National satellite operator TurkSat has removed nearly two dozen TV and radio stations from its lineup on Thursday citing threats they pose to national security and their support for terrorist groups, said a source at the state-owned satellite operator.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, told Anadolu Agency that the stations' satellite broadcasts had been ceased under a statutory decree issued in July during Turkey's current three-month state of emergency.
The source said 11 radio stations were removed from the lineup on midnight Wednesday, along with TV channels including Özgür Gün, Jiyan, Azadi, Denge, HTV Hayat, IMC, TV 10, Zarok, and Mezopotamya.
Access to the websites of the stations were also blocked by Turkey's internet watchdog, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK).
These stations are known to have either a pro-PKK, left-wing stance or a combined stance. Most of these stations broadcast in Kurdish or include Kurdish in their programs, prompting worries about the already troubled Kurdish issue, which has seen an increase in violence since July 2015, when the PKK terror organization ended the two-year-long peace process.
The move was criticized by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and pro-PKK Democratic Peoples' Party (HDP), which also object to the state of emergency.
Since the July 15 defeated coup, which led to the state of emergency that was declared on July 20, the government has shut down a total of three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio stations, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines, and 29 publishing houses over alleged links to Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and other terror groups through statutory decrees.
Turkey's government says that the defeated coup, which left over 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gülen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETÖ network.
Gülen is also accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, including the military, police, judiciary, and media, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.
The state of emergency allows the government to rule through decrees with little parliamentary or judiciary oversight. It was declared on July 20 to help authorities move swiftly against the coup plotters and people suspected of links to the FETÖ, which Turkey has branded a terror organization.
The country's highest national security body, National Security Council (MGK), chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, recommended this week that the three-month state of emergency be extended by a further three months. Erdoğan, however, hinted on Thursday that the measure could be prolonged to one year or beyond.