GünAz TV

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GünAz TV
Gunaz-tv.svg
GünAz TV logo
Broadcast areaEurope, West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia
HeadquartersChicago, United States of America
Programming
Language(s)Azerbaijani
Picture formatDigital Video Broadcasting
Ownership
OwnerAhmad Obali
History
Launched2004
Links
Webcastgunaz.tv/az/live/
Websitegunaz.tv

GünAz TV (Azerbaijani: گۆناز تی‌وی) is an Azerbaijani-language television channel based in Chicago and broadcasting in Europe, West Asia, North Africa, and Central Asia. It is run by Ahmad Obali, who founded it in 2004.[1] Ideologically, the television channel promotes a pan-Turkist viewpoint and supports ethnic Azerbaijani separatism in Iran.[2][3]

History

The channel has its origins in 2004, when Ahmad Obali founded it with the self-proclaimed purpose of protecting the rights of Iranian Azerbaijanis.[4] It was given the name GünAz, a portmanteau word made up from "Güney Azərbaycan" (Azerbaijani: گۆنئی آذربایجان), which translates to "South Azerbaijan", a term used by Azerbaijani nationalists to describe Iranian Azerbaijan.[1][2] The overwhelming majority of its content has been anti-Iranian, with a 2014 study by an Iranian-Azerbaijani researcher finding that 86.64% of all programs broadcast on the channel have been aimed at portraying Iran negatively, without a single one portraying it positively.[5]

In 2006 it was banned from broadcasting via Türksat in response to an Iranian complaint following the channel's calling on Iranian Azerbaijanis to engage in terrorism against the state during the 2006 protests in Iran, as well as a Turkish state investigation that concluded foreign intelligence agencies were behind its operation. From that point on, the channel has broadcast only from TelStar and Hot bird satellites. Reportedly, the loss of their ability to use Türksat heavily reduced the channel's viewership within Iran.[6][7]

In 2019, GünAz TV played a role in the spreading the story of Zahra Navidpour [fa]'s alleged rape by Iranian MP Salman Khodadadi by publishing an interview with her. The interview included several audio files that were claimed to be evidence of sexual assault.[8] Khodadadi rejected the accusations made by her in the interview and was later tried and acquitted of charges by the Supreme Court.[9]

Funding

According to Obali, GünAz TV receives all of its funding from viewer donations, being entirely independent of any governmental support. However, it has never publicly disclosed its financial resources or sources of funding.[6] It is suspected that the owner, Ahmad Obali, uses the chain of restaurants he owns in Chicago to launder money, using what is earned from it to fund his media operations. In 2008, Chicago authorities prosecuted and brought Obali to court for financial violations relating to his restaurant business.[10] Allegedly, Obali also maintains ties to the Azerbaijani mafia in Russia, making use of them to procure various financial resources.[11] Additionally, it is clear from some of its programs that the channel operates offices and studios in Baku, making it evident that it enjoys some level of support from the ruling authorities of Azerbaijan, despite official denials.[12][13][14] The government-backed Congress of World Azerbaijanis have also publicly stated their support for the channel.[15] Asides from the Azerbaijani government, Turkey accused the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of renting the satellite channels used to host GünAz in 2006.[16]

Controversy

Racism against Kurds and Persians

Numerous articles on their website and statements during broadcasts have expressed racist views towards the ethnically Kurdish population of West Azerbaijan province.[6] Their website regularly publishes articles calling Kurds backwards, primitive, criminal, and terroristic.[17][18] Similarly, hosts on the channel regularly make inciteful assertions about Persians. One by the name of Yasim Qaraqoyunlu criticized Azerbaijanis simply for following the same religion as Persians, Shia Islam, stating:[13]

«من مخالف دین نیستم. اما من مخالف مذهبی هستم که ما و ایران را در یک چیز مشترک کرده‌است و با فارس‌ها نزدیک ساخته. من مخالف اسلام نیستم، بلکه مخالف تشیع هستم»

Which translates to:

"I am not against religion, but I am against the religion that has united us and Iran into one entity and made us close to the Persians. I am not against Islam, but against Shiism"

CIA connections

According to a 2006 article by the Hürriyet newspaper, following a complaint about GünAz TV from the Iranian foreign ministry, the Turkish government launched an investigation into the channel. As a result of the technical analysis, It was discovered that the United States' Central Intelligence Agency had been renting channels from Türksat, including the ones used for GünAz TV and a Kurdish separatist channel, with the purpose of broadcasting anti-government propaganda activities into Iran. This resulted in the channel being banned from broadcasting via Turkey.[2][6][16][10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Haqqımızda" [About us]. GünAz TV (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  2. ^ a b c "تداوم سیاست‌های ضد ایرانی دولت جمهوری آذربایجان" [Continuation of the anti-Iranian policies of the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan]. Aran News (in Persian). 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  3. ^ "آیا همکاری با رسانه‌های تجزیه‌طلب اپوزیسیون جرم نیست؟" [Isn't cooperation with separatist opposition media a crime?]. Azariha (in Persian). 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  4. ^ "ترکيه بازپخش برنامه‌های تلويزيون آذری زبان را متوقف کرد" [Turkey stopped the rebroadcasting of Azeri-language TV programs]. BBC Persian (in Persian). 29 March 2006. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  5. ^ Kamrava, Mehran (2017-07-01). The Great Game in West Asia: Iran, Turkey and the South Caucasus. Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-19-086966-3. A content analysis of GunAz TV, done in 2014 by an Iranian Azeri, indicates that 86.64 percent of its programs have been negative toward Iran, with not a single positive program
  6. ^ a b c d "İttifak böyle çalışıyor" [This is how the Alliance works]. soL Günlük Siyasi Gazete (in Turkish). 13 November 2006. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  7. ^ Ghasemi Turki, Mohammad-Ali; Namvar, Jafar; Mowlavi, Seyed Shams ul-Din (2008). "Role of Ethnic Tendencies in Urban Crises in the June 2006 Events in Urumieh". Police Management Studies Quarterly (in Persian). 3 (3): 323–343 – via Scientific Information Database.
  8. ^ Ghanatir, Hessam (10 January 2019). "Woman who Accused MP of Rape Found Dead". Iranwire. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  9. ^ "دیوان عالی كشور او را از اتهام تجاوز تبرئه كرد" [The Supreme Court Acquitted Him of Rape Charges]. Etemad. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  10. ^ a b "احمد اوبالی از پولشویی تا تجزیه‌طلبی؛ نگاهی به سیر زندگی و فعالیت‌های مدیرشبکه گوناز" [Ahmed Obali from money laundering to separatism; A look at the life and activities of GünAz television network manager]. Azariha (in Persian). 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  11. ^ "تفرقه افکنی قومی، رسالت اصلی گوناذ /دفاع نامناسب، مطالبات به حق قومی را به حاشیه برده‌است" [Ethnic division, the main mission of GünAz / Unsuitable defense has sidelined ethnic rights discourse]. Pāygāh-e Tahlili-ye Xabari-ye Haqāyeq-e Qafqāz (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  12. ^ "Azərbaycan Respublikasında GünazTV studiyası varmı?" [Is there a GünAz TV studio in the Republic of Azerbaijan?]. Qafqaz Mədəniyyət Mərkəzi (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  13. ^ a b "ادامه‌های فعالیت مخرب تلویزیون «ضدایرانی» در خاک جمهوری آذربایجان" [Continuation of the destructive activities of "anti-Iranian" television in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan]. Azariha (in Persian). 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  14. ^ "İranın təhqir edilməsinə necə qarşılıq vermək lazımdır?" [How should Iran reciprocate to insults?]. Qafqaz Mədəniyyət Mərkəzi (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2022-10-29.
  15. ^ Litvak, Meir (2017-04-21). Constructing Nationalism in Iran: From the Qajars to the Islamic Republic. Routledge. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-315-44878-7. In a sign of an increasingly organized Azeri network society, the World Azeri Congress also backed Obalı’s initiatives
  16. ^ a b "Ankara'dan İran'a 'denge' politikası" [A 'balance' policy of Ankara towards Iran]. Hürriyet (in Turkish). 8 November 2006. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  17. ^ van Wilgenburg, Vladimir (4 October 2006). "Azeri TV Gunaz propagandizes against Kurds". ekurd.net. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  18. ^ "تلویزیون گوناز: موفقیت ما در گرو افزایش «گفتمان نفرت» است" [GünAz TV: Our success depends on increasing "hate speech"]. Azariha (in Persian). 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
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