A court has rejected an attempt to cancel Kurdish Roj TV’s licence to broadcast on German territory, media reported on Tuesday. Turkish authorities have roundly criticised the Danish-based broadcaster for airing statements by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and inciting terrorism. Germany’s interior ministry had declared Roj TV illegal, following complaints from Turkey. However, a court in Leipzig ruled the ban will not take effect immediately, as it may face a legal challenge. The Kurdish-language broadcasts by Roj TV have strained Turkey’s relations with Denmark, prompting Ankara to initially oppose former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s bid to become NATO secretary-general.
(Sources: DPA, Zaman)
on May 21st, 2009 at 12:43
These news agency reports are not accurate. Roj TV had never a broadcasting licence in Germany and did never broadcast here. It does not constitute “broadcasting in Germany” that the satellite signal can of course be picked up inside Germany, too.
What the federal ministry of interior did is banning the organizations related to Roj TV from any activities in Germany. Their offices have been closed, in particular a Wuppertal-based TV production company called Viko has been shut down and their equipment seizured. It has now been ruled that this ban may no longer be enforced until the court passed on his judgement, stating that the legal action against the ban could be successful.
Btw, has Denge Mezopotamya, the radio operation of Roj TV, ever been considered in all this? I can not recall a single mention of it (away from my own ones), and I fear this is another clear indication for the dwindling relevance of shortwave broadcasting.