 |
|
OPEN
LETTER
|
|
The
Current And Vince Carlin, Dear Mr. Carlin, I am not satisfied with the response I received on June 8, 2009 from Pam Bertrand, Executive Producer of The Current. I would like you to review the matter. I am aware that you have been receiving many letters from members of the Turkish Canadian community, expressing their dissatisfaction, so I will attempt to not repeat what is covered in those letters. My main concern and what I would like you to review is CBC's lack of objectivity and apparent fascination with the so-called Armenian "genocide." I do not understand why CBC seems to be only interested in exploring and reporting on the Armenian side's stories on this issue. What about the Turkish side? Why doesn't CBC invite Turkish or non-Turkish and non-Armenian historians, authors and scholars who believe that the tragic events of 1915 in Eastern Anatolia cannot be characterized as "genocide"? Why doesn't Canada's public broadcaster express some level of care or concern about the Turkish victims of Armenian atrocities? What about their stories? The issue is in fact very complicated and I would encourage you to research the topic in order to better understand the underlying context. I fear that without this type of understanding, Canada's public broadcaster runs the risk of becoming a socio-political tool of the Armenian lobby. Although I was pleased to receive a response from CBC regarding Turkish-Canadians' criticism of The Current, I was surprised and disappointed at Ms. Pam Bertrand's letter. Ms. Bertrand's "one answer fits all" response did very little to reassure me of "the continuing integrity of" the program and underestimated Turkish Canadians' intelligence. She writes: "Ms. Tremonti reminded listeners that there is another point of view. She reminded them 'Turkey continues to insist that [the Armenians] were killed in the context of the civil war.'" Does Ms. Bertrand seriously believe that in this 25-minute, one-sided interview, Ms. Tremonti's sarcastically used one sentence is tantamount to "balance"? Does Ms. Bertrand seriously believe that this one throw-away sentence can be equated with CBC meeting its "obligation through federal regulation and corporate policy to carry different points of view on controversial matters like this one"? Is she joking? Finally, I would like to make one thing clear: Turks do not deny the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during the terrible First World War, but almost without fail Armenians continue to ignore the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Turks at the hands of Armenians. There was one positive note in Ms Bertrand's letter: "... we are fully cognizant of our obligation to the equitable treatment of other views and expect to include Turkish views on this issue on the future edition of the program." As a loyal listener of CBC Radio One, I want to believe this promise. But I am afraid that without your investigation and intervention with respect to CBC's continued one-sided portrayal of this issue, an approach which runs counter to CBC's mandate of journalistic impartiality and integrity, the concerns of myself and thousands of Turkish and non-Turkish listeners will not be addressed. Sincerely, Bora Hincer June 2009 |
| l |
