New TRT Espanol strong alternative to Western-centered broadcasting, says Turkish official

ISTANBUL

The new Spanish-language digital news platform of TRT, Türkiye’s public broadcaster, represents a strong alternative to Western-centered media, Türkiye’s communications director said on Friday.

“With intellectual, in-depth broadcasts, international sources of disinformation can be countered and more awareness can be created of this issue. For this very reason, I believe that TRT Espanol will represent a strong alternative to the Western-centered international broadcasting approach,” said Fahrettin Altun.

Addressing the platform’s launch ceremony in Istanbul, Altun said it is unacceptable that a few large Western media companies dominate international broadcasting.

“We believe that TRT Espanol will contribute to diversity and multicultural broadcasting in the field of international broadcasting,” he said.

It will have the opportunity to explain Türkiye’s foreign policy in favor of peace and justice and its justified theses to more people, and make Türkiye’s economic, cultural and human potential more visible, he added.

"We will further strengthen the bridges of friendship we have established with Latin American countries,” he said.

Altun stressed that broadcasting in Spanish, a tongue spoken by hundreds of millions of people, means opening up different thoughts and new doors for people.

Situation in Gaza

On the situation in Gaza, Altun reiterated that Türkiye is against any oppression or genocide in Gaza.

"As expected, our taking a stand against this injustice of the global order, shouting the truth in the face of injustice, and standing up for justice disturbs groups with evil aims like Israel,” Altun said.

These groups are trying to distort the truth and “increase their cruelty through terrorism, genocide, systematic lies and disinformation campaigns,” he said.

"No matter what they do, our stance is clear when it comes to the Palestinian cause. Our stance is on the side of the truth,” he added.

Türkiye has always been the biggest supporter of a sovereign independent Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7 which killed some 1,200 people. More than 34,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and some 77,300 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar​​​​​​​