Cizîr Canton Press Administration cancelled the work permits of Rûdaw and Orient TV due to these channels’ “engagement in enmity towards Kurdish people, institutions, and martyrs.”

In its written statement, the administration announced the withdrawal of its vote of confidence for channels that pit entities in Syria against one another, disseminate chauvinist and racist propaganda in order to create chaos, and manipulate the truth in their broadcast.

Cizîr Canton Press Administration stated that it has been working, for the past two years, towards the creation of an environment in which media organs could freely operate. The administration noted that relevant organizations were formed for this purpose, and tens of local and national channels operated within the canton even when they did not have the necessary documentation. The administration underlined the freedom of the press in Cizîr Canton, and said that the canton has been the region most open to the press in Syria.

In its statement, Cizîr Canton Press Administration recalled that it was formed by the Executive Council, and has been investigating the conditions for the improvement of the freedom of the press. During its investigation, the administration discovered that some channels operating in Rojava were engaging in enmity towards Kurdish people, institutions, and martyrs. The administration announced that it cancelled all of the work permits for the Hewlêr-based Rûdaw and Dubai-based Orient channels for their unrealistic broadcasts that depict events in unethical and untruthful ways. The administration noted that Rûdaw and Orient were financed by political parties that determine coverage content in a way that shows enmity towards Kurdish people, institutions, and martyrs. The administration emphasized that the manipulative coverage of Rûdaw and Orient aimed to harm Rojava revolution during times of ISIS attacks. Highlighting the agitative aspect of these channels’ coverage, the administration noted that the channels pitted entities in Syria against one another, disseminated chauvinist and racist propaganda in order to create chaos, and manipulated the truth in their broadcast. The administration recalled that the two channels tried to defame non-governmental organizations and even retracted the articles of their own employees on the field in order to prevent the dissemination of the truth.

For all these reasons, Cizîr Canton Press Administration invited the Democratic Autonomous Administration to start the legal procedures for Rûdaw and Orient, and called upon the channels’ employees to return their work permits and apologize from the institutions that were harmed by their broadcasts.