Mar. 30, 2015
It's the only television channel that broadcasts in the Crimean Tatar language, and soon it might be off the air forever. ATR, which broadcasts from Simferopol, could be shut down by the Russian authorities controlling the Crimean Peninsula. Its temporary license expires on April 1, and there is no sign that Russia's broadcast regulator will renew it. The Crimean Tatar channel is one of the last independent voices on the peninsula following Russia's annexation last year.
Ibraim Umerov, a spokesman for Crimean Tatars in Kyiv, worked for several years for Crimean media outlets, including ATR. He stopped by the Ukraine Today newsroom to explain why the channel is so important for the Crimean Tatar community and for the right to independent media.
Ibraim Umerov, Spokesman for Kyiv Crimean Tatar community: "ATR is not an oppositional channel..."
Umerov said the Russian authorities who seized the peninsula have cracked down of freedom of speech. Umerov said ATR is more than a news channel. It's an important part of Crimean Tatar culture, showing documentaries and Crimean Tatar films as well as other specialty programs.
ATR has applied for a broadcast license under Russian law, but authorities have rejected their attempts citing murky administrative rules. Umerov and ATR journalists see it another way.
The Crimean Tatars, who make up about 10 percent of the peninsula's population, have faced harassment under Russian occupation. Properties have been seized and activists have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev, a former Soviet dissident and longtime leader of the Crimean Tatar community, was banned from re-entering Crimea after travelling to mainland Ukraine last year. Human rights groups, including Freedom House, have called the situation alarming.
Source: Ukraine Today.
Link: http://uatoday.tv/geopolitics/crimean-tatar-channel-faces-shutdown-by-russian-authorities-418577.html.
It's the only television channel that broadcasts in the Crimean Tatar language, and soon it might be off the air forever. ATR, which broadcasts from Simferopol, could be shut down by the Russian authorities controlling the Crimean Peninsula. Its temporary license expires on April 1, and there is no sign that Russia's broadcast regulator will renew it. The Crimean Tatar channel is one of the last independent voices on the peninsula following Russia's annexation last year.
Ibraim Umerov, a spokesman for Crimean Tatars in Kyiv, worked for several years for Crimean media outlets, including ATR. He stopped by the Ukraine Today newsroom to explain why the channel is so important for the Crimean Tatar community and for the right to independent media.
Ibraim Umerov, Spokesman for Kyiv Crimean Tatar community: "ATR is not an oppositional channel..."
Umerov said the Russian authorities who seized the peninsula have cracked down of freedom of speech. Umerov said ATR is more than a news channel. It's an important part of Crimean Tatar culture, showing documentaries and Crimean Tatar films as well as other specialty programs.
ATR has applied for a broadcast license under Russian law, but authorities have rejected their attempts citing murky administrative rules. Umerov and ATR journalists see it another way.
The Crimean Tatars, who make up about 10 percent of the peninsula's population, have faced harassment under Russian occupation. Properties have been seized and activists have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev, a former Soviet dissident and longtime leader of the Crimean Tatar community, was banned from re-entering Crimea after travelling to mainland Ukraine last year. Human rights groups, including Freedom House, have called the situation alarming.
Source: Ukraine Today.
Link: http://uatoday.tv/geopolitics/crimean-tatar-channel-faces-shutdown-by-russian-authorities-418577.html.
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