MEDTV

MED-TV was theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK)-affil-iated television station that began broadcasting fromGreat Britainand Belgium to Kurdistan and the Middle East, as well as Europe, in 1995. Its name was taken from theMedes, an ancient nation from whom many Kurds claim descent.

MED-TV broadcast in the various Kurdish dialects,Turkish, and even a little in Syriac in order to reach as many sympathizers as possible. The TV station led to a great deal of pride and interest among many Kurds not accustomed to hearing the news and cultural events broadcast from their point of view and in theirlanguages. Before Turkey captured him in February 1999,Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, frequently participated in broadcasts by telephone. Due to Turkish pressure and the claim that it was inciting violence, MED-TV lost its broadcasting license and was shut down on 22 March 1999, but it soon, in effect, reopened under the new name MEDYA-TV, which too was eventually closed due to Turkish pressure. CurrentlyROJ-TVhas taken over the role previously played by these two earlier stations.