Turkey removes three Kurdish channels from main satellite operator: Report

ANKARA: Turkish authorities today ordered the removal of three Iraqi Kurdistan-based TV channels from Turkey's main satellite operator, on the same day as a controversial independence vote in the autonomous region, local media reported.

Broadcasting watchdog RTUK ruled that Rudaw -- a channel considered close to Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani Kurdistan 24 and Waar TV, should be removed from Turksat, Dogan news agency reported.

Barzani has attracted the wrath of Ankara as well as Baghdad and Iran with the move to hold today's non-binding vote on independence for the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

RTUK's decision was made in an extraordinary meeting today because the channels are "not based in Turkey and do not have a broadcasting licence", the agency said.

According to Dogan, the decision was carried by RTUK members from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Neither the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) nor pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) members attended the meeting because they were "out of town", the agency added.

The HDP decried the "utterly political decision that is not legal" in a statement on its website, accusing RTUK of being pressured by the government.

"This is a blow against the public's right to news," the HDP's deputy leader Saruhan Oluc said.

Despite calls for postponement from the international community, Iraqi Kurds voted today in defiance of threats from Baghdad, Ankara and Tehran.