Support For MED-TV

[kurd-l at burn.ucsd.edu]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at locust.cic.net>

American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
Press Release #11
July 24, 1996
Telephone: (202) 483-6444

Support For MED-TV

Earlier this month, bowing to pressure from the Turkish government, the
broadcasting rights for the Europe-based Kurdish satellite station MED-TV
were revoked. There has been much outcry from the Kurdish Diaspora
concerning this crackdown on freedom of expression. We received the
following letters of support for MED-TV from the jailed members of the
Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) in Ankara Prison and from noted Turkish
intellectual Haluk Gerger. We wished to share them with you:


        "MED-TV brought life to the Kurdish cultural scene the way water
and air do these things to living organisms. It was a source of news for
the Kurds and a mirror that reflected their reality to them. Thanks to
MED-TV, the Kurdish language was coming alive, something which threatened
those who wanted to suffocate it.
        "MED-TV epitomized the hope of the Kurdish people for renewal; it
was a magnet which drew the Kurds together. For these reasons, we condemn
those who wish it to be banned and ask for its broadcasting to resume
immediately."

Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan, Selim Sadak
(jailed Kurdish members of the Turkish Parliament)


        "I am a Turkish academic. I have appeared in virtually all Turkish
TV networks as well as some foreign TV channels. I have never experienced
the complete freedom of expression that I've had in various MED-TV
programs. MED-TV was a forum where all voices that were either persecuted
or otherwise barred to express themselves freely in countries like Turkey,
Iraq, Syria, and Iran could find a prominent place for themselves: peace
activists, members of ethnic or religious minorities, women, politicians,
spokespersons for marginalized communities, etc. It was also a medium
through which democratic values like free discussion, dissent, criticism,
and tolerance could be transmitted to millions who never in their daily
lives have had the chance to indulge in such "luxuries". It was a school
for millions to understand and respect different cultures, values, and
perspectives. It was indeed a garden of cultures where a thousand roses
blossomed. It is disheartening, to say the least, to see this garden
brutalized and vandalized.
        "Working for it, watching it, or participating in its programs, we
have been infected with the 'disease of freedom', as its enemies would call
our yearning for MED-TV. We cherish this wonderful experiment and will do
our best to have it back."

Dr. Haluk Gerger


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American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN)
2623 Connecticut Avenue NW #1
Washington, DC 20008-1522

Tel: (202) 483-6444
Fax: (202) 483-6476
E-mail: akin at kurdish.org
Home Page: http://burn.ucsd.edu/~akin
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"The American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN) provides a public service
to foster Kurdish-American understanding and friendship"