WRITTEN QUESTION P-3380/98

by Luigi Vinci (GUE/NGL) to the Council

(10 November 1998)

Subject: Sabotage of satellites used by Kurdish television

Since 9 October 1998, the Orion satellite, used by the MED-TV television channel to broadcast its programmes in Europe, has been sabotaged by jamming.

Signals from the Eutelsat satellite, also used for MED-TV broadcasts, were likewise jammed from 1 to 27 July 1997.

MED-TV is recognised in Europe to be one of the very few "voices" of the Kurdish diaspora, and, given its repeated political attacks on the station, it is highly likely that the Turkish Government is behind the sabotage.

1. Can the Council say who was responsible for the sabotage of Eutelsat a year ago and who is now sabotaging Orion?

2. What steps has it taken or will it take to ensure compliance with:

- the European audio-visual area, regulated by the "Television without frontiers" Directive,

- the Council of Europe Convention on Transfrontier Television, which Turkey has ratified, and

- the relevant United Nations provisions on the protection of human rights, which state that freedom of expression and information is a corner-stone of democratic society and a fundamental prerequisite for its advancement and the development of every human being?

Reply

(29 March 1999)

1. Council Directive 89/552/EEC (as amended by Directive 97/36/EC), on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities, contains provisions on the rights and obligations of Member States and television broadcasting organisations under the jurisdiction of Member States.

Article 2a of the Directive stipulates that Member States shall ensure freedom of reception and shall not restrict retransmissions on their territory of television broadcasts from other Member States for reasons which fall within the fields coordinated by the Directive. It is the Commission which is responsible for ensuring that these provisions are observed.

As this Directive is a Community act, it applies only to the Community and is not binding on third countries.

2. The Council does not have any precise information on the jamming to which the Honourable Member refers.

3. As regards the Council of Europe's Convention on Transfrontier Television, it should be noted that any obligations arising from that Convention are the responsibility of the Council of Europe.

4. In general, the Council would point out that the European Union subscribes to the principles of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and respects fundamental rights as guaranteed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms referred to in Article F of the Treaty on European Union. In its dialogue with third countries, in particular with countries which have applied for accession to the Union, the European Union consistently emphasises the importance it attaches to the observance of human rights, and especially the rights of minorities, as well as freedom of expression and information.

The European Union also gives active support to the activities of the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, Mr DUVE.