Just months since it began radio broadcasts in Armenian, state-owned Turkish Radio and Broadcasting Corporation (TRT) is now preparing to launch an Armenian television channel. According to a source, who declined to be named, initial efforts to broadcast in Armenian began after a meeting between President Abdullah Gül and his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sarkisian, last September when Gül visited Yerevan for a football match between the national teams of both countries. One team will prepare the television and radio broadcasts together.
TRT Radio Bureau and Foreign Broadcasts Director Senol Göka confirmed that Armenian television broadcasts would begin within a year. Mr Göka refused to provide any details on preparations, but did say the rate of work was accelerating.
Mr Göka said TRT was proud to be one of the most popular broadcasters in Armenia. But, he also criticized the head of the Armenian state broadcaster, Alex Haroutunian, saying: “He was in Turkey a few weeks ago and made a statement about how he did not know about TRT’s broadcasts in Armenian. To tell you the truth, I was very upset. The only thing I will say is that they knew about the broadcasts.” The two signed a deal last year to prepare joint programmes.
When asked about the Armenian broadcasts in the Eastern Armenian dialect, which is used mainly in Armenia rather than the western dialect used by Turkish Armenians and the Armenian diaspora, Mr Göka said: “In the beginning, when we decided to launch such a service, our target audience was Armenia, not Istanbul. We see these broadcasts as a key to developing good relations with Armenia.” Speakers of western and eastern Armenian dialects are virtually unintelligible to one another.
Mr Göka also said he could not understand all the controversy surrounding TRT’s broadcasts in Armenian, noting that TRT radio broadcasted in 31 different languages. The team in charge of the Armenian broadcasts has been kept away from the public’s eye.
(Source: Hurriyet)
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