV has been funded by the PKK
is being criticised by local Kurdish organisations.
Allegations that Copenhagen-based Kurdish television
station ROJ-TV has direct links to the Turkey
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were given more
credence this past weekend when it was discovered
that the bodyguard to the organisation owns 20
percent of the station.
According to Berlingske Tidende newspaper, Kurdish
Swede Ibrahim Ayaz has had ownership in the station
since 2008 and is a current member of its board of
directors. |
Copenhagen-based Kurdish television station ROJ-TV |
Ayaz became PKK founder
Abdullah Öcalan’s bodyguard and personal assistant
in 1998 and was present when Turkish elite soldiers
captured the leader and took him back to Turkey to
stand trial for high treason.
ROJ-TV’s administrators have consistently denied any
direct links to the PKK, which is on both the EU and
US’ terrorist lists.
The Justice Ministry’s Civil Affairs Agency twice
threatened to fine the station after investigations
into funding from the Kurdish Culture Foundation,www.ekurd.netmuch
of which they believed came from the PKK. However,
no sanctions were ever brought against the
foundation, despite that the large sums of money
continued to support ROJ-TV.
Berlingske Tidende indicated last week that ROJ-TV
has been allowed to keep up to 118 million kroner of
illegal funding since 2004.
In addition, the newspaper stated that Henrik C.
Winkel, the station’s board chairman, reportedly
told sources that he was no longer making the
decision after Ayaz joined the board.
ROJ-TV executives have not yet commented on the
latest information about Ayaz’s ownership in the
station. However, 19 Kurdish organisations were
behind a written protest against Berlingske Tidende
for its ‘prejudicial’ reporting on the station.
In the statement, the organisations assert that the
information brought to light by the newspaper has
been in the police’s possession for some time and
that it ‘far from proves any economically binding
connection’ to the PKK.
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.
The PKK demanded Turkey's recognition of the Kurds'
identity in its constitution and of their language
as a native language along with Turkish in the
country's Kurdish areas, the party also demanded an
end to ethnic discrimination in Turkish laws and
constitution against Kurds, ranting them full
political freedoms.
Since 1984 the PKK took up arms for self-rule in the
mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey
[Turkey-Kurdistan] which has claimed around 45,000
lives of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish PKK
guerrillas.
A large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise
with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency, The Copenhagen Post, cphpos
dk | Agencies
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
®
