GOT ANNOUNCES MORE FLEXIBLE POLICY ON KURDISH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 003515 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/14/2026 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM OSCE TU SUBJECT: GOT ANNOUNCES MORE FLEXIBLE POLICY ON KURDISH BROADCASTS; IMPACT UNCLEAR REF: ANKARA 99 Classified by Polcouns Janice G. Weiner; reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is a joint Embassy Ankara-Consulate Adana report. ¶2. (C) Summary: Turkey's High Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) has decided to exempt music and films from the time restrictions placed on broadcasts in Kurdish and other minority languages. A RTUK contact told us the decision indicates a more flexible approach to Kurdish broadcasts. Local broadcasters say the decision is nothing new, and note that a number of other restrictions will continue to inhibit Kurdish-language programming. The GOT has adopted a number of minority-language legal reforms over the past four years, but implementation has been slow and the effect has been limited. End Summary. -------------- RTUK Approves More Flexible Policy -------------- ¶3. (U) Sebnem Bilget, head of RTUK's international relations department, told us the RTUK board decided unanimously on June 9 to exempt minority-language music and films from the time restrictions applied to news and current events programming. Bilget said the board made its decision in response to a request submitted by five radio and TV stations. She said she had not yet received the board's official report, and did not know which stations had made the request. ¶4. (U) The decision would ostensibly allow local stations to expand programming in Kurdish, the only restricted language for which there is a significant demand. Recent, EU-related reforms have enabled local stations to broadcast news and current events programming in Kurdish (reftel). RTUK limits such programming to 45 minutes per day, 4 hours per week on TV, and 60 minutes per day, 5 hours per week on radio. ¶5. (U) Bilget averred that the new policy will give broadcasters more freedom. She cautioned that they will have to act responsibly, as RTUK will continue to monitor programming for content aimed at undermining the state. "I hope they will behave themselves," she said. "They will have to be extremely careful." -------------- Broadcasters Doubt RTUK's Sincerity -------------- ¶6. (C) Local stations have been broadcasting music with Kurdish lyrics for years -- even before the reforms -- though local authorities periodically charge stations for songs they say contain subversive political messages. Contacts at Gun TV and Soz TV in Diyarbakir -- two stations that have been authorized to broadcast news in Kurdish -- noted to us that existing regulations already allow them to air Kurdish music and films without RTUK permission. ¶7. (C) Cemal Dogan, Gun TV director, said the RTUK announcement appears to be a "ruse" designed to impress the EU, rather than a sincere attempt to lift restrictions. Bilget, while acknowledging that stations have been able to broadcast Kurdish-language music for several years, insisted that the board's decision indicates a more flexible approach. She said local stations will not be able to broadcast in Kurdish 24 hours a day -- in any case, she said, they lack the capacity to produce that much programming -- but RTUK will gradually allow increased Kurdish broadcasting. She said this will apply in particular to films. ¶8. (C) Dogan noted that, in addition to time restrictions, regulations also require that Kurdish-language TV programs have Turkish subtitles, and that Kurdish-language radio programs be followed by the same program in Turkish. Regulations prohibit children's programs, or programs aimed ANKARA 00003515 002 OF 002 at teaching Kurdish. He said these restrictions place a heavy burden on local stations with limited resources. -------------- Reforms Have Made Little Impact -------------- ¶9. (C) In fact, the reforms have had limited effect to date. Twelve local stations applied for the right to broadcast news and current events programming in Kurdish under the reforms; RTUK approved only three -- Gun TV, Soz TV, and Medya FM of Sanliurfa. Soz TV has so far managed to produce very few programs. A number of stations make unauthorized Kurdish-language broadcasts, mostly comprising music. In addition, the state-owned TRT broadcasting company airs programs in Kurdish and other minority languages, though these broadcasts -- including old news programs dubbed in Kurdish -- are widely derided. ¶10. (C) Bilget acknowledged that the new RTUK policy will do little to draw viewers away from Kurdish stations based abroad that operate without such tight restrictions -- such as Roj TV, the Copenhagen-based station that the GOT wants Denmark to shut down because of its pro-PKK stance. We suggested that Turkey would be better served by a policy allowing broadcasters in Turkey broad leeway to air programs in Kurdish. That way, more Kurds in Turkey would tune into local programming under RTUK supervision, and fewer would be watching Roj TV. Bilget agreed, but said the issue of Kurdish language rights remains highly sensitive, and reform will move slowly. "Look how difficult it was for Parliament to approve even these limited reforms," she said. "This will take time, but we'll get there eventually." -------------- Comment: Any Progress Is Welcome -------------- ¶11. (C) Any progress on this front, however limited, is encouraging. Four years have passed since Parliament approved the first legislation lifting the restrictions on Kurdish broadcasts, and the Turkish bureaucracy has consistently thrown up obstacles at the implementation stage. We hope this new RTUK announcement indicates that authorities will adopt a more flexible approach to the issue, and that further reforms are on the horizon. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON