Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÃœK), which is Turkey’s broadcasting and streaming regulator, has canceled the broadcasting license of independent radio station Açık Radyo (Open Radio) for discussing the 1915 Armenian Genocide during its broadcasts, reports Agos & Bianet.
The decision was due to a reference to “genocide” in the mass killing of Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, a RTÃœK member announced.
RTÃœK Council Member Ä°lhan Taşçı announced that the decision to cancel the license was based on the station’s failure to comply with previous sanctions imposed by RTÃœK on accusations of “inciting hatred and hostility among society.” These sanctions included administrative fines and a five-day suspension of broadcasts. Despite paying the fines, Açık Radyo continued its broadcasts, which RTÃœK deemed a violation of the conditions set forth in the sanctions.
Açık Radyo, a regional radio station established in 1995 and broadcasting from Istanbul, was sanctioned on May 22, 2024, with a five-day broadcasting ban and a fine of 189,000 TL ($5,800) due to the remarks of a guest speaker, political scientist Cengiz Aktar, on the Açık Gazete (Open Newspaper) program on April 24, the day when the mass killings of Armenians are commemorated.
This included a statement from a guest who participated in the April 24th program of Açık Gazete broadcast on Açık Radyo, who said: “The 109th anniversary, the anniversary of the deportations and massacres that took place in Armenian, meaning Ottoman, lands, and the massacres referred to as Genocide. This year, too, it was banned, as you know, because of the expressions ‘The Armenian Genocide commemoration,’ the radio station was given an administrative fine and the program was given a five-day broadcast suspension. The reason was ‘inciting society to hatred and hostility.'”
RTÃœK initially responded with an administrative fine and a five-day broadcast suspension, citing the broadcast as incitement to hatred and hostility.
RTÃœK announced the news at the Supreme Council meeting on May 22nd, stating that it is not possible to talk about freedom of expression when journalists make non-factual statements that will destroy the unity and solidarity of society, polarize it, or ruin its prestige. RTÃœK stated, “it has been concluded that journalists’ claims that are of a nature to disrupt the unity and solidarity of society, polarize society, and damage society’s reputation, without any concrete evidence, cannot be evaluated within the scope of freedom of expression. Furthermore, it has been concluded that the fact that the term ‘genocide’ in question was openly expressed by Cengiz Aktar during the broadcast and that no attempt was made to correct it is not compatible with the understanding of public responsibility and responsible broadcasting, and is of a nature to incite society to hatred and hostility and create feelings of hatred in society.”
RTÃœK member Taşçı added, “Armenians say ” supported by historians and scholars ” 1.5 million of their people died in a genocide committed under the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Turkey accepts that both Armenians and Turks died in huge numbers as Ottoman forces fought czarist Russia but vehemently denies a deliberate policy of genocide and notes that the term had not been legally defined at the time.” However, the number of Armenians who died is supported by historians and scholars to be approximately 1.5 million, contradicting RTÃœK’s downplaying of the figures.
Sources from Açık Radyo told Bianet that they have filed a lawsuit to halt the execution of the first penalty, indicating that RTÃœK imposed the fine without awaiting the court’s decision. Anonymous sources from Açık Radyo also revealed that the station paid the fine but was unable to halt its broadcast due to a technical problem and informed RTÃœK accordingly. RTÃœK did not respond to their notification and canceled the station’s license without waiting for the judicial process to play out since Açık Radyo had challenged RTÃœK’s sanctions in court.
Former RTÃœK member Faruk Bildirici criticized the council’s decision, calling it the “government’s tool” and an “enemy of freedom of thought and media.” He said, “They have become increasingly reckless and ruthless towards those who do not think like them. Açık Radyo is one of the few stations where enlightened individuals of this country can express their thoughts and reach the public. Canceling its license for a fixable technical reason is like issuing a death warrant. The program suspension penalty given to Açık Radyo is also unjust, baseless, and aimed at preventing the expression of diverse opinions.”
After the news of the penalty, Açık Radyo issued a statement saying, “Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental foundations of a democratic society, as well as a requirement of pluralism, tolerance, and open-mindedness. It is not possible to accept the evaluations in the decision in line with universal law and journalistic principles. There is no expression in the program on the day in question that exceeds the limits of freedom of expression and thought, and when both the expressions in question and the program in question are evaluated as a whole, there is no aspect that is contrary to universal journalistic principles. In particular, it is not possible for the program in question to incite society to hatred and hostility and to create feelings of hatred in society.”
Listeners shared messages of support for the radio station, stating, “We are on the air for freedom of expression.”
