The Yazidi TV channel Çira TV is banned in Southern Kurdistan and is not allowed to report from the holy sites Laleşa Nûranî and Şêxan. The governorship of Duhok has sent the station a ban without explanation.
For nearly two months, the Yazidi channel Çira TV has been trying unsuccessfully with the government of the Kurdistan Region for the approval of its work in the region. Today a prohibition order of the governorship of Duhok was sent to the TV station. Without explanation, it was stated that there was a ban on the TV in South Kurdistan.
Çira TV told that the TV station staff had already been threatened with arrests before the ban came. They said the ban violated the freedom of the press and was a sign of "disrespect for the Yazidi society", remarking that prohibition of a TV channel of the Yazidi community was in conflict with the national values of Kurdistan.
Çira TV is the world's first TV station of the Yazidi community. It is broadcast via SAT in HD and can also be viewed on the internet via live stream. Çira in Kurdish (Kurmancî) means light, candle or lamp. Since the beginning of 2019, the station has had a German-language format called ÇIRA FOKUS, which is moderated on Thursdays by Yilmaz Pêşkevin Kaba and addresses current political and cultural topics.
