Turkish Circassians ready to support Erdogan at referendum in exchange for national TV Channel

The Pluralistic Democratic Party and the Federation of Circassian Societies of Turkey have demanded from the country’s authorities to create a state television channel in the Circassian language. In exchange, Circassians promise to support the amendments to the Turkish Constitution initiated by the authorities at the referendum on April 16.

A rally in support of the Circassian language was held in Ankara on March 12.

The actions are timed to the Day of the Adyg Language, said Murat Papshu, an Associate Professor of the Department of Natural and Humanitarian Sciences at the Okan University (Istanbul).

When asked why Circassians themselves had not attempted to create some private TV and radio channels with broadcasting on the Internet for such a large Circassian Diaspora residing in the country, Mr Papshu replied that "the Diaspora is economically weak; and there is also no common understanding of the significance of the problem."

Kenan Kaplan, the leader of the Pluralistic Democratic Party of Turkey, has noted that as long as Turkey turns its blind eye on the Circassian people, "it will not be able to build a full-fledged democracy."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.