| Thirty-five minutes
of broadcasting twice a week may not seem like much, but this is
little short of revolutionary for
Turkey. Ethnic homogeneity is one
of the founding principles of the
republic. For decades the use of Kurdish has been banned, publications
proscribed, broadcasters prosecuted.
That has all changed. The state broadcaster has yielded
to government pressure and has implemented
the law passed almost two years ago, allowing broadcasts in languages
other than Turkish.
Given the ready availability of
Kurdish language broadcasting on satellite television, it's unlikely
that TRT's limited offering will
attract a large following, but
the symbolism is immense. The Turkish Republic, which has for
so long resisted recognising the Kurds as a separate minority,
has done just that.
|
|
|
|
little short of: very nearly
homogeneity: if there is homogeneity
in a society, everyone is the same
founding principles: beliefs that
are central, when an organisation is first created
proscribed: banned
yielded: if you yield to pressure,
you stop resisting.
Implemented: put into practice
other than: apart from
ready availability: easy availability
offering: the offering is services
which are made available
following: here: audience
|
