Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (Radyo ve Televisyon Üst Kurulu - RTÜK) has claimed authority over inspecting the content for Kurdish television networks, including Ronahi TV which broadcasts content on Rojava.

RTÜK sent an inquiry to Eutelsat to shut down Stêrk TV and Ronahi TV, which exposed a legal scandal. RTÜK members held a meeting on March 1, 2017 and issued a decree that states RTÜK has authority over inspecting the content for Ronahi TV and Stêrk TV.

How RTÜK was able to issue such a decree over Ronahi TV which broadcasts content on Rojava and Stêrk TV which broadcasts content on Kurds in four parts of Kurdistan and in Europe is unclear. In the vote, only member to vote against the decree was Ersin Öngel.

The decree includes the following statement:

“It has been detected that although Ronahi TV is not stationed in Turkey, it doesn’t have a broadcasting license from our institution and doesn’t use satellite infrastructure and connections that belong to Turkey, it engages in broadcast targeting Turkey in line with the goals of the terrorist organization (...) and content that supports the activity of the terrorist organization. Thus, our Supreme Council has authority over inspecting the content from the television network with the logo Ronahi TV. In this framework, a decree has been issued stating that the transmission of said broadcast should not be allowed and should be prevented. The companies that transmit said broadcast and the regulating authorities of related countries will be notified of this decree. The Office of the President will be authorized to carry out the necessary procedures in this context. This decree has been issued with a majority of votes, with Supreme Council Member Ersin Öngel voting against.”