Letter: Turkish conspiracy

Sir: I usually refrain from responding to ill-tempered and unfocused attempts to smear our TV station such as the Ambassador of Turkey's letter to you (29 March). However, I feel obliged to respond when I read allegations that we are a Marxist TV station "supporting the IRA ... and employing Greeks and Serbians". Sounds like a bad case of the conspiracy theories to me.

MedTV exists to give a voice to all Kurdish voices, whether pro- or anti- PKK, and all shades of opinion between the two. We are an uncensored voice and we would happily welcome Turkish government spokesmen to participate in debate. However, Ambassador Sanberk denies that there is a Kurdish problem. His mantra appears to be that there is only a terrorist problem.

If a participant in one of our phone-in programmes did call for "decapitation" of the Turkish prime minister it is likely that he learned of this barbaric practice from pictures of Turkish soldiers holding the decapitated heads of Kurdish guerrillas.

Stop avoiding the issue, Ambassador. I challenge you openly and honestly to debate the issues with me, at a neutral venue and with a mutually agreeable chair. Or is freedom of expression too much to bear?

HIKMET TABAK

Managing Director, Med TV

London W1