Media insiders are asking if the History Channel bowed to political pressure in pulling a documentary suspected of detailing Turkish atrocities against Armenians.
"Ottoman Empire: The War Machine” mysteriously disappeared from the History Channel schedule on June 22, the day it was to premiere – even though the network had run promos just days before and pre-sold DVDs on its Web site.
The documentary recounts the six-century reign of the Ottomans, and their empire, the precursor of modern-day Turkey.
"Although none have seen the documentary, critics suspect that it likely covers the death of more than a million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1923,” the trade publication Broadcasting & Cable reports.
"Armenians regard the killings as genocide, but the Turkish government disputes the characterization and is notoriously strident in advocating its version of history.”
The History Channel said it pulled the documentary because it was "incomplete and did not meet our broadcasting standards,” and denied that it came under political pressure not to air the program.
But Doris V. Cross, a vice president at Media Watch Armenia, a clearinghouse for information on the killings, told Broadcasting & Cable that complaints from Turkish officials about what they consider unfavorable media coverage are "not uncommon.”
The History Channel said it has rescheduled the documentary for the fall.
"If the History Channel isn’t finished with the film, then by all means they should finish it,” said Andrew Goldberg, executive producer of April’s PBS documentary "The Armenian Genocide.”
"But if they are caving to pressure from the Turks, then shame on all of them.”
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