Official Gazzette in The Kurdish Language

The "Our Cultures are Our Wealth" program broadcasted in the Kirmanchi dialect of Kurdish on TRT3 channel, carried reports on the government, economy and culture. There was no mention of the recent developments in the region.

BIA News Center, 05/12/2005, Erol ONDEROGLU

BİA (Ankara) - The Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) began broadcasting programs in the Kirmanchi dialect of Kurdish on November 30. TRT had begun broadcasts in languages and dialects other than Turkish a year and a half ago.

The "Our Cultures are Our Wealth" program at 10:30 a.m. on TRT3, carried reports about statements made by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and members of the government.

News about the government but nothing on Southeastern Anatolia

The news program carried reports about the Italian President's meeting with President Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with a group of Italian businessmen, Agriculture and Village Affairs Minister Mehdi Eker's statements on agriculture debts and subsidies to farmers, the viniculture meeting attended by State Minister Abdullatif Sener in Ankara, the statement by Health Minister Recep Akdag that "there still are difficulties in appointing doctors to the east and southeast," the meeting of Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul with the First Deputy of the Prime Minister of Qatar.

Other reports were about Ahiska Turks who were exiled 61 years ago, the AIDA warning by the United Nations, nutrition and weight warnings during the winter months, the "Kaleici is our love" watercolor exhibition on the historic Kaleici site in Antalya, and the "Use of Biological Species" project launched to revive the anchovy in the Black sea.

No mention of "Hakkari" in Kirmanchi news

There was no reports about the developments in Hakkari, Semdinli and Yuksekova, where there have been bomb attacks and protests recently.

The sports program carried reports on the Fenerbahce-Milan football game of the past week, and the news that the Japanese government granted 1.8 million dollars to Turkey to support sports.

"Returning to village" song

During the music program, TRT broadcasted song with choruses and images of folk dances, named, "Nobody's left in our village," and a song by Memocan from Urfa named, "Aman Dilo."

The "Anatolia's Beauties" program carried images of weaver Ummu Karakus in the Pamukkale region of the province of Denizli. The famous buldan fabric of the region was presented to the viewers during the program. The "From Blue to Green" program was about raising calf.

TRT has been broadcasting programs in different languages and dialects for the past year and a half.

While Kurdish broadcasts are banned in local media, Radio 1 and TRT3 broadcasts programs in the Bosnian language on Mondays, in Arabic on Tuesdays, in the Kirmanchi dialect on Wednesdays, Circassian language on Thursdays and in the Zaza dialect on Fridays.

TRT had started broadcasts in different languages on June 7 with a Bosnian-language program after an ordinance on broadcasts in languages and dialects other than Turkish was published on January 25, 2004. (EO/EA/YE)