Minority media in Iraq: Historical development of Türkmen press

Although there is no exact definition of minority, its impression has substantially enlarged and it has covered new concepts over time. There are various sociological, legal and political interpretations of the minority, but the Western literature addressed its ethnical, religious, linguistic and cultural factors, while the principal factor was religion in some societies, especially the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, there is not any consensus on content and scope of the minority. The concept of "minority" is reviewed from legal and sociological aspects, but there are types of minority: ethnical minority, religious minority, linguistic minority and national minority. Mass communication tools are quite important for minorities, because creation of autonomous communication areas help protection of their own cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnical structures and these areas also play a major role in making a sense of their existence. The press activities of Turkmens, a minority, have struggled to exist since establishment of Iraq. There were three newspapers in the Kingdom period: Kerkük (Karkuk), İleri (the Future) and Afak (the Horizons). Beşir (the Forerunner), Kardeşlik (Fraternity) and Türkmeneli (the fatherland of Turkmens) were published in the Republic period (1958- 2003). Following newspapers have been published to date after the invasion in 2003 (Türkmeneli (the fatherland of Turkmens), Aksu (Clean Water), İnci Diyale and TEBA). These journals are also still published: Kardeşlik (Fraternity), Elfanar, Kurtuluş (Sovereignity), Elkatip and Altukmanı. However, following newspapers were closed following a short period of publication: Kerkük, Altın Köprü, Karar, Alsadık, Almesir, Meclis, Ufuk, Almizan, Türkmen Times, Zahab El Esvet, Ayna, Tercüman, El-Wefa, Babagürgür, Şafa Babagürgür, El-Beşir, and Kale.