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CPJ: Minority media rights, terrorism laws
at issue in Kurdish Roj TV case
24.1.2012
By Magnus Ag/CPJ Advocacy and Communications
Associate |
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January
24, 2012
French satellite provider Eutelsat announced on
Sunday it is suspending Kurdish satellite station
Roj TV after a Danish court last week levied a hefty
fine against the satellite station for promoting
terrorism. Eutelsat's decision comes despite Roj
TV's appeal before the Danish High Court, which is
pending. The case has implications for how media
content is evaluated, the rights of minority media,
and how terrorism laws are balanced with human
rights.
On January 10, following years of pressure from
Ankara, the City Court of Copenhagen ruled that
between February 2008 and September 2010, the TV
channel had "one-sidedly and uncritically
disseminated (Kurdistan Workers Party) messages,
including incitement to revolt and to join the
organization." The court said the Denmark-based TV
channel was financed and controlled by the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist
organization by the European Union, Turkey, and the
United States.
The court fined the two companies behind Roj TV 5.2
million Danish crowns ($894,800), but did not follow
the prosecution's recommendation that the station's
broadcasting license be revoked.
Turkey's Minister of EU Affairs and the Turkish
ambassador to Denmark strongly condemned the fact
that Roj TV was found guilty of promoting terrorism
but is still allowed to broadcast. The minister
claimed Denmark is encouraging a Breivik-like
mentality (referring to Anders Behring Breivik, who
killed 77 people in Norway in July) and the
ambassador asked rhetorically whether Denmark would
also allow broadcasting of child pornography,
according to news reports.
According to the court, there was no legal basis for
it to revoke the license, which is issued and
managed by the independent Radio and TV Board.
However, Danish politicians who were critical of the
decision appear determined to change this: The
Danish Minister of Justice and the Danish Minister
of Culture issued a press release stating that the
Danish government "will now make sure that the
Danish legislation provides all sufficient measures
to react against radio and TV stations promoting
terrorism."
Ankara has long sought a ban on Roj TV, which has
been based in Denmark since 2004. Over the years the
Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen has filed three
separate cases with the Radio and TV Board. In all
three cases the Radio and TV Board has looked into
whether to revoke Roj TV's license because of its
close relation to PKK, but it never took action. The
board argued that Roj TV imparts the view of the PKK
but does not take a stand for or against those views
and actions, according to Politiken.
In 2005, the embassy also filed a criminal complaint
against Roj TV for violating Danish terrorism laws.
The ruling last week came as a result of that
charge.
Not much happened in the first four years after the
embassy filed charges. But in 2009, when every
member of NATO except for Turkey supported
then-Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in
his bid to be the next NATO secretary general,
things started to move. Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan and former Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi were both cited in the media as
saying Fogh Rasmussen promised to shut down Roj TV
if Ankara supported his candidacy. U.S. embassy
cables disclosed by WikiLeaks have since indicated a
similar line of events. Fogh Rasmussen, who now is
NATO secretary-general, has denied making promises
to shut the station. In 2010, the Danish government
decided to prosecute Roj TV.
In light of the conviction, the Radio and TV Board
has said it will consider reviewing the basis for
Roj TV's license, though it's unlikely it will do so
before the High Court has ruled in the appeal.
Eutelsat did not wait that long. In a press release
Thursday, the satellite provider said "under these
circumstances,www.ekurd.net
Eutelsat has decided to suspend the presence of Roj
TV on its satellites in order to avoid incurring
criminal liability as an accomplice to terrorist
activities." Before Eutelsat's suspension, news
reports said Roj TV had a potential audience of tens
of millions of Kurdish viewers across Europe and the
Middle East.
On Thursday, Roj TV was still able to broadcast in
Western Europe and parts of Turkey, Roj TV Director
Imdat Yilmaz told Danish news agency Ritzau, adding
that the signal is difficult to receive in the parts
of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey that make up
Kurdistan, according to the Kurds.
With the first consequences for Roj TV already a
reality, here are three broader press freedom
implications to consider while the High Court appeal
is pending. (Further appeals could take the case to
the Danish Supreme Court and even the European Court
of Human Rights):
First, how is one-sided coverage defined?
No one would argue that Roj TV's broadcasting is not
biased or even one-sided in favor of the Kurds. But
in one of its rulings, the Radio and TV Board stated
that "imparting information [would] not in itself be
covered by the term 'incitement.' A different
interpretation would prevent a free press from
informing and educating about [...] facts and events
in society and the world." The court, however,
concluded that this one-sided coverage is a
violation of Danish terrorism laws.
This qualitative evaluation of Roj TV's content --
or indeed any content-- is by its nature not an
exact science. However, it is problematic if Roj
TV's defense lawyer, Bjørn Elmquist, is right when
he claimed in Arbejderen that footage presented
during the trial only represented 0.003 percent of
all of Roj TV's production and had been selected
only by the prosecutor. The defense lawyer
furthermore said he was not allowed to present
alternate video material to the court that would
give a more nuanced insight into Roj TV's broadcast.
Underlying the court's ruling is the assumption that
a Kurdish TV station is in a position to produce
nuanced and balanced stories. To fairly evaluate Roj
TV's content, it is vital to understand the
challenges faced by journalists in Turkey,
especially Kurdish journalists covering the Kurdish
struggle for equal rights and independence. Turkey
has a reputation as one of the world's worst
violators of press freedom. In 2005, Turkish Prime
Minister Erdoğan refused to take part in a joint
press conference with then-Danish Prime Minister
Fogh Rasmussen because the Danes would not expel a
Roj TV reporter from the press conference. A more
recent example is the arrest of 29 pro-Kurdish
journalists in raids across Turkey on December 20.
Even if Roj TV wanted to, it is not always possible
to get both sides of the story.
Second, as always in tricky press freedom cases, it
is worth revisiting the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights.
Article 19 states; "everyone has the right... to
seek, receive, and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers."
Oluf Jørgensen, a prominent expert on media law from
the Danish School of Media and Journalism, argues
that according to European Court of Human Rights'
precedents, a media outlet or a journalist cannot be
expected to distance themselves from views or
actions presented by sources in a TV segment.
As a matter of fact, Article 19 ensures minorities'
right of access to a media outlet broadcasting in a
specific language focusing on certain views.
"The right to freedom of information and the right
to freedom of speech must not be limited by country
borders. This is a key element in more recent
interpretations of the right to freedom of speech.
People with a special interest, a specific language,
or a separate culture have the right to be able to
access a media outlet. The courts' ruling is not in
correspondence with the human rights." Jørgensen
told Politiken in reaction to the court ruling.
Thirdly, what precedent would a guilty verdict
create?
One peculiar thing in this highly unusual case is
the fact that no person has been charged. According
to renowned Danish journalist Lasse Ellegaard, the
case represents the first time a Danish court has
convicted media companies for promoting terrorism
without pressing charges against the people behind
the companies. Ellegaard speculates that this is
because none of the people behind Roj TV could be
found guilty of any terror-related crime.
Also, the court has not taken the special rules and
norms that apply to the press into consideration,
especially the right to freedom of speech. Jørgensen
assumes this is because the case involves laws on
terrorism. This is a significant and worrying
development for press freedom.
Of course, there is no justification for any media
to incite to violence. But the consequences of
closing Roj TV as a result of on one-sided coverage
would be significant. It would not only shoot down
one of the Kurds' main sources of information. It
would increase the likelihood that other minority
media will face similar charges.
CPJ Blog - Press Freedom News and Views
Magnus Ag, a Danish writer and journalist, is
CPJ's advocacy and communications associate.
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
cpj.org
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