ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Rudaw TV’s use of a Kurdistan map in its daily weather forecast has caused uproar in Turkey and among Iran’s Azeri community, calling it a threat to their land.
“Many others have used this map in the past and created places as they wished,” said Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz to the Turkish media. “But they will get nowhere with that.”
In the past four months, Rudaw TV has used the map of what many Kurds call Greater Kurdistan. It encompasses the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria that stretch to the Mediterranean coast.
Turkey’s Hurryiet and Milliyet newspapers have described Rudaw TV’s map of Kurdistan as a “scandal”.
“We will not take that issue seriously and no one believes in that map,” said the Turkish defense minister.
However, Rudaw director general, Ako Mohammed said that the map used by Rudaw TV forecast section has been in use for years.
“That map has been drawn by experts on Kurdish history and geography and it has been published for many years,” said Mohammed. “We are now using it to tell the weather in the major Kurdish cities.”
Mohammed defended the use of the particular map, saying, “That map is in the mind and heart of every Kurd,”
“But it doesn’t reflect any formal or government position,” he added. “Rudaw doesn’t mean to hurt any other nation. Rudaw works professionally and professionalism crosses all borders.”
Meanwhile Araz News, the website of Azerbaijan National Resistance Front of Iran has called the Rudaw forecast map “A threat to the people of West Azerbaijan.”
“Under the pretext of weather forecast this TV [Rudaw] shows a map that identifies Urumiyeh and all other cities in West Azerbaijan as Kurdish cities,” said the website in an article.
