TRT blames producer on screening scandal
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 29, 2008 00:00
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 Maraş 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 Maraş Massacre in which more than 100 people, most of Alevi origin, died. The program showcased the statements of Ökkeş Kenger, who later became Ökkeş Şendiller, 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 Maraş 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 Şendiller’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 Maraş events. There are many people interviewed in the documentary and Şendiller 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.
The 13-part documentary, "The Labyrinth of the Shahs," featured controversial images in its episode, shown Dec. 24, on the Maraş Massacre in which more than 100 people, most of Alevi origin, died. The program showcased the statements of Ökkeş Kenger, who later became Ökkeş Şendiller, 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 Maraş 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 Şendiller’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 Maraş events. There are many people interviewed in the documentary and Şendiller 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.