Kurdish Wikipedia (Kurmanji Kurdish: Wîkîpediya kurdî, Sorani Kurdish: ویکیپیدیای کوردی) refers to two Wikipedia editions which are written in two forms of Kurdish language; Kurmanji and Sorani.

The original one was founded in January 2004. As of December 2023, the Kurmanji Wikipedia has 73,702 articles and Sorani Wikipedia has 52,794 articles.^[1] There are also two other Wikipedia editions for Zazaki and Southern Kurdish with the latter still in the test phase.

History

The Kurdish Wikipedia established on January 7, 2004,^[2] designed to contain articles in Kurmanji and Sorani at the same time. On August 12, 2009, Kurdish Wikipedia separated into two versions due to technical and linguistic issues. The old version (ku.) remained as Kurmanji Kurdish Wikipedia and a new version (ckb.) created for Sorani Kurdish Wikipedia.

See also

• Kurmanji Kurdish Wikipedia
• Sorani Kurdish Wikipedia
• Zazaki Wikipedia

MED TV was the first Kurdish satellite TV^[1] with studios in London, England and Denderleeuw, Belgium. MED TV broadcast programs mainly in six languages, Kurdish (Sorani, Kurmanji, and Zaza dialects), English, Arabic, Assyrian and Turkish.

Programs and audience

MED TV Programmes were a varied mix from children's programs, music, documentaries and news broadcasts.^[2] A program in which Kurdish books written in the three scripts of Arabic, Kyrillic and Latin were discussed, was moderated by a journalist of Özgür Gündem.^[2] It broadcast to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Its primary audience was in the Middle East where it was seen by many as a refreshing source of information outside of state censorship. It also has a large audience amongst the Kurdish population scattered throughout Europe.^{[citation needed]} In Turkey, it was forbidden to watch Med TV, people were arrested for having been caught watching its programs. The police would search for satellite dishs in Diyarbakır, which they'd confiscate.^[2] Turkey saw MED TV as a part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),^[3] which it classifies as a terrorist organization. Nonetheless its shows were very popular amongst Kurds in Turkey.^[4]

Organization

At its establishment in 1995, thirteen media workers employed at the Television. Most were amateurs, only one had an education in the field. The company expanded its activities significantly until in 1997, the television counted with 250 employees.^[2] The TV had close ties with the newspaper Özgür Gündem, whose chief-editor Gurbetelli Ersöz was also MED TVs chief-editor for Turkish Kurdistan.^[2]

Zarok TV (English: Kid TV^[1]) is the first Kurdish satellite television station in Turkey for Kurdish children, broadcasting since 21 March 2015, based in Diyarbakır (Amed). The channel broadcasts programs in various Kurdish languages, specifically Kurmanji, being the most widely spoken Kurdish dialect in Turkey, Zazaki and some Sorani.^[2][3]

Accused of “separatist and subversive” activities, it was shut down on 29 September 2016 under the emergency statutory decree issued during the aftermath of 15 July's failed coup d'état, alongside 12 other television and 11 radio stations, when the police raided the television station's headquarters.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Zarok TV's director, said there were no warning before the closure.^[9]

In November 2016 the TV station was allowed to broadcast again after much criticism for the sudden closure. The European Parliament condemned the Turkish authorities stating “misusing” law in the aftermath of the unsuccessful coup attempt. Owner of Zarok TV and also several other cultural Kurdish TV channels, estimated the company had lost “125-150 thousand dollars” in October due to closures.^[10]

Public Radio of Yerevan, known as Radyoya Erîvané or Erivan Radyosu* beyond the Armenian-Turkish border, has left a mark in the memories of Kurdish poet and guerilla Hüseyin Kaytan and thousands of Kurds across the Middle East, Europe and the former Soviet republics. Throughout the years when the Kurdish language and culture were banned in Turkey, Radio Yerevan served as a bridge between the Kurdish people and their culture. People who were deprived of the right to study their native language got an opportunity to hear it on the radio as well as explore the many layers of Kurdish culture, especially music. According to Artur Ispiryan, the head of the archival department, there are over 10,000 recordings of Kurdish folk songs and theatrical plays in the archives of Public Radio.