Roj TV

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Roj TV is an International Kurdish satellite television station broadcasting programmes in the Kurmanci, Sorani, and Hewremani dialects of the Kurdish language as well as Zazaki, Persian, Arabic, Syriac/Assyrian, and Turkish.

1 Programing
2 Controversy
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Programing

The channel broadcasts from Denmark as well as having some office and Studio facilities in Belgium and transmits on the Hotbird satellite (13 Degrees East) to Europe and the Middle East on 12.476 GHz Horizontal.

Programming on Roj TV consists of news, political discussion programs and cultural programming (particularly music and occasional films) with a small amount of children's, entertainment and educational programming. As well as programming in various Kurdish dialects Roj TV broadcasts in Turkish (aimed at both Turks and assimilated Kurds) Persian and several other languages spoken in the region. Very occasionally films are broadcast with English subtitles.

[edit] Controversy

The Turkish Government claims the channel is a mouthpiece for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whom they regard as a terrorist organization, as do the UK, U.S. and EU, and lobbied the Danish government to revoke Roj's broadcasting license.^[1] Previously, Turkey has successfully lobbied other European Governments including UK and France for the closure of allegedly PKK supported TV channels such as Med TV and Medya TV. Med TV broadcast for five years until its license was revoked by British regulators Independent Television Commission. The ITC imposed three fines totaling £90,000 on MED TV for three separate breaches of the requirement for due impartiality before the closure.^[2]

The Kurdish language was forbidden from the media in Turkey until recently when restrictions were slightly weakened. State-owned TRT makes Kurdish broadcasts once per week, and some local TV and radio stations just started broadcasting 45 minutes per day of Kurdish programs with Turkish sub-titles.