“Turkustan is ready to cooperate with South Korea”

Mr. Aqil Camal is Editor-in-Chief of the Turkustan Weekly in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is one of the most dynamic countries among former Soviet republics in the areas of economy, politics, culture and media activities. There is especially an uptrend in the media. The Turkustan Weekly is an exclusive publication for the media of Azerbaijan with several language options and cooperation with different countries. Mr. Aqil Camal who is the editor-in- chief answered the questions for The AsiaN about Turkustan Weekly and their endeavors on mutual relations with different media agencies all around the world.

Mr. Camal, Turkustan Weekly is very popular in Azerbaijan and other Turkish republics. Can you tell us the process of organization of this newspaper?

Turkustan Weekly joined to media world on June 11, 2006. But at first, it was published under the name of “Türk’ün Sesi – The Voice of Turks” in the year of 1998. It remained for only two years and our organization committee decided to publish it again in 2006. It is a weekly publication, and is delivered to all districts of Azerbaijan by sale and subscription system. Readership consists of intellectuals, teachers, and students. At the same time, we established reader clubs in some cities and districts in Azerbaijan.

What is the main mission of Turkustan Weekly?

Our aim is to beef up the national identity consciousness of Turkish people in the Turkish republics and all around the world. Additionally, we support the integration process of different Turkish republics outside of their domestic affairs. At the same time, we put great effort to eliminate all type of problems which are contemporary patterns of Soviet eradication policy toward the Turkish identity in Azerbaijan. The executive committee and our intellectual supporters are pioneers of the freedom struggle of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Turkustan Weekly includes news, interviews and attractive reports from different countries. The agenda about Turkey is so intensive. We publish some news and reports in the Turkish language in every edition. This is the exclusive example in Azerbaijan. Several articles are written by Turkish students and businessmen in the Turkish language. We provide different Turkish dialects, too.

Do you coordinate with neighbor states as addition to Turkish republics? Are you ready for all type of media collaborations?

Yes, of course. The internet is a great opportunity for our coordination with colleagues in neighbor geographies. Cooperation on mutual interests and communication are our priorities. Turkustan is an active member of Media Forum of Turkish Speaking Countries which first started in 2010. We have strong relations and cooperation with various media organs in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Hungary.

There are several language options at the website of turkustan.info. Do you make any plan to add new languages in the future?

Yes, we mostly cover the agenda of Azerbaijan and the world news occupies an important position. Turkish, English, Russian and Farsi news and articles can be found as an addition to Azerbaijani Turkish publications. The main goal is to reach a wide audience.

Do you want to share any message with The AsiaN and Korean people?

I wish great success to The AsiaN family and our valuable colleagues. We expect their strong cooperation with the media of Azerbaijan. Additionally, I wish peace, serenity, and prosperity for Korean people.

Mr. Camal, thank you very much for your valuable answers.

I thank The AsiaN.