Mayors in Northern Kurdistan and Turkey petition Rasmussen over ROJ TV

His Excellency Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Prime Minister's Office
ChristianborgPrins Jørgens Gård 11DK-1218 Copenhagen KDenmark Diyarbakır, December 27, 2005
Dear Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen:
This letter is to express our concerns about the ongoing debates and developments around the situation of ROJ TV. As the members of Democratic Society Party (DTP) who are mayors of 56 municipalities located predominantly in the Kurdish-populated regions of Turkey, we are worried about the anti-democratic approaches through which the case of ROJ TV is being handled by Turkish government in the international arena. Unfortunately, we observe that there still exists a fundamental difference between Turkey and the European civilization in matters of freedom of press and expression.
That the ROJ TV broadcasts are aired from Europe is a disturbing fact for us, too. This has been a direct consequence of the constitutional and legal regulations that do not allow for free Kurdish broadcasting in Turkey. It was only thanks to the pressures in the process of Turkey's integration with the EU that Turkey has granted limited rights for Kurdish language broadcasts, with state television airing 45-minute programs on a weekly basis. Privately-owned local television stations wanting to broadcast in Kurdish, on the other hand, are still faced with legal and often arbitrary administrative obstacles. As is also well-known by the international community, restrictions on freedom of expression are situated at the heart of the authoritarian political tradition that has repressed any kind of difference in terms of culture, language and identity in Turkey. We expect the Turkish government to abide by and fulfill the political criteria stated in the Copenhagen Document. So, rather than banning the ROJ TV, we hope that Turkey will eventually legalize, embrace and become a constituent of the voice of ROJ TV. We wish that one day ROJ TV will be able to broadcast from nowhere else but from Istanbul, Ankara or Diyarbakir, and will be only one among many other Kurdish TV stations that will be launched also with the support of Turkish government.
It is a well-known fact that ROJ TV has millions of audiences within and outside Turkey. Whether one agrees or not with the broadcasting policy of the TV station, the content and arguments of its programs, is something to be discussed, and should always be discussed given the fact that free flow of information and ideas is the lifeblood of political debates. But the banning of ROJ TV would not contribute to our efforts to create a truly pluralistic and democratic life in Turkey. We believe that, within the current state of politics, voice of ROJ TV represents a constructive and positive contribution towards the progress of freedom of expression, that is, one of the essential foundations of European democratic civilization that cannot yet be fully guaranteed within Turkey.
For a truly democratic life to flourish in Turkey, ROJ TV should not be silenced. This is the sincere and common demand of the people we represent at the level of local governments. The elimination of the voice of ROJ TV would mean the loss of an important vehicle in the struggle for democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms of democratic civilization.
Kind regards,
1- Osman BAYDEMİR Mayor, Diyarbakır Metropolitan President, Union of South-Eastern Anatolia Region Municipalities
2- Husseyin KALKAN Mayor , Batman3- Ahmet ERTAK Mayor, Sirnak 4- Metin TEKÇE Mayor, Hakkari 5- Songül Erol ABDİL Mayor, Tunceli 6- Firat ANLI Mayor, Yenişehir 7-Yurdusev ÖZSÖKMENLER Mayor, Bağlar 8-Kutbettin TASKIRAN Mayor, Silvan Bayrambaşı 9-Zülküf KARATEKİN Mayor, Kayapınar 10- Nadir BINGOL Mayor, Ergani 11-Abdullah DEMİRBAŞ Mayor, Suriçi 12- Sukran AYDIN Mayor, Bismil 13-Fikret KAYA Mayor, Silvan 14-Şeyhmus BAYHAN Mayor, Lice 15-Abdullah AKENGIN Mayor, Dicle 16-Mehmet KAYA Mayor, Kocaköy 17-Esat ONER Mayor, Batman Gercüş 18-Murat CEYLAN Mayor, Siirt Kurtalan 19-Seyfettin AYDIN Mayor, Siirt Gökçebağ 20-Ethem ŞAHIN Mayor, Urfa Suruç 21-Emrullah CIN Mayor, Viranşehir 22-İsmail ARSLAN Mayor, Ceylanpınar 23-Huseyin OGRETMEN Mayor, Halfeti Y.Göklü 24-Aydin BUDAK Mayor, Cizre 25-Resul SADAK Mayor, İdil 26-Muhsin KONUR Mayor, Silopi 27-Gulcihan ŞIMŞEK Mayor, Van Bostaniçi 28-Hurşit TEKİN Mayor, Şemdinli 29-Faik DURSUN Mayor, Beytulşebap 30-M.Salih YILDIZ Mayor, Yüksekova 31-Hurşit ALTEKİN Mayor, Hakkari Esendere 32-Ayhan ERKMEN Mayor, Mardin Dargeçit33-Cihan SINCAR Mayor, Kızıltepe 34-Molla ŞİMŞEK Mayor, Konya Cihanbeyli Gölyazı 35-Ramazan KAPAN Mayor, Mardin Derik 36- Nuran ATLI Mayor, Mazıdağı 37-Mehmet TANHAN Mayor, Nusaybin 38-Ayhan ERKMEN Mayor, Kars Digor Dağpınar 39-M.Selim DEMIR Mayor, Batman Bekirhan 40-A. Kadir AĞAOĞLU Mayor, Kızıltepe Şenyurt 41-A.Kerim ADAN Mayor, Mardin Yalımlı 42-Zeyniye ONER Mayor, Savur Sürgücü 43-Demir ÇELİK Mayor, Muş Varto 44-Tahir KAHRAMANER Mayor, Malazgirt 45-Ali YILDIZ Mayor, Malazgirt Gölkuru 46-Orhan ÖZER Mayor, Bulanık Rüstem Gedik 47-Mukaddes KUBILAY Mayor, Doğubeyazıt 48- M.Nezir ARAS Mayor, Bulanık 49-Nusret ARAS Mayor, Iğdır Hoşhaber 50- Leyla GUVEN Mayor, Adana Seyhan Küçükdikili 51-Muzaffer YÖNDEMLİ Mayor, Aydın Ovaeymir 52-Osman KESER Mayor, Adana Yakapınar 53-Hasan KARAKAYA Mayor, Yaylakonak54-Seyfettin ALKAN Mayor, Batman Balpınar 55- Burhan KORHAN Mayor, Batman Beşiri 56- Fahrettin ASLAN Mayor, Beşiri İkiköprü