Roj TV, Denmark
Feb 16 2005

First radio station of homosexuals to start airing in Turkey

Homosexuals in Turkey have begun radio broadcast on a web site,
under the name of ‘Radyo Direniþ/Radyo Berxwedan (Radio Rebel)’, to
put their voice on the map.

“Radio Rebel” has begun broadcasting musical programs including
Turkish, Kurdish, English, Syriac, Lazce, and Armenian melodies with
a taste of Anatolian and Mesopotamian performance on the web site
“”. They, the labouers of the radio station,
state those activities are the evidence for homosexual existence,
which have been realized on the line of resistance decree taken
against the exploiting system, and, that they will carry on resisting
to put their voice on the map all over the world.

Kurdish news

In addition to a multi-language music broadcast, the radio station
airs Kurdish and Turkish programs entitled “Ezilenlerin Ezgileri (The
melodies of the Oppressed”, “Nuche-Haber (News)”, “Ýstekler-Dixwazin
(Requests)”, “Lazistan Daðlarý’nýn Sesi (Voic of the Mountains of
Lazistan “, “Direniþçilerin Cevabý (Response of Resisters”,
“Enternasyonel-Kapanýþ (International- Closure). The radio, the first
and only radio owned by homosexuals to air to date, attaches a great
significance to items of news relating with whether the interviews
that the attorneys of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Ocalan hold
every week with their client are made or not. The homosexual
community, one of the most oppressed social sectors, is aiming to
disclose the homosexual existence, which has usually been reflected
via written literary works, by means of radio waves as well. The
employees of the ‘Radio Rebel’ invited all of the homosexuals who are
suppressed, exploited or enslaved to labour for the broadcast.

‘Our aim is not to reach a large number of people’

Sanem Yurttaþ, one of the founders, noted that they decided to start
radio broadcasts after the decrees taken at ”The 22- 23 Meeting of
Homosexuals from Turkey and Kurdistan” and, they had not faced any
obstacles because of airing on through internet “But, of course, we
were attacked by some homophobic persons as were we in the past. We
have been experiencing the same since the establishment. That is the
reason why we name the radio station ‘Direniþ-Berxwedan (Rebel)’. Our
aim is not to reach a large number of people. Our main target is to
provide the sound of the homosexuals to be put on the map. We are
responding to the dominant system which tries to cut off our voice.
There became some homosexual and heterosexual friends who got into
contact with us after the airing on the web-site. They pointed out
they had understood us better and wanted to struggle with us, which
evidences we have arrived at our two-dimensional aim. We have been
witnessing an increasing number of listeners, since we began airing.
Our programs have been followed by a grade many of people in almost
every sectors”

‘We are targeting a joint project with women’

Expressing the reason why they prefer ethno-musical programs most is
that they are Anatolian and Mesopotamian homosexuals and their
languages are Turkish, Kurdish, Lazca, Circassian, Armenian, Syriac
and Arabic, Yurttaþ said “So our programs are in the languages. In
addition tour musical melodies are in those languages. A second
reason is that we live a same fate these languages of historic
heritage of Anatolia and Mesopotamia do, and also the same
oppression, being made to concert to the other”

Sanem Yurttaþ said they were also going to air in the other languages
as to listeners’ demands and, they desired to conduct a common
project with the women who are exposed to an identical denial as well
as programs telling the homosexual entity.” As the Radio Rebel is one
that belongs to homosexuals, it is necessary to give place to the
needs and requests of other homosexual organizations and formations”
indicated she.

–Boundary_(ID_65GtTM1/BqutlqSgvElZpw)–