Live Program Ends After Police Interference

A public debate on problems of writers in Diyarbakir on "Gun TV" was cancelled after police appeared at the scene with a warrant allowing them to video the panel. TV producer Dogan says enforcement was "against freedom of press and broadcasting".

BIA News Center
20/11/2006 Erol ONDEROGLU

BİA (Diyarbakir ) - A debate focusing on the problems of writers in the Southeast province of Diyarbakir which was organized under the scope of the city's metropolitan municipality "Literature Days" activities was cancelled on Saturday when the police appeared on site with a warrant to video the panel.

Reacting to the incident, GUN TV producer Cemal Dogan said he had "difficulties in understanding the logic behind this attempt".

"What is the logic of trying to video a program that everyone, including the police, could watch live anyway?" he asked, noting that neither the warrant nor its enforcement were proper and branding them a violation of press and broadcasting freedoms.

Dogan told bianet that GUN TV was scheduled to broadcast the debate live on November 18 when the police appeared on site with a warrant and said they would be videoing the event.

"We had to show our attitude there" he said. "We did not permit the program to go ahead both because the municipality theatre hall was where we had set up our studios and because those in the hall would have been intimidated by the presence of police.

According to the programs announced Adil Kurt,the live broadcast of Gun TV lasted for only a minute when talks between the 4-man police team and organizers of the program and debate failed.

The police, Dogan added, were told they could observe the discussion without using their radios or camera but had informed them that they strictly needed to video the event as they had been ordered to do so.

One of the targets of Gun TV was to screen the first live television of such an event in Diyarbakir .

About 20 writers including author Migirdic Margosyan were present for the debate the live discussion which was organized as part of the municipality's November 16-19 activity of "Literature days for a more peaceful world". (EO/II