Turkish authorities have for the first time suspended a private radio station for propagating Christianity in this predominantly Muslim country, the broadcaster said today.
The state broadcasting watchdog RTUK suspended the broadcasts of Shema radio, the first Christian radio station in Ankara, for 31 days, effective March 21, station director Ismail Serinken told AFP.
One day of the suspension was imposed for propagating Christianity, and the other 30 days of closure were ordered for "separatists broadcasts" made by a Muslim radio which occupied the same frequency previously.
Authorities said Shema radio had engaged in missionary activities and violated Turkish laws, a charge Serinken denied.
He strongly criticised the decision, which he said was the result of "intolerance and prejudice" in Turkey, which is striving to improve its human rights record in order to gain entry to the European Union.
"It's not the suspension for a month that we regret but that for the one (additional) day, because all we did was spread the message of Christ," Serinken said.
The station is financially dependent on the Protestant Kurtulus church, which counts some 500 mostly Turkish members and has been active in Ankara since the early 1980s.
Since it was formed in 1994, the controversial RTUK has temporarily suspended the broadcasts of some 500 radio and television stations, in particular Islamic and Kurdish stations, official figures show. Turkish authorities are opposed to granting self-rule to Kurdish separatists, who have been waging a campaign for autonomy in Turkey's southeast for 15 years. While around 99 per cent Muslim, Turkey is officially a secular country.