TURKEY: BILL EXPANDING KURDISH LANGUAGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000719

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: BILL EXPANDING KURDISH LANGUAGE
BROADCASTING SUBMITTED TO PARLIAMENT

REF: ANKARA 315

Classified By: A/DCM Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) Summary and Comment: Parliament's Planning and Budget
Subcommittee will take up a bill April 18 submitted by
Turkey's state-controlled "TRT" broadcasting network to
expand Kurdish-language (and other foreign language)
broadcasting. The draft legislation follows up on PM
Erdogan's February 17 announcement of GOT plans to broadcast
in Kurdish to complement economic development plans for the
Southeast. The historic legislation would give the GOT an
opportunity to broadcast its own message, rather than having
others outside of Turkey (such as Roj TV) control the message
Turkey's Kurdish-speaking citizens are hearing. End summary
and comment.

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Kurdish Language Broadcasting Bill Submitted to Parliament
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2. (C) TRT DG Ibrahim Sahin told us April 15 TRT submitted a
bill to parliament April 13 that would expand
Kurdish-language satellite broadcasting, as well as
broadcasting in FARSI and Arabic. The Planning and Budget
Subcommittee would begin to review the law April 18.
According to Sahin, the legislation will allow TRT to devote
one of its seven channels to non-Turkish broadcasting. If it
passes, TRT plans initially to broadcast 12 hours in Kurdish,
followed by 6 hours in FARSI and 6 hours in Arabic. If the
project is successful, one channel could be devoted to
24-hour Kurdish-language broadcasts. Sahin noted there are
no plans to broadcast in Armenian, but TRT executives would
like to dedicate one channel to English-language news
broadcasts.


3. (C) Increased Kurdish-language broadcasting is part of a
comprehensive strategy to improve the situation in Turkey's
southeast, Sahin explained. Following the Turkish military's
cross-border operations against the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK),aided by US intelligence sharing, the
government needed to embrace the mostly-Kurdish population in
the Southeast and show the residents there are options other
than joining the PKK. These broadcasts would complement the
GOT's economic stimulus project, he predicted. The
broadcasts also would reach beyond Turkey's borders to
northern Iraq and Iran, where many people have ethnic Turkish
heritage but do not speak Turkish.


4. (C) To succeed, the project requires broadcasting that
appeals to a wide range of viewers, Sahin noted. Tentative
plans call for a wide-array of family-oriented programs:
children's shows, international movies dubbed into Kurdish,
documentaries, music, sports, and educational lectures by
prominent academics. They might also include basic Turkish
language programs to help raise literacy among uneducated
women in the Southeast, many of whom speak no Turkish. These
women are the prime target, Sahin emphasized, since they both
raise the next generation and lack education themselves.


5. (C) Sahin told us MPs on the Planning and Budget
Subcommittee appeared receptive to the legislation when he
presented the bill to them. Not a single MP, either GOT or
opposition, raised objections to his presentation. They
appear to understand the need for non-military action to help
solve Turkey's Kurdish problem, Sahin said, adding the fate
of the bill is now in parliament's hands. It was now a
national issue. He acknowledged, though, that it is a
"difficult" issue for some and, while he expects it will gain
parliamentary approval, recognizes it will meet resistance in
certain sectors.

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Pro-Kurdish DTP Remains Skeptical
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6. (C) The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP),whose
members have often been hauled before a court on charges of
using Kurdish, remain understandably skeptical. Abdullah
Demirbas, a DTP sub-mayor recently fired and prosecuted for
using Kurdish in municipal services in the Sur district of
Diyarbakir, recalled the dozens of prosecutions against him
for using Kurdish language, and thought increased

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broadcasting would be mere window dressing. In his view,
ending the barrage of harassing prosecutions against Kurdish
politicians would be the only way to get to the root of the
problem.

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EU, Human Rights NGOs Pleased
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7. (SBU) European Commission Political Counselor Diego
Mellado views the bill as an important step toward fulfilling
Turkey's harmonization requirement of addressing the Kurdish
problem. The EU will track the legislation's progress
closely. Contacts in Turkey's human rights community also
welcomed the news. Human Rights Agenda Association President
Orhan Kemal Cengiz said the legislation would be an important
step toward recognizing and embrace Turkey's vibrant mix of
cultures.

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