Turkish authorities withdraw license of station linked to PM Erdogan’s opponents
Date posted: March 27, 2014
ANKARA, Turkey – A television station linked to opponents of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkish authorities have withdrawn its license to broadcast nationally just days before crucial local elections.
Fatih Karaca, head of the media unit of Ipek group of companies, said Thursday Turkey’s radio and television watchdog revoked the license of KanalTurk television, citing a 2010 court decision.
He maintained that the decision against the station — which is linked to a movement led by U.S.-based moderate Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen — was “politically-motivated.”
The move comes amid a deepening feud between Erdogan and Gulen’s movement, which Erdogan accuses of orchestrating allegations of corruption to discredit the government ahead of Sunday’s elections.
The watchdog says the station can only broadcast regionally.
Turkey has a weak record of institutionalization. Despite the “We are a big state” narrative, today, Turkey’s political model is simple: the leader and the nation. Lacking effective institutions that can accommodate political fluctuations, crises of various calibers can harm Turkey’s stability easily.
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