Denmark opens court case against PKK-affiliated Roj TV

The Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed the move and in a written statement it stressed that the Danish government made the right decision, a decision “in line with its international obligations regarding the fight against terrorism.”

“We expect that these terrorism-supporting media organizations that encourage the use of violence will be punished appropriately by the time the legal process is complete,” the statement said.

However, according to Sedat Laçiner from the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), the Danish move against Roj TV is ‘too little, too late.”

“Since the very first day Roj TV was working as the propaganda arm of the PKK and promoting terrorism. If al-Qaeda opened a television channel in Denmark, they would close it immediately,” he said. According to Laçiner, Denmark finally started to move against Roj TV because of pressure from Washington.

“Turkey was asking for help from the US administration to eliminate the PKK in Europe. The Americans applied pressure to Denmark,” he told Today’s Zaman. Roj TV broadcasts with a Danish broadcasting license, although it does not have any studios in Denmark.

Top Danish prosecutor Joergen Steen Soerensen said that Roj TV is helping promote the PKK, which is listed by many countries – including the US – as a terrorist organization.

According to Soerensen, Roj TV has “persistently” aired shows consisting of interviews with PKK members and its supporters while also profiling skirmishes between PKK members and Turkish forces. 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.

The programs “must be regarded as having the characteristics of propaganda in support of PKK,” Soerensen said. The charges came after “extremely comprehensive investigations” of the connections between Roj TV and PKK, he added.

Mesopotamia Broadcast A/S METV, a company supporting Roj TV that is not directed by any person – has also been charged. Danish Justice Minister Lars Barfoed said it was up to a court of law to consider Roj TV’s activities. In a written statement, Barfoed said that he supported the prosecutors’ request to bring formal charges against the backers of Roj TV for “promoting the activities of a terrorist organization.”

Prosecutors also said they would ask the Danish Radio and Television Board to revoke the station’s license – which was issued over six years ago – because of criminal violations.

The charges derive from Article 114 of the Danish Criminal Code which stipulates that it is a criminal offense to promote the activities of an individual, group or association that commits or intends to commit acts of terrorism.

According to Danish journalist Lasse Ellegaard from Information newspaper, the decision of the Danish government is linked to the appointment of former Danish Prime Minister Andres Fogh Rasmussen to the post of secretary-general at NATO.

Ankara had been opposed to Rasmussen’s appointment to the position because of his inaction concerning the publication of cartoons insulting the Prophet Muhammad and his indifference to Roj TV’s activities. Ankara gave the green light to his appointment to the top job on three conditions: he would apologize to the Muslim world, Roj TV’s broadcasts were to be censored and a Turk was to be appointed to NATO as deputy secretary-general. Via the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Rasmussen increased his dialogue with the Muslim world. The Danish police launched an investigation into Roj TV, and Hüseyin Diriöz recently was appointed as deputy secretary-general at NATO.

Ellegaard added that Danish prosecutors are indicting the companies behind Roj TV but are not bringing charges against any individual person.

“This means Danish authorities are trying to make a soft landing. They don’t want any riots on the streets, instead seek to merely cancel the broadcasting license,” he said and added that Danish media were highly interested in the case because it could establish the boundaries of media freedom.

Danish-Turkish relations have long been strained over Kurdish groups based in Denmark. In 1995, a political arm of the PKK opened its fourth European office in Copenhagen, sparking protests from the Turkish Embassy. The office later closed due to a lack of resources. In 2000, Turkey protested that a Kurdish-language satellite television station, Mesopotamia TV, was allowed to broadcast from Denmark to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In 2005, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan boycotted a news conference in Copenhagen to protest the presence of Roj TV journalists.