PYD censors Syrian Kurdish media

23.02.2014  – BasNews, Syria – On Tuesday the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), People’s Protection Unit (YPG), reportedly raided a local radio station (Arta FM) in Amuda, a Kurdish town in Al Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria.

According to Arta FM official Facebook page, the YPG had requested that the radio stop broadcasting political programs and only play songs. The Head of Arta FM, Sirwan Haji Berko, explained that the men had confiscated all of their equipment, including their computers. “We are a licensed radio station and no one can prevent us from working. It is a violation of our rights,” Berko told BasNews. Arta FM began broadcasting in Amuda in June last year and has approximately 50 employees in both Amuda and Qamishlo. It broadcasts for an average of 14 hours a day in three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Assyrian.