Turkey
Media allowed to use Kurdish languagePosted Dec 9 2009
On Nov. 13, a government gazette printed a directive that lifted remaining restrictions on using minority languages by broadcast media in Turkey, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Since January 2004, the print media and public TV station TRT 6 have been able to use Kurdish. However, privately owned TV and radio stations had been limited to using Kurdish for only a few hours a week. Also, all Kurdish-language programming had previously been required to be subtitled in Turkish, effectively making live broadcasts impossible. Subsequently, only two TV stations had offered Kurdish-language programs: Gün TV and in the past couple of months, Su TV.
Although the Kurdish language might now be used, Kurdish issues are still effectively banned in the news. As Global Journalist has previously reported, the daily newspaper Günluk has been shut down before under the Anti-Terrorist Law for mentioning the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Even as recently as Nov. 18, the newspaper’s Web site was shut down. This is only one example of discrimination against Kurdish issues.
As RSF says, “What is the point of broadcasting in Kurdish if coverage of Kurdish issues from an independent or activist viewpoint is banned in practice. The lifting of language restrictions must not be allowed to eclipse the fact that the media are still the victims of intimidation and self-censorship when they try to tackle sensitive issues.”