They call it the "Little Nation." Here, Assyrians rub shoulders with Turks, Muslims debate with Zoroastrians, and guerrillas share preshow canapes with Social Democrats. In the studios of MED-TV, the world’s first and only Kurdish satellite television station, the atmosphere is charged with the hopes and emotions of an ancient, stateless people.
Broadcasting in Kurdish dialects with help from a satellite parked over Africa, MED-TV delivers 18 hours of news, documentaries, and entertainment daily to a population of 30 million Kurds living in and around Kurdistan – a region split between Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Considered the world's largest stateless nation, the Kurdish people are repressed in all areas of Kurdistan, and most notably in Turkey, where human rights abuses are common.
Set up to "develop Kurdish culture and language and to provide communication for the Kurds," much of MED-TV's programming consists of dubbed material acquired from organizations such as the BBC. Based in London, with production facilities spread across Europe, MED-TV prides itself on its unbiased coverage of all sides in the Kurdistan dispute. Nevertheless, the station has endured studio raids, staff arrests, and asset seizures by antiterrorist police in Belgium, the UK, and Germany. Correspondents have disappeared in Iraq. Turkish authorities have jammed signals. Hikmet Tabak, MED-TV's principal director, has accused the Turkish government of "satellite terrorism."
Since its first broadcast in March 1995, MED-TV now survives on a shoestring budget of US$20 million. In southeast Turkey, huge numbers of people watch the station – despite the fact that satellite dishes have been banned or smashed by the Turkish army and electricity is cut off at 5 p.m. in villages to stop peasants from watching.
But Tabak says the station is determined to stay on the air. "We will continue to broadcast, even if we have to move to India, China, or the Moon!"
This article originally appeared in the December issue of Wired magazine.
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