Roj TV

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Infobox radio tower icon
Roj TV
Station logo
TV channel
reception via satellite :

via cable ( DVB-C ): in parts of Switzerland and Sweden

Start of transmission March 1, 2004
owner Mesopotamia Broadcast A / S (METV A / S)
Intendant Manouchehr Tahsili Zonoozi
List of TV channels
Website

Roj TV was a Kurdish-speaking television station based in Denmark and the central information medium of the underground organization PKK . Like Kurd Yek , TRT 6 and Kurdistan TV, it broadcast in the main language in Kurmanji . Roj TV also broadcast individual programs in Sorani , Gorani , Zazaki , Turkish , Arabic and Aramaic . The station name Roj is Kurdish and means "sun" or "day". The station ceased operations in 2012.

History and Development

The predecessors of Roj TV were the Kurdish channels MED-TV and MEDYA-TV, which were closed because of their proximity to the PKK .

Prohibition of the predecessors MED-TV and MEDYA-TV

The channel MED TV started broadcasting from London in March 1995. After three administrative fines totaling 90,000 pounds in January 1998, the broadcasting license was finally withdrawn by the British regulatory authority (Independent Television Commission) on April 23, 1999, because the broadcaster repeatedly called for violence in connection with the arrest of Abdullah Öcalan .

On July 30, 1999, the successor MEDYA TV began broadcasting from a broadcasting center in Belgium and applied for a French broadcasting license, which was refused by the French authority CSA (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel) because of the links to the PKK, which had been in France since 1993 is banned. After confirmation by the French Court of Cassation, the television broadcaster MEDYA-TV was finally withheld its French broadcasting license on February 12, 2004.

On March 1, 2004, Roj TV began operations with a live broadcast. Roj TV broadcasts with a Danish license from the Belgian broadcasting center in Denderleeuw, where over 100 people from all over Europe work.

Prohibition proceedings in Denmark

The Turkish government has been trying since November 2005 to persuade Denmark to close Roj TV, as this station is also very close to the PKK. The Danish Council responsible for the trial dismissed this complaint on the grounds that it was not competent to take decisions on relations between broadcasters and organizations ; the Council forwarded the complaint to the Danish police. The accusation that the broadcaster “incites hatred” was also rejected. The council justified, "... that it does not have to be incitement if an organization or person etc. ... has a certain opinion. (...) The mere passing on of information could not with the term" incitement "( tilskyndelse) ".

56 mayors of the Kurdish DTP from southeast Turkey have petitioned the Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen , not to close Roj TV. The Turkish public prosecutor's office then sued the pro-Kurdish mayors because Roj TV also broadcasts news about the PKK. In a radio interview on June 16, 2006, Rasmussen was very surprised that he had even received a petition. He criticized the Turkish authorities, which accused the mayor of a petition. Rasmussen recalled the democratic values ​​of Europe. 53 of the accused mayors were sentenced to 2 months' imprisonment in April 2008, which was then converted into fines.

The Turkish Embassy has filed another complaint with the Danish Media Inspectorate, but was rejected a second time in April 2008.

On September 10, 2010, prosecutors brought criminal charges against Roj TV and Mesopotamia Broadcast for supporting terrorism. On January 10, 2012, the Copenhagen court ruled that Roj TV is an instrument of the PKK in terms of financial, structural and operational links. The court sentenced Roj TV and Mesopotamia Broadcast to fines totaling 5.2 million DKR (almost 700,000 euros), but did not revoke the broadcaster's license to broadcast. On January 23, 2012, the Danish media regulator opened new proceedings against the Roj TV operator Mesopotamia Broadcast based on the findings of the judgment. On July 3, 2013, Denmark revoked its broadcasting license from Roj TV. This judgment was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2014. In 2014 Roj TV took the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). May 24th. In 2018, the ECHR finally decided that the withdrawal of the broadcasting license was legal in Denmark.

Procedure in Belgium

On February 18, 2008, officials from the Belgian Ministry of Finance raided the Roj TV studios in Denderleeuw . The television station was fined four million euros by a Belgian court for tax evasion as the successor to MED TV, against which various proceedings have been pending since 1996. The broadcaster was asked to pay by February 28, 2008. As a result, Roj TV smuggled money, parts of the television equipment and funds to Denmark and Germany. The television equipment was housed in Roj TV's German studios, while the money was transferred to various accounts of employees and PKK members.

On March 4, 2010, the headquarters was stormed by the Belgian police and the broadcast of the program was temporarily interrupted.

Prohibition in Germany

In January 2008, Kabel BW stopped broadcasting Roj TV in Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein . The German Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the operation of Roj TV in the Federal Republic of Germany in mid-June 2008, since the station was integrated into the organizational structure of the PKK. This is confirmed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution , in the 2006 report on the Protection of the Constitution it says: “Further organizational reporting will take place via the television station Roj-TV, which is stationed in Denmark”. The German studio in Wuppertal was then closed. At the same time, the production company VIKO, which works for Roj TV in Germany, was banned and their assets were confiscated. All over Europe, Kurds protested against the broadcasting ban, which is why a nationwide signature campaign was started.

At the beginning of July, German mountaineers were kidnapped on the Ararat and a change in "anti-Kurdish" German policy and the lifting of the Roj TV ban were demanded. The hostages, whom PKK spokesman Ahmed Deniz described as "guests of honor", were released on July 20, 2008 after twelve days.

On May 14, 2009, the Federal Administrative Court decided in an urgent procedure that the actions for avoidance against the prohibition of Roj TV have suspensive effect . The Federal Administrative Court suspended the proceedings in February 2010 and referred a question for a preliminary ruling to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on cases C ‑ 244/10 and C ‑ 245/10 . The ECJ ruled on September 22, 2011 that German association bans due to a violation of the concept of international understanding do not contravene European law (in particular television directive 89/552 / EEC ), "provided that the measures mentioned do not restrict the retransmission in the true sense of television programs that these organizers broadcasts from the other Member State, prevent in the territory of the receiving Member State ".

Withdrawal of broadcasting slots on satellites

On January 19, 2012, Eutelsat announced that Roj TV's presence on Eutelsat will be terminated. The reason given was the judgment of the Copenhagen Court of January 10, 2012, according to which Roj TV is an instrument of the PKK in terms of financial, structural and operational links. According to information from Roj TV director Imdat Yilmaz on January 23, 2012, the station can only be viewed via the Internet stream. Roj TV announced that it would be receivable via satellites of the US Intelsat from January 26, 2012 , but Intelsat also withdrew Roj TV's broadcasting slot on January 31, 2012.

program

The following topics are broadcast in the Roj TV program:

  • Morning programs (Rojbas Kurdistan)
  • Children's programs (cartoons in Kurdish)
  • Women's programs (health, education, women's rights, etc.),
  • Feature films (in Kurdish)
  • Documentaries (about animals, countries and peoples)
  • Music programs (with guests and live performances)
  • Cooking shows
  • Programs about Kurdish poetry
  • Programs about human rights
  • Portraits of Kurdish cities and villages
  • Portraits of Kurdish celebrities
  • Portraits of fallen guerrilla fighters and their families
  • Reports of life as a guerrilla fighter
  • Politics (current events in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and the world)
  • News from all over the world
  • Youth program (Ciwan)

Main topics of the news from Roj TV

The main themes of the Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish language news programs from Roj TV:

  • The state of health of Abdullah Öcalan , visits to his lawyers or siblings, notifications, assessments of the situation and recommendations transmitted by his lawyers
  • Announcements by Murat Karayılan , Chairman of the Executive Council of Koma Civakên Kurdistan , a successor organization to the PKK (often with calls to Kurdish youth to join the underground organization HPG in the northern Iraqi mountains)
  • Announcement by the PKK women's organization
  • In the pronouncements
  • Actions (signature campaigns, hunger strikes, etc.)
  • Funeral ceremonies for HPG fighters
  • Clashes between the fighters of the People's Defense Forces
  • Repressions against the DTP and general state repression
  • State crackdown on Kurds in Europe
  • Pro-Kurdish rallies in Turkey and Europe
  • Seasonal major events of the Kurds and the PKK (Nouruz celebrations, Week of Martyrs, Kurdish Culture Festival, Zilan Women's Festival, commemorative events for the so-called international plot against Öcalan)
  • International events
  • Kurdistan

See also

Web links

Federal Constitutional Protection Reports

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , [2]  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 28, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bellikon.ch  @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / newwww.intergga-ag.ch  
  2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. UPC Sverige AB, accessed October 28, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.upc.se
  3. ↑ Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution : Report on the Protection of the Constitution 2012, page 336 ( Memento of the original dated December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 29, 2013 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.verfassungsschutz.de
  4. ↑ Med TV: 'Kurdistan in the sky' BBC Monitoring, March 23, 1999
  5. ↑ a b c Interim Report on the Protection of the Constitution in NRW 2004 ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.im.nrw.de
  6. ↑ A controversial Kurdish broadcaster in Belgium  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Sylvie Ahrens, inforadio close-up, August 6, 2008@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www2.inforadio.de  
  7. ↑ merlin.obs.coe.int: Lawsuit of the Turkish Embassy against the Kurdish ROJ TV Elisabeth Thuesen, Legal Review of the European Audiovisual Observatory IRIS 2005-7: 10/17, accessed on April 8, 2008
  8. ^ Nicole F. Watts: Activists in office, Kurdish politics and protest in Turkey . University of Washington Press, Seattle 2010, ISBN 978-0-295-99050-7 , pp. 117-118 .
  9. ↑ Radio and TV board decision  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.mediesekretariatet.dk, April 23, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.mediesekretariatet.dk  
  10. ↑ Roj TV  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Radio and Television Board, Last updated: March 20, 2012@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bibliotekogmedier.dk  
  11. ↑ a b Eutelsat press release: Declaration by Eutelsat on the Roj TV channel (PDF; 100 kB) January 19, 2012
  12. ↑ a b Danish Radio and Television Board opens new proceedings in Roj TV case european platform of regulatory authorities, February 9, 2012
  13. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zaman.com.tr
  14. ↑ Kurdish broadcaster fails before the ECHR | Institute for European Media Law. Accessed November 28, 2018 (German).
  15. ↑ Divergent European approaches to combating PKK terrorism  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Abdulkadir Onay, TurkishDailyNews, April 19, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.turkishdailynews.com.tr  
  16. ↑ Annemie DECLERCQ en Patrick LEFELON: 'Sheriff' blundert in proces van 50 miljoen nieuwsblad.be October 16, 2004
  17. ↑ Roj TV'ye 4 milyon euroluk vergi cezası , CNNTÜRK ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 3, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cnnturk.com
  18. ↑ Roj TV'nin malvarlığı kaçırılıyor , CNNTÜRK ( Memento of the original from November 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 3, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cnnturk.com
  19. ↑ Belgium deals heaviest blow to PKK in Europe  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. TODAY'S ZAMAN 4 March 2010@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.todayszaman.com  
  20. ^ Constitutional Protection Report 2006, page 285, paragraph: Use of the media ( memento from August 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution , accessed on February 20, 2008
  21. ↑ The Kurdish station that aroused Schäuble's anger , Spiegel Online from July 11, 2008, accessed on August 14, 2008
  22. ↑ The ban on operating ROJ TV must be lifted immediately! ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Freiheit-fuer-Roj-TV.de, accessed on August 14, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.freiheit-fuer-roj-tv.de
  23. ↑ PKK: No release - hostages are "guests of honor" n-tv on July 14, 2008
  24. ↑ Annette Ramelsberger: BND arranged for the hostages to be released ( memento of the original from August 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Süddeutsche Zeitung of July 22, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sueddeutsche.de
  25. ↑ Press release of the BVerwG of May 19, 2009 ( Memento of the original of August 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / bverwg.de
  26. ^ Mesopotamia Broadcast A / S METV (C-244/10) and Roj TV A / S (C-245/10) against the Federal Republic of Germany. References for a preliminary ruling: Bundesverwaltungsgericht - Germany. Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 22 September 2011.
  27. ↑ Omstridt kurdisk tv kan kun ses på nettet ( Memento of the original from January 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Politiken , January 23, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / politiken.dk
  28. ↑ Roj TV now via US satellites  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Radio Eins media magazine "Radio-News" from January 29, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.radioeins.de  
  29. ↑ a b Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution : Report on the Protection of the Constitution 2007, page 220 ff ( memento from September 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on July 11, 2008