Today.Az » World news » Turkey welcomes Denmark's case against Roj TV
01 September 2010 [16:38] - Today.Az
Denmark's decision to press charges against Kurdish-language television station Roj TV is a welcome development, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday, top Danish prosecutor Joergen Steen Soerensen said Roj TV was promoting activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.
In a Foreign Ministry statement released Tuesday, Turkey said Denmark's decision was in line with the country's international obligations regarding the fight against terrorism.
"At the end of the legal process, Turkey is expecting those broadcasting corporations that provoked terrorism and the use of violence to be handed down the sentence they deserve," the statement said.
Roj TV has a Danish broadcasting license but has no studios in Denmark. Officials with the station were not immediately available for comment, but it has previously denied terror links.
Roj TV has "persistently" aired shows with interviews of PKK members and supporters but also about skirmishes between Kurds and Turkish forces, Soerensen said. The station's content was "aimed at promoting and supporting the activities of the terrorist organization PKK" and its political wing, Kongra-Gel, the prosecutor said.
Soerensen said the programs "must be regarded as having the characteristics of propaganda in support of PKK."
The charges came after "extremely comprehensive investigations" of the connections between Roj TV and PKK, the prosecutor said.
The charge also includes Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S METV, a company behind Roj TV.
/Hurriyet Daily News/
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