AHEPA Supreme President urges Netflix to reconsider 'Famagusta' decision

In a letter to Netflix Co-CEO and Greek-American Ted Sarandos, AHEPA Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos expressed disappointment in Netflix “cowering to RTUK's demands” to prohibit the series ‘Famagusta’ from being viewed by a global audience.

In a letter dated 9 September and addressed to Sarandos, Tsivicos said AHEPA was alarmed by press reports that Netflix will not broadcast, “Famagusta” outside of Greece, due to pressure by the Turkish Radio and TV Supreme Council (RTUK).

AHEPA Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos

Taking a tactile approach, Tsivicos began: “We applaud Netflix for its commitment to addressing censorship and artistic expression through its Culture Memo and commitment to transparency via its annual Environmental Social Governance report. When it comes to Artistic Expression, Netflix, in theory, got it right: ‘While every title is different, we approach them based on the same set of principles: we support the artistic expression of the creators we choose to work with; we program for a diversity of audiences and tastes; and we let viewers decide what’s appropriate for them, versus having Netflix censor specific artists or voices.’”

Before adding: “However, it is disappointing that, in practice, Netflix’s acts run counter to what the company preaches internally to its employees. Again, we credit Netflix for its transparency, stating when the company ‘complies’ with government censorship laws around the world (a premise with which we disagree as an American-based organisation.). Your ESG report states: ‘We give creators the opportunity to reach audiences around the world, but our catalog varies from country to country. In some cases, this is due to the fact that we don’t have the rights to every title in every country where we operate. In a few cases, we’ve had to remove specific titles or episodes of titles in specific countries to comply with and we report these annually. In other cases, a government may impose monetary fines in lieu of removing content.’”

Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos

And so he said if Netflix wishes to comply with RTUK’s demand to pull “Famagusta” in Turkey only – as Netflix has with previous RTUK demands – as well as other countries’ demands – so be it. “However, Turkey has absolutely no credibility or standing in the world to dictate what a global Netflix audience can or should watch. It’s simply unacceptable,” said Tsivicos.

Turkey is a nation that scores a 33/100 by Freedom House—a rating of “Not Free” – he continued, citing a Freedom House report: “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which have ruled Turkey since 2002, have become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, consolidating significant power through constitutional changes and by imprisoning opponents and critics.”

And he said Freedom House also grades Turkey a 30/100 for Internet Freedom, quoting: “Censorship is widespread, and hundreds of websites, online articles, and social media posts have been blocked or removed. Online troll networks frequently amplify pro-government disinformation, and journalists, activists, and social media users continue to face legal charges for their online content.”

AHEPA’s Supreme President wrote: “Mr Sarandos, we are deeply dismayed by Netflix’s action to cower to RTUK’s censorship demand, prohibiting ‘Famagusta’ from being viewed by a global audience. By doing so, Netflix is complicit in Turkey’s downward spiral toward even further authoritarianism and amplifying its pro-government disinformation about its brutal illegal invasion of the Republic the Cyprus 50 years ago that ‘Famagusta’ promises to do justice in remembrance.”

Concluding, Tsivicos requested a virtual meeting to discuss “this disturbing and pressing matter”.