Bayrak
Encyclopedia
Bayrak Radio Television Corporation , is the official radio and television broadcasting corporation of the self-proclaimed 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
'.
(CyBC) had been jointly run by Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Therefore, in the eyes of the Turkish community, it became urgent for them to have their own radio station as the Greek Cypriots had taken over the CyBC, forcing out the Turkish Cypriot employees in the process.
Bayrak Radio was established on December 25, 1963 to voice the cause of the Turkish Cypriot people following its exclusion from CyBC, and the Cypriot Government. Bayrak Radio actually began as a clandestine homemade station, put together with a few pieces of homemade electrical equipment, which was powered by a car battery. It started transmitting within a limited radius of 2.5 km from a small garage in the back yard of a house in Nicosia
. By February 1964, Radio Bayrak’s transmission could be listened to from across the whole island.
Up to 1966 Bayrak Radio was broadcasting in Turkish
, English
and Greek
on a single channel. After that, it had expanded to broadcast through two channels. Despite its limited means, Radio Bayrak continued to voice the Turkish Cypriot viewpoint in the face of repeated Greek Cypriot efforts to silence the station. Following the Turkish Military Invasion
in 1974, Bayrak Radio was restructured into a corporation.
Carrying out its first black and white television broadcast on July 19, 1976 - with studio equipment dismantled and brought in from Diyarbakir
, Turkey
- Bayrak Radio took on its current name of Bayrak Radio and Television Corporation. The transmission went to (PAL) color in 1979. As from March 1983 , it began transmitting in FM Radio stereo.
BRTK produces its own news with the aim of distributing information about the Turkish Cypriots throughout the world via satellite, also via the internet. The quality of its internet broadcasting has been increased accordingly. Interested persons can read and hear the news in English, Greek, Russian, German, and Arabic on certain hours of the day.
BRTK has been autonomous since 1983.
In addition to the Turkish language BRT 1 and the mainly English language BRT 2 Television channels, BRTK also operates five radio stations: Bayrak Radio, Bayrak FM, Bayrak International, Bayrak Classic FM and Bayrak Turkish Music.
BRTK launched its internet website in 1997. In addition to the internet, BRT 1 TV, Bayrak Radio and Bayrak International can be watched and listened internationally via satellite.
, sports, arts
, women's hour, talks, educational, cultural, entertainment and other social events programmes on both TV and Radio.
The radio transmits on three channels: Channel I for broadcasts in Turkish, Channel II for foreign language programmes (mainly English
and Greek
), and Channel III for music.
This is similar to the fact that the Republic of Cyprus refers to the Turkish Cypriot President as the "Turkish Cypriot leader", and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus refer to the Greek Cypriot president as simply the "Greek Cypriot Leader", vice-versa.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
'.
History
The establishment of BRT dates back to the events of December 1963 when inter communal violence between the Greek and Turkish communities effectively ended co-operative ventures. Until that time, the Cyprus Broadcasting CorporationCyprus Broadcasting Corporation
The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ) or CyBC is Cyprus's public broadcasting service, transmitting island-wide on four radio and two television channels. CyBC is a non-profit organization that utilises its entire income for the promotion of its main mission, which is the objective provision of...
(CyBC) had been jointly run by Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Therefore, in the eyes of the Turkish community, it became urgent for them to have their own radio station as the Greek Cypriots had taken over the CyBC, forcing out the Turkish Cypriot employees in the process.
Bayrak Radio was established on December 25, 1963 to voice the cause of the Turkish Cypriot people following its exclusion from CyBC, and the Cypriot Government. Bayrak Radio actually began as a clandestine homemade station, put together with a few pieces of homemade electrical equipment, which was powered by a car battery. It started transmitting within a limited radius of 2.5 km from a small garage in the back yard of a house in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
. By February 1964, Radio Bayrak’s transmission could be listened to from across the whole island.
Up to 1966 Bayrak Radio was broadcasting in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
on a single channel. After that, it had expanded to broadcast through two channels. Despite its limited means, Radio Bayrak continued to voice the Turkish Cypriot viewpoint in the face of repeated Greek Cypriot efforts to silence the station. Following the Turkish Military Invasion
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
in 1974, Bayrak Radio was restructured into a corporation.
Carrying out its first black and white television broadcast on July 19, 1976 - with studio equipment dismantled and brought in from Diyarbakir
Diyarbakir
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
- Bayrak Radio took on its current name of Bayrak Radio and Television Corporation. The transmission went to (PAL) color in 1979. As from March 1983 , it began transmitting in FM Radio stereo.
BRTK produces its own news with the aim of distributing information about the Turkish Cypriots throughout the world via satellite, also via the internet. The quality of its internet broadcasting has been increased accordingly. Interested persons can read and hear the news in English, Greek, Russian, German, and Arabic on certain hours of the day.
BRTK has been autonomous since 1983.
In addition to the Turkish language BRT 1 and the mainly English language BRT 2 Television channels, BRTK also operates five radio stations: Bayrak Radio, Bayrak FM, Bayrak International, Bayrak Classic FM and Bayrak Turkish Music.
BRTK launched its internet website in 1997. In addition to the internet, BRT 1 TV, Bayrak Radio and Bayrak International can be watched and listened internationally via satellite.
Programming information
BRTK broadcasts newsNews
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, sports, arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, women's hour, talks, educational, cultural, entertainment and other social events programmes on both TV and Radio.
The radio transmits on three channels: Channel I for broadcasts in Turkish, Channel II for foreign language programmes (mainly English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
), and Channel III for music.
Online services
Bayrak's web site now has live feeds that enable internat users to watch Bayrak TV and listen to Bayrak radio channels.Republic of Cyprus attitude to BRT
The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus government regards BRT as a 'pirate broadcaster,' and prefaces any quotes from BRT in their own news releases with the phrase 'Illegal Bayrak Television.' It is common practise with the Republic of Cyprus to call many Turkish Cypriot establishments "Illegal", not only Turkish radio stations are regarded as illegal, but also Turkish Cypriot ports, hotels, military establishment, and the Turkish Cypriot government is regarded as "illegal" by the Republic of Cyprus.This is similar to the fact that the Republic of Cyprus refers to the Turkish Cypriot President as the "Turkish Cypriot leader", and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus refer to the Greek Cypriot president as simply the "Greek Cypriot Leader", vice-versa.