Anatolia news agency to start broadcasting in Kurdish in September

ISTANBUL

“Our first target will be the northern Iraqi media," said Director Kemal Öztürk on the Kurdish edition service. AA photo

Turkey’s leading public news agency, Anatolia news agency, is preparing to begin broadcasting in Kurdish from Sept. 1, Director Kemal Öztürk said April 5. 
 
The agency, which is marking its 93rd anniversary April 6, aims to become one of the world’s top news agencies by 2020, Öztürk said, adding that they had conducted rigorous studies prior to the launch of the Kurdish edition service in the Sorani dialect. 
 
“Our first target will be the northern Iraqi media. There are around 30 media organizations in the region that pick news related to Turkey from the Fırat news agency,” Öztürk told Star daily, referring to the pro-Kurdish agency which has frequently been targeted by Turkish judicial officials. 

“Taking into account the peace process with the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party], broadcasting in Kurdish has significant importance,” the agency said in an official statement for its anniversary. 

Kurdish will be the sixth language used by the agency, after English, Arabic, Bosnian and Russian. The agency also has an office in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.  
 
The announcement of the Kurdish broadcast had come a year ago on the 92nd anniversary of the agency. Öztürk had emphasized that the use of Kurdish was part of their “Centennial vision” while noting that Turkish public broadcaster TRT had already launched a Kurdish-language television channel.
 
Öztürk also told Star that Anatolia had maintained its ambitions, especially in the Middle Eastern region. 

“We know very well the codes of this region. That’s why nobody can make better news than us. We aim to surpass AFP, Reuters and BBC’s Arabic service by the end of the year,” he said.