ntv; South eastern mayors investigated over Roj-TV letter

Prosecutors are assessing whether the letter to the Danish Prime Minister constituted propaganda on behalf of an illegal organisation.

Güncelleme: 11:36 TSİ 03 Ocak 2006 Salı

DIYARBAKIR - Turkish prosecutors are considering laying charges against the mayors of more than 50 municipalities in Turkey's south east after they signed a letter calling on Denmark not to close a television station Ankara says supports PKK.

The mayors of 56 municipalities, last week signed a letter calling on Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen not to heed Turkish calls to close down Roj-TV, a pro-Kurdish station that broadcasts out of Copenhagen. Ankara says that the station broadcasts propaganda on behalf of the PKK and is controlled and funded by it.

The pro-Kurdish mayors said that shutting Roj-TV would harm Kurds in Turkey as it would close an avenue of Kurdish language and culture.
On Monday, judicial officials said that the office of the chief prosecutor was looking into the circumstances of the letter to establish whether it constituted a criminal act.

"If a crime is found to have been committed, an investigation will be opened against the mayors for making propaganda on behalf of an illegal organisation and for praising the crime and the criminal," the Reuters news agency quoted an official as saying.