ISTANBUL – Turkish state television has opened a Kurdish channel, TRT6, on the first of January. Prime Minister Erdogan caused some excitement by declaring in Kurdish in a recorded interview for the channel that he hopes it will be beneficial. Various Kurdish artists will collaborate in the opening programme.
The channel, which will be broadcasting in Kurdish 24 hours a day, is supposed to meet Kurdish demands for more democratic rights. As well, TRT6 hopes to lure viewers away from Roj TV, the Kurdish satellite channel which broadcasts from Denmark and is seen in Turkey as a propaganda channel of Kurdish separatist movement PKK. But there is also scepticism: critics think the governing AK Party only wants to woo voters from the southeast of Turkey: there are local elections in March and in the Kurdish areas there will be fierce competition between the AKP and (pro-Kurdish) DTP. Critics also fear that the channel is only a band-aid solution and will not bring any closer the recognition of Kurdish identity.