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.

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RTUK Approves More Flexible Policy
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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."

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Broadcasters Doubt RTUK's Sincerity
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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

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at teaching Kurdish. He said these restrictions place a
heavy burden on local stations with limited resources.

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Reforms Have Made Little Impact
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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."

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Comment: Any Progress Is Welcome
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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.


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WILSON