|
As Kurdish Roj TV’s licence suspended, Turkey accuses
Scandinavia of harbouring terrorists |
|
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page |
|
As Kurdish Roj TV’s licence suspended,
Turkey accuses Scandinavia of harbouring terrorists
29.9.2012
By Justin Cremer - The Copenhagen Post |
|
|
|
September 29, 2012
COPENHAGEN,— Station’s failure to turn in
requested material leads to two-month ban; Turkish
PM points to possible “diplomatic” solution to
long-standing conflict.
Roj TV, the Copenhagen-based Kurdish station that
was fined earlier this year for violating Denmark’s
anti-terror laws, has been stripped of its broadcast
licence for two months.
The national TV and radio board, Radio- og tv-nævnet,
has been investigating the channel since January
based on allegations that the channel serves as a
mouthpiece for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK),
which is considered a terrorist organisation by the
US, Canada and the EU. Although the channel was
found guilty of violating anti-terror laws in
January, it held on to its broadcast licence.
Shortly thereafter, however, the TV and radio board
re-opened its investigation.
The board demanded that Roj TV turn over documents
and video tapes of its broadcasted programmes. The
station only turned over about half of the requested
files and documents, leading to the two-month ban on
its broadcast license. The TV and radio board said,www.ekurd.net
however, that the programming that was turned over
for inspection “did not incite hate” and therefore
the station could not lose its licence on that
ground.
Roj TV has been given two months to hand over the
remainder of the requested material, but according
to board chairman Christian Scherfig, even if the
station does not comply it will be still be able to
send its signal again. Scherfig warned however, that
the board would continue to pursue Roj TV.
“Roj TV should expect that we will institute
stricter supervision and perhaps reassess our
verdict,” Scherfig told the Ritzau news bureau.
The investigations into Roj TV are what led to the
September 18 arrest of eight individuals on charges
of financing terror. The arrestees, seven of whom
are being held on remand, are suspected of
collecting and arranging money both for the PKK and
Roj TV.
Roj TV has long been a sore spot in the the
relationship between Turkey and Denmark. The Turkish
government has long viewed Roj TV as the mouthpiece
for the PKK, and Turkey has repeatedly made formal
complaints about the station. Denmark’s decision to
prosecute Roj TV on terror charges was revealed by
WikiLeaks as being a reward for Turkey’s support of
the appointment of former Danish PM Anders Fogh
Rasmussen as NATO secretary general in 2009.
The PKK was founded by Kurdish separatists in 1978
as a movement to establish an autonomous Kurdistan.
Kurdish militants have often clashed with Turkish
security forces. In 1984, the PKK called for an
all-out Kurdish uprising and stepped up its attacks
on government targets. The ongoing conflicts are
estimated to have claimed more than 40,000 lives.
The past few months have seen some of the most
intense violence in the long struggle, and on
Thursday, Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan responded to
pressure to end the bloodshed by opening the door to
renewed talks with the PKK.
“There is a military dimension to this, a security
dimension which is separate and will continue,”
Erdogan said, according to Pakistani newspaper The
News International. “But beside this there is a
diplomatic, socio-economic and psychological
dimension.”
Speaking to Reuters, Erdogan said that Scandinavian
countries share in the blame for the increased
violence.
“Terrorist leaders walk free in these countries, and
they allow them to collect financial aid in the
streets, creating a resource worth millions of
euros,"
Erdogan said.
"Scandinavian countries literally act as accessories
to the terrorist organisation.”
Copyright ©, respective
author or news agency,
cphpost.dk
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the
content of news information on this page
|
|
|
