Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Board (RTUK) last week authorized state television and radio to air limited broadcasts in regional languages and dialects.
Time limitations to broadcasts and the requirement to air Turkish recaps of radio programs are "unnecessary measures," according to Dink. "These implementations would not be accepted by the public."
"In this atmosphere of distrust, people will not accept such tiny bits of rights. Maybe such implementations could work for a temporary period, but in time, these rights need to be expanded and the half-hour time limitation should be stepped up to 24 hours."
The regulation should exclude minorities
Dink considers the broadcasting regulation within the framework of minority rights.
"The Armenians, Greeks and the Jews, who have all been recognized as minorities through the Lausanne Pact, should be excluded by this regulation." Dink told.
"The minorities in this country can speak their own languages and are granted educational and cultural rights. Minorities are granted greater rights. We have our own schools. But we don't have our own radio or television channels. Not because we don't have the right to, but because we don't have the financial or human resources to set up radio or television channels. We have never tried this up to today anyway. None of the minorities in Turkey applied to establish a radio channel. Thus, we don't know if the state would try to prevent that."
Armenians are getting ready to establish a radio channel
"The Armenians, who have no broadcasting experience, are preparing a project to establish a radio station," said Dink. However, they are having problems with finding financial and human resources:
"We have only just started thinking about establishing a radio station. We will send our application soon. We will find the necessary financial resources and establish our own radio channel. If the state television TRT offers us cooperation, we can think about that. But I find limitations like, translations, subtitles, and time-limitations, unnecessary. I believe it is time that the state trusts every segment of the society." (HA/BB/EA/NM)
