RTUK stated in its decision that the discussion between lawyer Cemal Yucel and his guest Lutfu Kaleli during the radio program called "A Look at the Law," contained elements that infringed the RTUK Law that "broadcasts shall not instigate the community to violence, terror or ethnic discrimination or give rise to feelings of hatred in the community."
Closing Down by Court Order
The Cultural Association of the Federation of Alevi-Bektashi Institutions was closed down by the order of an Ankara court. The court, on February 13, 2002, ruled that the cultural association was promoting a sectarian belief and religious separatism.
The association was closed down on grounds that it infringed the 5/6 article of the Associations' Law, which states that, "It is forbidden to set up an association that creates minorities in the Republic of Turkey, by means of protecting, developing, or disseminating language or cultures other than the Turkish language and culture; or with the purpose of ensuring that a certain region, race, class, or people of a certain language or sect, dominates others or have more privileges."
RTUK Accused
In the weekly program called "A Look at the Law" on Anatolia's Voice radio station, Lawyer Cemal Yucel, who prepares and hosts the program, and his guest discussed the Ankara court's order to close down the Cultural Association of the Federation of Alevi-Bektashi Institutions.
According to the statement issued by RTUK on April 3, 2002, the dialog between Yucel and his guest, the Alevi writer Lutfu Kaleli during the radio program on February 28, contained elements that infringed broadcasting laws, and caused the 180-day suspension.
In the suspension notice delivered to the radio station, RTUK stated it was determined that, Yucel pointed out that the views of the Alevis and the official view of the state opposed each other and said, "There exists a state with Islam religion, Hanafi sect and racist aspects."
RTUK stated that it had determined that writer Kaleli said, "How can you express yourself in a rationale which says, 'They want to assimilate the Alevis. The only temple of Islam is the mosque. Cem houses, the temple of the people belonging to the Alevi sect, are evidences of separatism. The ones who want to establish Alevistan are the next largest threat to the unity of the Republic of Turkey after PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party.' "
"This is a Political Decision"
Stating that these expressions that took part in the discussion breached the related article of the RTUK Law, the broadcasting watchdog suspended the radio station for 180 days starting on May 2, 2002. Lawyer Yucel said the sentences that caused the suspension of the radio station were deliberately picked out from the whole of the discussion.
"We were discussing whether an institution like the Department of Religious Affairs could exist in a secular state structure. The RTUK decision is based on sentences that were deliberately picked out from the whole of the discussion.
The whole of the discussion did not include or aim to include elements that would breach the related article. Moreover, the things Mr. Kaleli said were not his own words. He was quoting what others had said concerning the Alevis."
Lawyer Yucel, who stressed that the decision was purely political, said that they would go to an appeals court and demand that the decision be overruled.
The employees and the managers of the radio station have given a press conference about the RTUK decision at the Turkish Journalists' Community on the 12th of April.
52 years and 6 months' Silence
Since the day it was established in April 1994, RTUK imposed temporary broadcasting bans to all television broadcasters and radio stations, for a total of 19 thousand 207 days, for violating various articles of the Law on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and their Broadcasts, Law No: 3984.
These 52 years and 6 months of penalties that have fallen into the lot of all national and local radio and television enterprises, varied from a day up to a year. In the first quarter of 2002, the temporary broadcasting bans that the radio and television enterprises received, totaled to 3008 days.
The Temporary Broadcasting Bans in 2002 totaled 8 years and 3 months In its last meeting on April 3, 2002, RTUK suspended 6 national broadcasters for a total of 9 days, and 6 local broadcasters for a total of 335 days, for violating various articles of the Law on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and their Broadcasts, Law No: 3984. With these suspensions, the total temporary broadcasting bans imposed by RTUK since January 2002, went up to 3 thousand and 8 days, which adds up to 8 years and 3 months.
Since it was established in April 1994, the total amount of temporary broadcasting bans RTUK imposed on radio stations and television broadcasters added up to 16 thousand 199 days, which adds up to about 44 years and 3 months.
Up to today, RTUK has imposed 14 thousand 803 days (40 years and 5 months) of temporary broadcasting bans to all radio stations and television broadcasters for divisive, disruptive and reactionary broadcasts that threaten the territorial and national integrity of the Turkish Republic.
The suspensions imposed for this reason constitute 91.3 percent of the entire temporary broadcasting bans by RTUK.
Governors have sent a total of 2403 notices to the Turkish broadcasting regulatory agency, from August 1998 to 31 December 2001, in accordance with the protocol signed by the Ministry of Interior Affairs General Directorate of Security and RTUK. According to RTUK, a thousand and 739 of these notices were informative.
Examining the other 664 notices, RTUK found violation of various articles of the Law No: 3984 in 351 radio and television establishments. The Supreme Council decided that 223 of those establishments did not breach broadcasting laws. RTUK's evaluation about 90 radio stations and television broadcasters is still ongoing. (MZ/EA/NM)
