ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurds in Sweden have started an online petition asking the public broadcaster to revoke the decision to cancel its Kurdish service.
Sveriges Radio announced late last month that it would stop three foreign language services, including Kurdish, in order to cut costs. CEO Cilla Benko said the changes were part of measures to save 225 million SEK, just under $22 million.
Kurds across Sweden started an online petition asking Sveriges Radio management not to shut down the Kurdish service.
“The Kurdish editorial team at SR [Sveriges Radio] has played an incredibly important role in the integration and inclusion of newly arrived Kurdish-speaking immigrants. Let the Kurdish editorial team remain,” read the petition.
Sveriges Radio says it regularly reviews its foreign-language services in order to reach audiences that do not speak Swedish. In its latest review, the broadcaster concluded that the Swedish-language skills of the country’s Kurdish population have improved and so it is discontinuing the service.
The Kurdish activists behind the petition disagreed. “The arguments put forward by Sveriges Radio are not considered valid. Therefore, we oppose the exclusion and demand a written explanation of the conducted language analysis as well as a reconsideration of the decision,” read the petition.
The Kurdish service began 23 years ago, on January 6, 2001, and has broadcast in both Sorani and Kurmanci dialects. The service has four permanent journalists and four additional contributors.
Nishtman Irandoust, one of the Kurdish journalists, told Rudaw last month that the public broadcaster has to reduce its expenditures, but also said some believe the motive behind the cancellation could be political.
Stockholm is under pressure from Turkey to clamp down on its large and politically active Kurdish population. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly accused Sweden of harboring and supporting groups including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and sought the extradition of alleged PKK members in exchange for opening the door to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Last month, Ankara ratified Sweden’s ascension to the military alliance, after over a year of stalling the process.
Irandoust said some believe Sweden decided to end the Kurdish broadcast in order to appease Ankara and in exchange for its support to join NATO.
Sveriges Radio will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.
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