THE NEWS FROM TRT 6

"In politics, an organized minority is a political majority."
~ Jesse Jackson.

Rojin has left TRT6. From Hürriyet:

Kurdish singer Rojin has resigned as host of her program broadcast on the recently launched Kurdish-language television station TRT-6, saying she was "treated as a potential criminal," daily Radikal reported yesterday on its Web site.

"The reason of my resignation is not economic, [nor due to] threats toward me or my caprice; this is a decision I made with my free will," Rojin said.

[ . . . ]

"Imagine a program where the host does not know who is invited and cannot decide on her own guests," she said, adding that many of her statements during the program were censored. "The program is treated as a potential crime and the host as a potential criminal," she said.

See also Turkish Hürriyet.

In the Radikal piece, Rojin calls TRT management "oppressive" and says that she was treated like a "potential criminal" and her program a potential "crime". Rojin says, regarding her program on TRT 6, "I came, I saw, I left". Apparently, tensions developed especially during the last 4 to 5 programs.

For all the jackass know-nothings out there, make sure you check all the articles, particularly the Radikal article and see that PKK was not named once as a reason for Rojin's kicking the dust of TRT 6 off her feet. And for all those who claimed, at TRT 6's beginning, that the big, bad apocular were threatening anyone who dared to go on TRT 6, now you can see how wrong you were. There was never any need for threats because everyone knew the Turkish state would screw up sooner or later. It has always screwed up, it continues to screw up and, unless there is a radical change within the regime and society, it will continue to screw up.

Besides, all of us know that TRT 6 was merely a campaign tactic. Since DTP was so successful in the local elections in March, there's no more need for the very expensive AKP campaign tactic known as TRT 6.

Güle güle! Sayonara! Auf Wiedersehen! Au revoir! Adios! Ciao!

In the meantime, if you're interested in supporting the TV channel that has Kurdish interests at heart, you can register your support for Roj TV here.

For the record, let me add that information about the recent Turkish state brutality in Ağrı and Amara has made it's way to Cryptome.

TSK, GÜLEN, AND ROJ TV

"Thought that is silenced is always rebellious. Majorities, of course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is necessarily dangerous. Criticism and dissent are the indispensable antidote to major delusions."
~ Alan Barth.

He's back. American vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is in Ankara to chum around with Büyükanıt and Saygun, from AFP:

ANKARA (AFP) — A senior US general arrived here Thursday on a a one-day visit for talks with his Turkish counterparts on efforts to root out Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, a US embassy official said.

General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, will "discuss standard issues that concern both militaries, including the ongoing struggle against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and ongoing intelligence sharing," an embassy spokeswoman told AFP.

Cartwright would meet with the head of the Turkish army, General Yasar Buyukanit, and his number two, General Ergin Saygun, she said.

The United States has been supplying Turkey with intelligence to counter the PKK which uses rear bases in Kurdish-populated northern Iraq for attacks on Turkish targets.

With US assistance, the Turkish military has stepped up its campaign against the PKK since December, carrying out several air raids on rebel targets in Iraq as well as a week-long cross-border ground operation targeting a major PKK base.

More from Gülen's daily, Zaman, Friday edition:

This is the third visit to Ankara by Cartwright since November, ahead of Turkey’s first air strike into northern Iraq in order to eliminate the PKK bases there. On Nov. 20, Cartwright, along with Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of US forces in Iraq, visited Ankara and discussed measures to crack down on the PKK with Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun.

Cartwright’s next visit to Ankara was in February at a time when talks between the United States, Turkey and Iraq were intensified ahead of Turkey’s ground incursion into Iraq. Cartwright yesterday met with both Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and Saygun. In November, following a landmark White House meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President George W. Bush, it was announced that Saygun, his US counterpart, Cartwright, and Petraeus would be part of an intelligence network that will work to wipe out PKK bases in Iraq. The network has been facilitating the flow of intelligence information between the military forces.

Expect an intensification of fascist TSK operations in the coming months, bearing in mind that the Şirnak, Siirt, and Hakkari regions have already been experiencing intense operations.

There is more info on Fethullah Gülen's US immigration case, in English, from TDN:

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled in favor of Immigration Services. Upon the verdict, Gülen, the leader of a religious movement with interests in the media and education sector, needs to leave the United States in one month's time. However, the time Gülen can illegally stay in the country can go as high as six months.

Gülen's financial resources were detailed in the public prosecutor's arguments, which claimed that Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Turkish government, and the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA, were behind the Gülen movement. It stated that some businessmen in Ankara donated 10 to 70 percent of their annual income to the movement and that it corresponded to $20,000 to $300,000 per year per person. It added that one businessman in Istanbul donated $4-5 million each year and that young people graduating from Gülen's schools donated between $2,000 and $5,000 each year.

The Israeli Memri Blog, disagrees:

Immediately following Fethullah Gulen’s acquittal in Turkey by the Supreme Court in June 24, Turkish media widely reported on the status of Fethullah Gulen’s case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Reports in mainstream Turkish media stated that the federal court had ruled against Fethullah Gulen and in favor of the U.S. government agencies and that he faces imminent deportation. Court records reveal that the action remains pending and the court has not yet entered a decision on the claims filed by Gulen. In fact briefs were submitted by both parties as recently as June 25, 2008.

Many of the press reports purported to summarize the court’s reasoning in denying Gulen’s claims, whereas a ruling is not expected for several months. These misrepresentations raise questions as to which circles were feeding this news to the media and to serve what purpose.

It appears that MEMRI is defending old Hoca, which raises questions as to what purpose is it doing so? After all, MEMRI never questions the TSK's official media propaganda. MEMRI notes that the news of Gülen's immigration status broke immediately after his acquittal in a Turkish court. The trial had been ongoing for seven years on charges that Gülen had formed a "terrorist organization" (Anti-Terrorism Law, No. 3713).

Gülen himself appeared to be happy with the court's decision, not only for himself, but because the decision may also get Abdullah Gül off the hook in at least part of the closure case against AKP:

Gülen pointed out that with this decision, visiting Turkish schools associated with the Gülen movement would not be considered a crime. He was referring to the closure case filed by the chief public prosecutor against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in which President Abdullah Gül was cited as visiting Turkish schools abroad while he was foreign minister, an act that allegedly violated the secular principles of the Constitution.

Of course, now that Gülen has been acquitted, there's no reason for him to remain in the US and he has absolutely no need for an I-140 visa, is there?

In other news, Goran at Mideast Youth has an excellent summary of Nazi Germany's ban of Roj TV. The ban is suspicious to say the least, particularly since Denmark has been investigating Turkish (and American) claims against Roj TV for years now:

However, separate decisions made after investigations in Denmark have denied such claims. After multiple requests from the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTSC), the Denmark Media Secretariat - an institution of the Denmark Ministry of Culture - issued a document that concluded that none of the complaints justified closure of the Kurdish broadcast station. Denmark authorities concluded in the document that although the station often shows violent footage in it’s broadcasts as claimed, “they represent the violence that actually exists in Turkey and in Kurdish areas.” They concluded that although the broadcasts may have an “unpleasant effect on the Turkish authorities,” they are completely “unexaggerated” and there are no proofs that the station is causing “incitement” through their reporting.

Bijî Denmark!

How exactly is Nazi Germany going to enforce the ban? Let's see, Roj TV is banned in Turkey, including Turkey's internal colony Kurdistan. Turkey used to go around destroying or confiscating satellite dishes to prevent Kurds watching Roj. Turkey has always attempted to jam Roj TV's frequencies. Yet Kurds continue to watch Roj. We watched Roj every day in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan, so if Turkey is still trying to fight the losing battle by jamming frequencies, it doesn't appear to be working very well.

This brings us back to the question: How exactly is Nazi Germany going to enforce the ban? By destroying satellite dishes? By confiscating them? By jamming Roj's broadcast frequencies? It reminds me of an idiot standing on a beach, trying to hold back the tide.

Perhaps the more interesting question is: What did Nazi Germany get from Turkey in order for it to go to the trouble of standing on the beach and trying to hold back the tide?

DTP MAYORS CONVICTED AND TERRORISTS IN DC

"Many Americans, due to the effective propaganda and spin machine of Turkey’s agents in the U.S., and relentless efforts by high-level officials and lobbying groups on Turkish networks’ payroll, do not know much about Turkey; its position and importance in the areas of terrorism, money laundering, illegal arms sales, industrial and military espionage, and the nuclear black-market."
~ Sibel Edmonds.

Turkey has convicted 53 of the 56 DTP mayors for their letter to Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen in defense of RojTV:

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - A Turkish court on Tuesday found 53 Kurdish mayors guilty of praising a criminal group because they asked Denmark to let a television station with alleged links to Kurdish guerrillas continue to operate there.

The mayors described the case against them as a free speech issue, but Turkey views Kurdish rebels as terrorists and believes Europe is not doing enough to curb sources of support among Kurdish expatriates. Most of the mayors are members of the Democratic Society Party, a political group that faces possible closure for alleged links to the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, which seeks autonomy for the large Kurdish population in southeast Turkey. The case against the mayors will be used as evidence in the case against the party, said Muharrem Elbey, a lawyer for the Kurdish mayor of Diyarbakir, the biggest city in southeast Turkey.

The state is divided over whether the possible scrapping of a party with 20 seats in Parliament would strengthen the rule of law or push a new wave of alienated Kurds out of the political mainstream and into guerrilla ranks.

The court in Diyarbakir sentenced the mayors to two months in prison, but later commuted the sentence to fines of 1,835 Turkish liras (US$1400 or ¤900), citing the mayors' good behavior during the trial. Three other mayors were acquitted. The mayors said they would appeal.

The politicians were indicted in 2006 after writing to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to request that the Roj TV station be kept on air in Denmark. Turkey says the station is a propaganda machine for the rebels.

Turkey has been under pressure from the European Union to strengthen the rights of Kurds, a non-Arab people distantly related to the Iranians. They constitute about 20 percent of Turkey's population of at least 70 million.

Rebel commanders often joined the station's broadcasts by satellite telephone from mountain hideouts in northern Iraq, and the station broadcasts images of rebels training or attacking Turkish soldiers. The rebel group, also known by its Kurdish initials PKK, has been listed by the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization. The mayors have denied supporting the PKK rebels.

"The mayors' letter was an appeal for a Kurdish-language television station to remain on air," said Elbey, who represents Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir. "They never praised the content of the broadcasts." Elbey said that if the appeal fails, he will consider taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The court's decisions are binding on Turkey.

The prosecutor initially wanted the court try the mayors for aiding and abetting the PKK, but reduced the charge to praising a criminal group. The earlier charge carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence.

What the hell . . . every Kurd might as well join the guerrillas because there is certainly no political avenue open under the Ankara regime.

Meanwhile, that ugly cow who heads the US State Department praises Turkey for its "free speech." The cow also stresses that Turkey must respect the rights of religious groups (i.e. the AKP), but fails to make any comment on Turkey's racist anti-Kurdish policies, including the closure case against DTP.

It appears that there's a huge gathering of terrorists this week in the whorehouse known as Washington DC. The American-Turkish Council (ATC) is holding its annual conference, where the American military is squeezing Turkey for another phony amnesty "to rehabilitate and reintegrate PKK members who did not get directly involved in terrorist activities and who thus do not have blood on their hands":

Stressing the need to improve a comprehensive approach in Turkey's fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a senior US commander has suggested that this approach should also include elements which could help rehabilitate at least some members of the organization.

[ . . . ]

The fight against terrorism is "neither an ethnic nor a religious struggle" but is "solely directed against extremists who use violence," Sattler was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

Is he talking about the Americans?

Elaborating on what he meant by focusing on "a comprehensive resolution," Sattler said he hasn't suggested a general amnesty, the Anatolia reported. He added, however, that research could be carried out on how to rehabilitate and reintegrate PKK members who did not get directly involved in terrorist activities and who thus do not have blood on their hands. Sattler noted that he understands that outlining and carrying out such research would be very difficult. Turkey and the United States, although not being able to agree on every issue every time, are two allies who can sit around the same table and find a common ground through dialogue, he added.

So who, exactly, would this bogus amnesty benefit?

Perhaps General Sattler would be better employed in finding a way to control the 100,000+ rapists he sent to Iraq than talking about PKK. After all, these were the same people who sent a Lockheed Martin director to "coordinate the PKK" for Turkey, and through that "coordinator", PKK's offer of a political solution and a ceasefire were rejected out of hand, and Turkey was sold $10 billion worth of F-35's.

While we're at it, let's not forget Ralston's close ties to the ATC:

Included in ATC’s management, board of directors, and advisors; in addition to Turkish individuals of ‘interest;’ is a dizzying array of U.S. individuals. The ATC is led by Ret. General Brent Scowcroft, who serves as Chairman of the Board; George Perlman of Lockheed Martin, the Executive Vice President; other board members include: Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, Ret. General Elmer Pendleton, Ret. General Joseph Ralston, Ret. Col. Preston Hughes, Alan Colegrove of Northrop Grumman, Frank Carlucci of Carlyle Group, Christine Vick of Cohen Group, Representative Robert Wexler, Former Rep. Ed Whitfield…Basically many formers; statesmen, ‘dime a dozen generals,’ and representatives.

Of course, what would an ATC conference be without the presence of Joost Lagendijk:

The reason why Europe did not oppose Turkey's ground operation into northern Iraq was its "expectation of passing on to the civilian part of the solution following the military part," Lagendijk said. However, "the civilian operation hasn't been launched yet," he added.

No, the reason why the EU did not oppose Turkey's land operation was because, after thousands of years, it still hasn't figured out how to grow a pair.

Don't lie, Joost, old boy; the civilian operation was launched on Newroz and you damned well know it.

SUPPORT DTP MAYORS

Support the 56 Kurdish Mayors fight for the Freedom of Expression and Right to Democracy:

56 Turkish-Kurdish Mayors have exercised their Right to Freedom of Expression, by writing a letter to the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In the letter they urge the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, not to revoke the broadcast licence of the Kurdish language satellit tv-station, ROJ TV.

The Turkish State considers ROJ TV s broadcasts to be in support of the Kurdish Liberation Movement, PKK. For this reason, the Turkish State regards the letter to the Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as an expression of support to the PKK.

The Danish Radio and TV Broadcasting Commission, Det Danske Radio og TV N vn , has investigated ROJ TV s broadcasts and exonerated the TV station, finding no legal infringements of the regulations. The Commission found the broadcasts to be of commonplace news and cultural content.

Up until now the City Mayors have appeared before the Court many times, the Prosecution is now insisting on a jail term of up to 2 years. They also run the risk of being barred from holding public office, including a mayoral position. This seems particularly unreasonable, and a threat to a Publicly Elected Official's ability to do their duty.

One of the accused, Chief Burgomaster (Chief Mayor) of the Kurdish major city of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir is one of many Kurdish politicians charged in not one, but in a series of cases. All in all, he is at risk of being sentenced to 280 years in prison. All the charges against him revolve around his use of the Kurdish language, and the Right to Freedom of Expression.

March 12th, 2008, Osman Baydemir is quoted in the Danish national newspaper Politiken as saying, "For New Years I sent a greetings card to Government and the Prosecution, where I wrote, 'Happy New Year' in Turkish, English and Kurdish. All the cards were returned to Sender except the one that I sent to the Prosecution. I was pleased, and thought that maybe they were softening up a little. But as it turned out, they used the card as evidence to charge me once again, not so much because I wrote the card in Kurdish, but because I used the letter 'w' that is used in the Kurdish language but not in the Turkish. "

The next trial date is set for April 15th, 2008, where a decision is expected.

By signing this petition, you are supporting the 56 Turkish-Kurdish Mayors fight for Freedom of Expression, as well as to protest the fact that Publicly Elected Officials using this Right, can risk such a serious sentence.

You can get further information on the case at: kurdiskforum.dk

Sign the petition.



More background:

The Deadliest Enemy of Tyranny

Democratization and DTP.

The Model of Democracy.

THE DEADLIEST ENEMY OF TYRANNY

“The Framers [of the Constitution] knew that free speech is the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny.”
~ Hugo Black.

Last September I posted what has become Appendix 2 of the "Report on Local Government and Local Democracy Dynamics concerning the DTP Municipalities in Turkey," which was the DTP mayors' letter to Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen on behalf of Roj TV.

What follows is Appendix 3 of the same report--the statement of the DTP mayors to the Diyarbakir court in defense of their letter (All emphasis in the original).

**********

26.09.2006

Dear President, Honorable Members of the Court:

The indictment submitted to the court by the Prosecutor is worth considering on many grounds. At the outset, we expect the honorable Court to evaluate our words within the framework of the inviolability of the right to defense. The indictment is far from being a document of law. It is a sensational product of the socio-political process in which it was prepared and carries rather the quality of a report of complaint concluded by Inspectors of the Ministry of Interior. Furthermore, it is full of internal contradictions. In brief, the indictment constitutes an unfortunate error.

Dear President, the demands for the closing-off of the Roj TV station, the necessity felt by 56 Mayors to write a letter to the Danish Prime Minister Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the tragicomic trial today of over 50 Mayors with the demand of fifteen-year-long imprisonment sentence for each is one consequence of the anti-democratic attitudes towards the Kurdish question. However, unlike what the office of the Prosecutor has done, we shall not raise details of the Kurdish question before the Court today.

The Prosecutor asks for a total of 840 year-long imprisonment sentence for crimes we allegedly have committed in our 405-word-long letter. With a rough calculation, each word corresponds to over two years of imprisonment sentence. The indictment associates our letter with the overall political process that has evolved since the foundation of the PKK Kongra-Gel, and claims that our act of writing the latter constitutes a “conscious and intentional support for the "Organization”. With such features, the indictment provides a fertile ground for political polemics. Without entering into any polemics, we reject the indictment and disclaim the accusations raised against us.

We, however, claim hereby each of the 405 words of our famous letter and repeat the opinions we thereby expressed. Serious consideration of our letter shows that rather than simply claiming a certain TV station, it advocates respect towards freedom of thought and expression for the institution of a democratic life and a matured tolerance towards voices of dissent. That opinions expressed within such a letter have been made the subject of a trial process is but tragicomic.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Abdullah Gul had stated the following on 25 December 2006: “Those who claim that prohibitions by law still exist shall see when the verdicts are released that this is not true. Journalists used to be imprisoned for what they would write, and mayors for their poems. These are now a thing of the past” (The Daily Radikal). We did not chant any poems, but penned a letter that expressed the demands of the people whom we represent. Therefore, we are brought before the Court today.

Dear President, Honorable Members of the Court,

We would like to draw your attention to the last months of the year 2005. We decided to appeal to the Danish Prime Minister Mr. Rasmussen by a letter at a critical juncture of the Turkish-European Union relations. On the one hand, those who oppose Turkey’s entry into the European Union had intensified their corresponding endeavors, on the other hand, the positive atmosphere that followed the speech the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan gave in Diyarbakir on the Kurdish question in August 2005 had completely dissipated. The Semdinli Events of November 2005 and the new Alti-Terror Bill had created intense contentions. In December, the Orhan Pamuk case intensified discussions within both the government ranks and between the government and the opposition parties over Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC). The National Security Council was expected to convene on 29 December within this context.

In addition, discussions over supra-identity/sub-identity put forward by Prime Minister Erdogan were heavily criticized by both the General Staff and the President of the Republic. All these processes increased and intensified concerns over a democratic and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish Question. Debates over the closing-off of the Roj TV station entered into the agenda amidst such tension and as a much discussed element of the cultural rights of Kurds. While the political atmosphere was getting ever tense countrywide, people in the region whom we represent as local governors were expressing their deep concerns and worries about the possible closing-off of the Roj TV. In response to such demands of our citizens to make use of their cultural and democratic rights and relying on the civic principles of freedom of expression and freedom, we decided to write a letter as local representatives.
Driving our action was to help Turkey to overcome the narrow-minded and prohibitive attitudes towards the issue of cultural rights in its progress towards universal principles of the democratic civilization, and to achieve responsiveness to the demands and expectations of the people whom we represent. As you may know, the Roj TV station has an extensive audience in our region.

The Roj TV trial process started when the central government chose to dismiss democratic demands and authorize the Ministry of Interior for investigation. The indictment is based on reports prepared by Inspectors with the Ministry of Interior beyond the powers and duties conferred onto them by law. That is why this trial lacks a legal ground. Moreover, the issues that we raised in the letter had been conveyed both to the government and to other relevant political and administrative authorities in written reports that we prepared in the recent past. The views that had not constituted any crime then are now evidenced as reasons for the indictment of dozens of mayors.

We deem this trial to be an unfortunate result of the political process that required us to pen it in the first place. As the indictment also concedes, our letter has a squarely democratic content and is free of any elements of crime. During the same week that we sent our letter, 169 intellectuals of Turkey issued a declaration in demand for the abolishment of Article 301 of the TPC. In the same days, the Public Prosecutor of Beyoglu initiated an investigation against Joost Lagendijk concerning articles 301 and 288 of the TPC. We would like to suggest that the tense political atmosphere that we briefly mentioned above forms the contextual background of demands for the closing-off of the Roj TV, our letter regarding the issue, and its criminalization through a trial process. We believe that our letter should have opened the way for the furthering of democratic debates and openings instead of being made the subject of a trial process. It should have facilitated a process of hope, trust and mutual understanding that our society needs urgently.

Dear President, Honorable Members of the Court,

Since the Prosecutor refers to cultural rights in the indictment, we find it necessary to briefly express our opinions on the issue of cultural rights in Turkey. Bans on the right to exercise one’s cultural rights for Turkish citizens of non-Turkish ethnicity are coeval with the foundation of the Republic. A review of the 1982 Constitution alone shows that the Kurdish citizens of the Turkish Republic have been constitutionally barred from exercising their many basic human and cultural rights during the last 25 years. The recognition of the “Kurdish reality” in 1991 by the then President Suleyman Demirel had relatively eased obstacles in front of the use of Kurdish language in daily interactions and in arts and cultural production. The Sixth and Seventh Harmonization Packages passed by the Parliament as part of Turkey’s accession to the EU facilitated broadcasting in two Kurdish dialects for the first time in the Republican history. We declared on several occasions our deep regard for and appreciation of such democratic openings within the realm of cultural rights, and emphasized that these efforts should be supported by further reforms that would make it possible for all citizens of the Turkish Republic to fully enjoy their cultural rights. Such reforms should have been realized in response to the sincere demands and expectations raised by Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin and not due to pressures from the EU. We believe that the path for the achievement of social peace and sustainable development in Turkey and the institution of a dignified Turkish foreign policy would be possible if only Turkish citizens of different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds who have heretofore been barred from enjoying their basic rights are guaranteed their rights and conditions are provided to facilitate their effective participation in the process of democratic governance.

In very recent past people were sued for having Kurdish names. Some were tried in these courtrooms for using the letter “W”. As the Prime Minister had also acknowledged in his Diyarbakir speech of August 2005, the state had committed errors due to certain taboo issues. Looking at the past, we can easily say that some taboos have been breached for good. We hope that this trial contributes to the overcoming of other taboos and fears.

Reforms passed within the framework of Turkey-EU relations are of partial nature. Yet the rights that they guarantee are circumscribed to an even narrower scope with administrative statues and in practice. Within the realm of cultural rights, democratic campaigns run and petitions signed in demand for elective Kurdish language classes and for the making of Kurdish an instruction language at primary schools were met with harsh reactions by the state and government bodies. Serious limits to radio and television broadcasting are still in force. Both the applications for broadcasting licenses and conditions of broadcasting are subject to seriously narrow conditionalities. While the limits on duration of programs in the cultural field such as music and cinema were abolished, those imposed on duration of news and discussion programs are still in force. Radio programs are limited to 5 hours per week with no more than one-hour-long daily broadcast, and television programs are limited to 4 hours per week with at most 45 minutes-long broadcasting per day. Serious limits are imposed on program contents. For example, only those programs that address adult audience are permitted, while programs that might contribute to language training, including cartoons, are administratively sanctioned. The general broadcasting statue requires that the programs should be broadcasted either with simultaneous Turkish subtitles or be followed immediately by Turkish versions. This arrangement makes live broadcasting in languages other than Turkish impossible and necessitates at least two days of preparation for a 45 minutes-long program. We hold that such practices that openly contravene the universal principles of democratic civilization and that may at best be described a tragicomic are illsuited for a Turkey in the 21st century.

Dear President, Honorable Members of the Court,

The indictment, using within the say of a contradiction between our letter and the initiatives of Mr.Prime Minister and government policies, violate legal terminology and the conventions of courtesy. The letter in question was penned so as to express the demands and opinions of our people and giving no base for any extremity. It was framed with a full consciousness of democratic responsibility, and, hence, has the quality to offer a framework for the solution of the problems related to the issue of cultural rights. In fact, within a democratic state of law, Mayors have the right, just like any other citizen or group of citizens, to deviate from the government policies. Where there is any such requirement that citizens have to submit to government policies, than that regime can be called anything but democracy. We do not have any aim other than expressing the thoughts that we deem right and fair. As responsible citizens and administrators, we shall continue to express our thoughts and share our opinions on matters that would facilitate the democratic and peaceful solution of the problems of the people whom we represent. We exercised our right to freedom of expression that has been expressed in universal human rights documents and the Turkish national Acquis. We are before the court for having exercised this right. While we intended by way of this letter to draw attention to the inviolability of the freedom of expression, to the impending necessity of promoting a culture of tolerance towards difference, in brief to the value of freedom of thought and democratic participation, we found ourselves criminals of expression. It is impossible in this regard to make sense of the confusions the indictment presents itself with. The indictment both states that the content of the text does not constitute a crime, and it wants 840-year-long imprisonment sentence for us, the defendants. As such the document pushes the limits of law to an extreme. We shall not ask the claimants be suspended or barred from duty, as it is sometimes the case with other trials. Yet we do ask this case be dropped. This case unfortunately shows that we have yet a lot to achieve for bringing our country to the consciousness of the rights and freedoms of the democratic civilization. Within this larger context, we see this indictment that raises unfair and baseless accusations against us as an instance of intolerance towards democratic rights and freedoms. We firmly believe that this honorable court shall restore justice by bringing this infringement on our rights to an end and protect the freedom of thought which forms the basis of all other rights and freedoms in a democratic country.

4. In conclusion;

As stated in our letter, we hold that the prohibitive and restrictive view towards cultural rights in general, and the Kurdish written and visual media in particular, should be superseded and that a more embracing and inclusive approach that listens to popular demands and claims fundamental rights and freedoms should prevail in our country.

The problem cannot be solved by the closing-off of the Roj TV station. As the indictment also mentions, other Kurdish broadcasting stations that operated abroad had been closed-off before the Roj TV was established. This means that darkening the screens is no solution. On the contrary, the solution of our problems requires that Kurdish-language programs be produced and disseminated within this ancient land that we inhabit without being hindered by law or by administrative measures. The solution of our problems would be enabled by the airing of such broadcasts from Istanbul, Ankara or Diyarbakir.

Our people sincerely demand that Kurdish language and culture which have long-been neglected and subjected to discriminatory practices be supported and encouraged by the State institutions. As the Prime Minister himself stated, this is the only way to redress the historical wrongs done to the Kurdish language and culture.

No television or radio station should be banned or shut down. No letters, no books, no poems, no cartoons, no movies should be punished. The punishment of peaceful products of humanity is the heaviest blow against democratic values.

Legal bans and administrative limits imposed upon the length and content of radio and television broadcasts should be abolished. One does not need to agree with the content of the programs. Yet the closing-off of an entire broadcasting station is something that we need to stand against according to the principles of democratic culture.

Enjoying the right to freely express one’s thoughts is a sine qua non of democratic deliberation. What we call democratic culture flourishes upon mutual understanding and tolerance. Bans on the freedom of expression constitute the biggest obstacles before establishing a culture of democracy and devising means for a peaceful solution of our problems. We have but to overcome this obstacle.

The labeling of our most democratic demands as “terrorism” and the criminalization of our democratic and peaceful demands and actions with purely political decisions deepens the crisis of trust between the State and citizens of Kurdish origin. The restoration of a bridge of trust between the two shall be possible only insofar as the State responds to people’s demands and takes necessary steps for their realization.

Albeit limited, the State institutions and Government authorities have so far realized significant reforms. Our endeavor is to integrate the demands of citizens for rights and freedoms into the ongoing process of democratization in our country, to complete the democratic reform process altogether and powerfully, and to take Turkey to the level of democratic civilization which it deserves.

We hope that the result of this trial that convened us here today beyond the limits of law and as a byproduct of the political atmosphere and the rising nationalist climate that surrounds our country shall in effect contribute to the democratic reform process.

Respectfully yours,