Tweet
TRT BLAMES PRODUCER ON SCREENING SCANDAL
Hurriyet
Dec 29 2008
Turkey
ANKARA - Turkey's national public broadcaster caused a scandal when it
screened a documentary in which murdered Armenian Turkish journalist
Hrant Dink was portrayed as the provocateur of the deadly MaraÅ~_
incidents of 1978.
In response to the strong public reactions to the documentary,
the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, or, TRT, blamed the
producer of the documentary, the daily Hurriyet reported yesterday.
The 13-part documentary, "The Labyrinth of the Shahs," featured
controversial images in its episode, shown Dec. 24, on the MaraÅ~_
Massacre in which more than 100 people, most of Alevi origin, died. The
program showcased the statements of OkkeÅ~_ Kenger, who later became
OkkeÅ~_ Å~^endiller, the number one suspect of the massacre and one
of the founders of the Grand Unity Party.
In the documentary he said, "What happened in MaraÅ~_ at the time
was not a conflict between the Alevis and Sunnis. Hrant Dink and his
friends caused the events. Moreover, among the corpses there were
six or seven uncircumcised bodies."
After Å~^endiller's statements, Dink's photographs were featured
in the program. TRT officials, meanwhile, said what was said in the
program was not TRT's opinion and TRT had purchased the documentary
from external sources. "They are not TRT's views. The target of the
program was not Hrant Dink. It deals with many political topics from
that period and one of them was the MaraÅ~_ events. There are many
people interviewed in the documentary and Å~^endiller is among them,"
said TRT officials. "He says a few sentences. It is an allegation and
the documentary was made in a particular journalistic style. If Dink's
family or lawyer said something, they would have been broadcast too,"
he said.
--Boundary_(ID_CRx0qE9KlJr0DD66pZ6m1A)--
Hurriyet
Dec 29 2008
Turkey
ANKARA - Turkey's national public broadcaster caused a scandal when it
screened a documentary in which murdered Armenian Turkish journalist
Hrant Dink was portrayed as the provocateur of the deadly MaraÅ~_
incidents of 1978.
In response to the strong public reactions to the documentary,
the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, or, TRT, blamed the
producer of the documentary, the daily Hurriyet reported yesterday.
The 13-part documentary, "The Labyrinth of the Shahs," featured
controversial images in its episode, shown Dec. 24, on the MaraÅ~_
Massacre in which more than 100 people, most of Alevi origin, died. The
program showcased the statements of OkkeÅ~_ Kenger, who later became
OkkeÅ~_ Å~^endiller, the number one suspect of the massacre and one
of the founders of the Grand Unity Party.
In the documentary he said, "What happened in MaraÅ~_ at the time
was not a conflict between the Alevis and Sunnis. Hrant Dink and his
friends caused the events. Moreover, among the corpses there were
six or seven uncircumcised bodies."
After Å~^endiller's statements, Dink's photographs were featured
in the program. TRT officials, meanwhile, said what was said in the
program was not TRT's opinion and TRT had purchased the documentary
from external sources. "They are not TRT's views. The target of the
program was not Hrant Dink. It deals with many political topics from
that period and one of them was the MaraÅ~_ events. There are many
people interviewed in the documentary and Å~^endiller is among them,"
said TRT officials. "He says a few sentences. It is an allegation and
the documentary was made in a particular journalistic style. If Dink's
family or lawyer said something, they would have been broadcast too,"
he said.
--Boundary_(ID_CRx0qE9KlJr0DD66pZ6m1A)--