|
Danish Radio and TV board in new
investigation of Kurdish Roj TV
24.1.2012 |
|
|
|
Danish Board Chair Christian Scherfig. The
Content and editing of some Roj TV programs in the
last three years would be investigated.
Photo: Søren Svendsen/Dansk Design Center
See Related Links
January
24, 2012
COPENHAGEN, — National
radio and television authorities have announced they
plan to reopen their investigation of Roj TV.
Danish Radio and Television Board launched a new
investigation decision on Kurdish Roj TV. The Board
announced that the content and editing of some Roj
TV programs in the last three years would be
investigated.
The investigation was announced by Board Chair
Christian Scherfig who remarked that the decision
had been made in connection with the Copenhagen
Court’s verdict on the channel and added that "The
court’s decision has provided a reason for our board
to reevaluate many points in accordance with the
broadcast act. Apart from the content of broadcasts,
it is also of importance by whom and where the
decisions on broadcasting are made, because the
Radio Television Broadcasting Act says that if an
establishment is allowed to broadcast in Denmark,
decisions regarding its broadcasting are also made
in this country".
Remarking that the investigation wouldn’t include
the broadcasts which were presented as evidence by
the prosecutor at the trial, Scherfig said that
"Following the investigation of the programs of the
last three years, our board will rule whether the
channel’s broadcasting permission will be cancelled
or not. It is at present difficult to say something
about the result to come or how long the examination
will last."
The decision of the board will be made on the basis
of the works by authorized translators, noted
Schrefig and added that they would also receive the
approval of Turkish Embassy as to the correctness of
translations.
Radio and Television Board Chair Scherfig also noted
that they had met the Turkish Ambassador in
Copenhagen following the verdict of Copenhagen
Court,www.ekurd.net
and added that "The Ambassador only presented
information about the present situation. It is never
a matter of any kind of pressure.2
A decision handed down by the
Copenhagen City Court in early January found the
station guilty of promoting the Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist
organisation by the US, Canada and the EU.
While the station was found guilty of violating
anti-terrorism laws, the court said it could not
revoke the station's broadcast licence due to a
legal technicality.
After the verdict, members of parliament announced
that they would be looking to introduce legislation
designed to close the loophole and shut the station
down. Broadcast authority Radio og TV Nævnet said at
that time that only it could withdraw a broadcast
licence, and that the court could not legislate
retroactively.
"The ruling highlighted several factors allowing for
an assessment under the Broadcasting Act," Scherfig
said in a statement. "The station’s content and the
influence of the PKK on editorial decisions should
be examined."
Meanwhile, the European broadcasting service
provider Eutelsat announced it had removed Roj TV
from its signal.
“Eutelsat has decided to suspend Roj TV on its
satellites in order to avoid being liable for
criminal responsibility for abetting terrorist
activities,” Eutelsat said in a statement.
Eutelsat has asked distributors uplinking Roj TV to
its satellites to stop broadcasting the channel. The
organisation says it cannot selectively turn off the
signal on its own, because the process of doing so
could affect other broadcasters.
Despite Eutelsat’s decision, the station can still
be seen in Denmark, western Europe and parts of
Turkey. Viewers in areas of Turkey, as well as
Syria, Iraq and Iran can only see the broadcasts
online.
A group of young Kurds have occupied the offices of
Eutelsat in Paris on Monday. The action is to
protest against the French provider to suspend
broadcasts by Roj TV. At least 20 people have been
taken into custody ANF website reported.
Roj TV has appealed the Copenhagen verdict and says
it is still on the air.
“Our broadcasts have not been stopped," said Imdat
Yilmaz, Roj TV’s general manager. "It is unfair that
they did this based on a case that has not been
settled."
Yilmaz said the station is looking for other ways to
have its signal broadcast.
The Turkish government, which has long complained
that the station should be shut down, issued a
release praising Eutelsat's decision saying it was a
natural outcome of the court's decision.
Since it was established in 1984, the Kurdistan
Workers' Party 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, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000
lives.
But now its aim is the creation an autonomous
Kurdish region
and more cultural rights for ethnic Kurds who
constitute the greatest minority in Turkey, numbering more than 20 million. A large Turkey's
Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.
PKK's demands included releasing PKK detainees,
lifting the ban on education in Kurdish,www.ekurd.net
paving the
way for an autonomous democrat Kurdish system within
Turkey, reducing pressure on the detained PKK leader
Abdullah Öcalan, stopping military action against
the Kurdish party and recomposing the Turkish
constitution.
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.
The PKK is considered ass '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.
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
cphpost.dk | firatnews.com | ekurd.net |
Agencies
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page
|
®
