Ql - ITO

34 İSTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Today, TRT owns ıs channels, each one of them being different than the
other in terms of content, language, co verage area and target audi en ce (so me of
the thematic channels contents are broadcast on the same channel altemately).
Among the se channels, the mostly mentioned is TR T 6 (TR T "Shesh"), the
first TV channel in Turkey to broadcast in Kurdish which was launched on
J anuary 1 st, 2009. The legal infrastructure in Turkey where official language is
Turkish according to the Constitution has prevented broadcasts in any other
language until today. This situation caused the exclusion of the communities,
especially Kurds, who are the citizens of Turkish Republic but not ethnically
Turkish and who would like to use their native language and make it visible,
from the broadcasting field. It is known Kurds who live in Eastem and South
Eastem parts of the country watch Kurdish TV channels that broadcast via
satellite from abroad. It is possible to access via satellite to ı2 channels
broadcasting in different dialects of Kurdish and reflecting different political
tendencies. Establishing a public TV channel to broadcast solely in Kurdish
came up as a part of "democratic reforms" which w ere initiated in 2009 by the
govemment of the period in order to discuss the identity demands of different
ethnical, cultural, religious ete. groups and decide on the necessary policies in
this field. This attempt which has important symbolic denotations such as
improving intercultural communication and recognizing diverse identities has
brought forth the regulation of the law on radio and TV that prohibits
broadcasts in languages other than the official language. The new law adopted
in 20 ı ı, allows broadcasts in other language s, but aıso includes the phrase
"B roadeasting in Turkish is fundamentaı".
TR T 6 is not the only TRT channel to broadcast in a language other than
Turkish. Opening out to different language s continued to fulfill the needs of the
citizens in domestic broadcasts and also to spread the voice of Turkey to
foreign countries. For this purpose, first TRT Avaz was launched in March,
2 ı st, 2009 to address Central Asia, Caucasians and the Balkans, and offered
content (some of them also being produced in these countries) in Azerbaijani,
Kazaklı and Uzbek. This is followed by the launch of TRT Arabic (TRT el