Letter: Television terror

Sir: Philipp Blom's article on MedTV (24 March) is chiefly notable for its omissions. MedTV broadcasts in several Middle Eastern languages, and about 40 per cent of its output is in Turkish.

It is not like any other TV station anywhere. It backs fellow Marxist revolutionaries across the world (including, of course, the IRA) and its efforts at "folklore" include trying to start a terrorist campaign in the Black Sea region of Turkey. "News" means footage of terrorist attacks in eastern Turkey and non-stop denunciation of Turkey in classical agitprop language.

MedTV ignores every point of view other than the PKK's, including those of Kurdish groups in Iraq whom, if it were genuinely the voice of the Kurds, it might be expected to include. Much of MedTV's efforts are directed not at viewers in the Middle East but at PKK supporters in Germany, with the obvious intention of boosting recruits.

Any ethnic Kurdish voices in Turkey who do not back the PKK, especially those broadcasting legally, were especial targets for vicious attacks, sometimes followed up a few days later by rifle bullets from the PKK. Incidentally, foreign journalists report seeing Greek and Serbian nationals working at MedTV's offices in Europe.

The flavour of MedTV is best conveyed by a recent phone-in programme in which a participant called for the Turkish prime minister to be "decapitated".