Clandestine Radio Watch 088
--------------xxxxxxxxxx CRW 088 xxxxxxxxxx--------------
CLANDESTINE RADIO WATCH
November 20, 2001
Clandestine Radio Watch (CRW) is a biweekly summary which centrali-
zes the latest news and developments affecting the study of clan-
destine radio in an easy-to-read format. Editions are published on
the CRW web site. Access to CRW is free.
CRW is both not-for-profit and non-partisan. We welcome your inte-
rest, input and queries. Contributions, input and support, logs, QSL
verification info, as well as background material can be sent to us.
CRW issues may also contain parts in Spanish, Italian, Dutch, German
or Portuguese.
CRW Team :
Editor-in-Chief :
Martin Schoech, Merseburg : schoech@clandestineradio.com
Correspondents :
Nick Grace C., Washington : grace@clandestineradio.com
Owen Williamson, Houston : williamson@clandestineradio.com
Robertas Petraitis, Klaipeda : tornado493@hotmail.com
Roberto Iglesias, Washington : roiglesias@aol.com
Takuya Hirayama, Tokyo : hirayama@clandestineradio.com
Next issue - CRW 089 : November 30, 2001
Old and new issues of CRW can be found at http://listen.to/crw
or at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crwatch/messages
CRW is the newsletter for ClandestineRadio.com, the largest web-
site on Clandestine Radio at http://www.ClandestineRadio.com
------------xxxxxxxxxx Breaking News xxxxxxxxxx----------------
AFGHANISTAN : see 'CRW 087 Special Afganistan'
------------xxxxxxxxxx Schedules xxxxxxxxxx--------------------
Schedules - BELORUSSIA
Radio Racja
RADIO RACJA Belarus via Polish Warsaw shortwave facilities:
0600-0800 6095 1100-1300 6180 1800-2000 6110.
(via N.R.Green-G Nov 6, 2001 in BC-DX 547)
Actual times and freqs on website www.racja.pl/efir/efir.htm given
in Belarus local time. Decoded in UT should be 0600-0800 6095,
1100-1300 6180 and 2000-2200 on MW 1080. Vilnius-LTU 612 kHz at
present not on air, but only temporary.
(B.Trutenau-LTU, Nov 12, 2001 in BCDX 547)
...............................................................
Schedules - IRAQ
Radio Free Iraq
Extended R Free Iraq (via RFE/RL) schedule as of Oct 31:
0200-0300 7105; 0200-0400 5965, 7175 and 7110; 0600-0700 11965,
15400, 17740; 1400-1500 11910; 1400-1600 1314; 1400-1700 6130, 9685,
11835; 1500-1700 11965; 2100-2300 6140 and 9645.
(from RFE/RL website, via M.Kropf-D Nov 18, 2001 in BCDX 548)
Voice of Islamic Revolution of Iraq
ARABIC (VOICE OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION OF IRAQ)
0330-0527 6145 7100 9790 11660
(Observer-BUL Nov 13, 2001 in BCDX 547)
...............................................................
Schedules - ISRAEL
Voice of Islamic Palestinian Revolution
ARABIC (VOICE OF ISLAMIC PALESTINIAN REVOLUTION)
0330-0427 7250 9505
(Observer-BUL Nov 13, 2001 in BCDX 547)
...............................................................
Schedules - SRI LANKA
TAMIL CLANDESTINE RADIO STATIONS LATEST FREQUENCY DETAILS
IBC-TAMIL
frequency .. 7460 kHz
time .. 0000utc to 0100 utc
frequency .. 17495 kHz
time .. 1500 utc to 1530 utc
TAMIL BROADCOSTING CORPORATION-londan
frequency.. 21590 kHz
time .. 1230utc to 1330 utc
VOICE OF TIGERS -TAMILEELAM
frequency .. 7460 kHz
time .. 0100 utc t0 0230 utc
(D.Prabakaran-CLN Nov 12, 2001 in GRDXC-ML)
------------xxxxxxxxxx Logs xxxxxxxxxx-------------------------
Logs - AFGHANISTAN
see 'CRW 087 Special Afganistan'
...............................................................
Logs - CHINA
Falun Dafa Radio
5925 Falun Dafa R. *2100 Oriental melody, IDs in Chinese by woman
and man; off at 2200, leaving the channel to DW (listed via Russia).
Rather good signal with crisp audio. When they were on 12075 a few
months ago the xmtr site was said to be Novosibirsk, later they were
on 9710 apparently from Bulgaria -- but where is this new outlet
originating from?
(B.Hill-USA Nov. 4+, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
Falun Dafa Current untraced on 9710 as of late
(O.Alm-S Nov 7, 2001 in CDX 372)
Schedule is 2100-2200 UTC on 5925 and 9945.
(L.Maes-BEL Nov 8, 2001 in CDX 372)
Falun Dafa [from RUS to CHN] now also active on 9945, same progr as
5925, but there is a delay between the two. CNR-1 and CNR-2 jammers
mess up both channels.
(O.Alm-S Nov 18, 2001 in BCDX 548)
I listened to Falun Dafa when they signed on this evening. 9945 had
a brief carrier test at approx 2050 and was back at 2057, progr
start at 20.59:30 UT. The signal was enormous, S=9+30 to 40 dB and
left the jammers far behind. This is either someone in the east with
much backlobe in my direction or someone in the west at close
distance (polar cap propagation). Sunday evening the signal was
nowhere near Monday's excellent strength.
5925 switches on the carrier at various times from 2042 to 2048 and
has no tones or anything. The progr start was at 21.00:30 UT, giving
a difference of one full min between the channels, so the progr
seems to be pre- recorded. The signal strength on 5925 is only fair
and the jamming usually makes a mess of the freq.
(O.Alm-S Nov 19, 2001 in BCDX 548)
New Star BC Stn
New Star Broadcasting Station, observed as "Xin Xing Guangbo dian
tai", active on 8300 9725 13750, flute melody on s-on. Tx on air 30
minutes before bcast. Transmissions not in \\ they have different
code number transmissions. Two lady announcer, one for ID annt, the
other for number reading. Irregular transmissions, some times one of
three freqs is not on air, sometimes one freq on air but not
modulated.
sloper North/South 30 m East/West 30 m inverted L-antenna
8300 /0200-0215* S=7 S=5
9725 /0200-0220* S=4 S=3
13750 /0200-0245* S=1/2 S=5
8300 /1000-1025* S=9 S=9 +10 dB
9725 /1000-1020* S=9 S=7/8
13750 1000-1025 not active
8300 /1100-1118* S=9 S=9 +10 dB
9725 /1100-1115* S=9 +10 dB S=9
13750 /1100-1115* S=7 S=7/8
(R.Schulze-PHL BC-DX Oct 29 - Nov 10, 2001
via W.Büschel-D in DXplorer-ML)
8300 New Star BC Stn 1436-1500+ Nov 17. YL with usual 4-digit number
groups. Also heard on 13750 (strong with buzz), 11430 (weak) and
9725 (fair), but seemed to be independent xmsns and not // to each
other. Xmsns ended at different times: 1443* (13750), 1447* (9725),
1450* (13750) and 1451* (8300); carriers remained on. Then all
started up again at *1500.
(J.Wilkins-CO-USA Nov 17, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
Re : New Star Radio : also noted on 15385 kHz,
(W.Büschel-D Nov 19, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
Voice of Tibet
15670 Voice of Tibet 1210 political talk px
(T.Ekblom-S Nov 3, 2001 in CDX 373)
15680 Voice of Tibet 1215. Good in Tibetan. No sign of parallel
scheduled 15400 and 15705 kHz.
(I.Cattermole-NZL Nov 6, 2001 in CDX 372)
Voice of Tibet, 17 & 18 Nov with fair signal on 15670 and stronger
// 15680, carrier and tones from 1205 UT, 1211 IS (Buddhist prayer
chant with dissonant musical notes, sounding like something from
"2001: A Space Odyssey"). Opened 1215 in Tibetan, announcement
included the words "Dalai Lama". Talks shifted into
Chinese @ 1245. Clear and free of jamming. Where are these xmtrs?
(J.Cobb-GA-USA Nov 18 in DXLD 1-175)
...............................................................
Log - CUBA
Diverse
9955 is usually jammed whenever I have checked. In much of the Uni-
ted States, I simply cannot hear the programming transmitted here.
But this past weekend I was able to take advantage of hurricane
Michelle hitting Cuba to hear some of the Cuban exile programs that
are usually blocked:
9955 Foro Militar Cubano 0055 talk by man in Spanish, RMI ID
in Spanish at 0100, no ID for this program heard at close of pro-
gram, just "chow." Decent signal, no jamming heard. (Johnson Nov 4)
9955 Radio Revista Lux 0000 canned-English ID by Jeff White
then a Spanish one. This program followed in Spanish. ID and
address at start, pretty slick program, male announcer handling much
of the program, but also heard a woman. Nice signal at this time.
No jamming noted. (Johnson Nov 5)
9955 Conversando entre Cubanos [p] 0230 with Living Faith pro-
gram still going. Signal a bit weaker now with program starting at
0231. I found this one much harder to understand, just didn't sound
that clear. Gave an address at the start, but I couldn't catch the
ID even after listening to my recording several times. Star Trek
theme is what they open up with as the man gives an opening announ-
cement over it. (Johnson Nov 5)
(H.Johnson-USA Nov 4-5, 2001 via CDX 372)
Things are back to normal for Cuban jammers, tried for Radio Oriente
Libre at 0130 on Nov 12 and the frequency was completely blocked by
jamming here.
(H.Johnson-USA Nov 12, 2001 in CDX 373)
...............................................................
Logs - ERITREA
Tigrean Int'l Solidarity for Justice and Democracy
15700 Tigrean Int'l Solidarity for Justice and Democracy 1602-1629*
Nov 17. Presumed with talks in HoA language; ended with 5 minutes of
regional music. Off without anmt at 1629*. Good signal with multi-
path echo. Via Julich.
(J.Wilkins-CO-USA Nov 17, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
15700 Radio Solidarity (presumed) heard at 1558 with open carrier
than *1600. Not sure what their ID is in Tigrean, so presumed. Long
talks by same man and a few musical bridges. Per Ludo Maes, this
station is the same one that was originally listed as being on twice
a week on 15620. Indeed, their website still list this frequency.
This is the station of the Tigrean International Solidarity for
Justice and Democracy ( www.tisjd.net .) TISJD claimed to have already
raised $20,000 to support the station. Their schedule is 1600-
1629 Wed/Sat per Kai Ludwig, quoting a recent DTK Julich schedule.
Heard on Nov 10 till sign off in mid-sentence. The website also
contains a total of five previous programs, which seem to have
different openings than what I heard. The announcer sounds the same
however. The group can be contacted at ethiopian@tisjd.et or at P.O.
Box 60040, Washington, DC 20039.
(H.Johnson-USA Nov 10, 2001 in CDX 373)
Voice of Democratic Eritrea
15670 V.O.Democratic Eritrea via DTK Nov 12 *1700-1710 25342
Tigrigna, 1700 s/on with Opening music and ID. Opening announce by
man. Talk.
(Ko.Hashimoto-JPN Nov 12, 2001 in JAP 186)
Voice of Freedom
6965, 0330-, Voice of Freedom Nov 12 Tune in at 0330, arabic style
mx playing then to male announcer in Arabic hrd at 0340. Id tentive
as found in Passport 2002. I have hrd this for the past 3 weeks but
extremely weak and mostly a hint of mx hrd in the past. Tonight is
an s9 signal level with rtty qrm. A number of musical interludes
heard during talks.
(R.Montgomery-PA-USA Nov 12, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
QSY? Less than two weeks ago they were still strong on 6985.0 rather
than on 6965v. Interesting catch anyway.
(H.Kuhl-D Nov 12, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
6965.00, , Voice of Freedom 0325-0400 At tune in mx with sgn level
of s7-9. Clear copy. Interesting mx, African in sound. Heard
previous week, same time but checked through out the week and no
copy. Apparently only a Sunday night, Monday morning broadcast.
Best in LSB due to rtty. Church bells hrd at 0331. Then to what
might have been the NA. Short talks by male announcer. Then to
Mission Impossible tune 0333 w/ male announcer talking while tune
playing. Continued talks after mx. Possible nx in unknown
language. Occassional interludes of mx durng talks. Then to what
might have been commentary. Talks by two male announcers. 0346.
Signal falling off a bit at this time. Nov 19
(R.Montgomery-PA-USA Nov 19, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
...............................................................
Logs - ETHIOPIA
Dejen Radio
12110 Dejen Radio, *1700-1715, IS, opening mx, ID as "Dimtsi Tegaru
Kab Semiren America", and talk in fair to poor condition.
(M.Ishii-JPN, DXW, Oct 27, 2001 via BCDX 547)
Netsanet Radio
12110 Freedom R / Netsanet R on Sun+Wed 1700-1800 in Amharic to
ERI/ETH via Samara 250 kW 190 degrs, heavily disturbed by ERT VoGRC
Athens co-ch. 41321, due of ERT Athens in Bulgarian on same channel
and same power level, bad coordination too.
(W.Büschel-D Nov 14, 2001 in BCDX 548)
Rainbow Radio
11840, Radio Rainbow, *1858-1959* Nov 9, open carrier into opening
ID and announcements with brief musical segment prior to long
political talk in Amharic language. Horn of Africa music at 1919
and 1941. ID and sign off announcements prior to carrier being
terminated. Fair.
(R.D'Angelo/FCDX-PA-USA Nov 9, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
11840, Radio Rainbow, *1900-1959* Nov 16, sudden on with a man in
Amharic with ID and other announcements followed by News. Mainly
long talks but nice music features at1920 and 1944. Sign off
announcements at 1958 followed by instrumental music until carrier
cut. Fair.
(R.D'Angelo-PA-USA Nov 16, 2001 in DXplorer-ML)
Voice of Ethiopian Salvation
15670 V.O.Ethiopian Salvation via DTK Nov 11 *1602-1625 34433
Amharic, 1602 s/on with IS and ID. Music. Talk and Ethiopian pops.
(Ko.Hashimoto-JPN Nov 11, 2001 in JAP 186)
Voice of Oromo Liberation
15715 Voice of Oramo Liberation, Jülich 1740-1759 s/off
(T.Ekblom-FIN Nov 4, 2001 in CDX 373)
15715 V.O.Oromo Liberation via DTK Nov 11 *1700-1710 24332 Amharic,
1700 s/on with Opening music and ID. Talk.
(Ko.Hashimoto-JPN Nov 11, 2001 in JAP 186)
...............................................................
Logs - GEORGIA
Radio R. Abkhazia
9490 s-on at 1400 R.R.Abkhazia in Ru. 1430 R Rossii. 1500 & 1546
Radio Kuban, Krasnodar. 1525 R Sochi. 1600 R Rossii.
(R.Pankov-BUL Nov 3, 2001 in BCDX 548)
...............................................................
Logs - IRAN
Voice of Mojahed
VoMojahed-1 at 1500 heard on 5350 5650 6450 6850 7050 8350 8550
8850 10250, 13450, and 10450 (11th tx).
(R.Pankov-BUL Nov 3, 2001 in BCDX 548)
...............................................................
Logs - IRAQ
Voice of Iraqi People
3902 1750 VOICE OF IRAQI PEOPLE - MX TIPICA TALK OM (MULLAH OMAR) A
32222
(R.Scaglione-I Nov 17, 2001 in HCDX)
...............................................................
Logs - KURDISTAN
Voice of Kudilara
4600 V.O.Kudilara (presumed) Nov 13 1635-1705 1740-1800* 34333-31321
Unknown (Kurdish and Farsi), Talk and Music. 1800 announce by woman
and s/off. Thanks for tip from CRW 087 A.Petersen.
(Ko.Hashimoto-JPN Nov 13, 2001 in JAP 186)
Voice of the People of Kurdistan
6995 V.O.People of Kurdistan Nov 13 1522-1540 25332 Kurdish,
Talk and Kurdish music. ID at 1535.
(Ko.Hashimoto-JPN Nov 13, 2001 in JAP 186)
...............................................................
Logs - MOLDOVA
Radio Pridnestrovya
Alerted by the report from R. Petraitis, I checked 999 today, and
indeed, from 1800 Radio Pridnestrovye was carried. I have not heard
the station for years, so I was quite surprised: The once so typical
telephone quality is gone, and not only the broadcast quality STL is
unfamiliar to me but also the lively program presentation with
"Radio PMR" techno-style jingles. Unfortunately I tuned in late, so
missed the start of the broadcast with or without the old interval
signal. The programme concluded with a read-out of the address; the
transmitter operator just allowed the announcer to complete the
address before abruptly switching to the Trans World
Radio feed.
(K.Ludwig-D Nov 14?, 2001 in DXLD 1-172)
Please note that the correct spelling of the (Russian-language)
separatist station is "Radio Pridnestrovya", not Radio
Pridnestrovye. You will find only this spelling in Russian language
Internet source incl. those from Transnistria.
(B.Trutenau-LTU Nov 15, 2001 in DXLD 1-172)
Re : Bernd, Thanks for the info. I am just wondering, is there
really no D in "Transnistria" Glenn Hauser - Hi Glenn, I was using
the Moldovan form for the region which is "Transnistria" without
"d". If you search the web for English sources, you will find all
kinds of spellings, both "Transnistria" as well as various "d" forms
like "Transdnistria", "Transdniestria", "Transdnestria", etc. BBC
Monitoring called the breakaway area "Dnestr Region" when they first
reported the station in 1992. As for "Radio Pridnestrovya": the
region itself is called in Russian "Pridnestrovye", while
"Pridnestrovya" is the genetive case. This is a common grammatical
form for names of radiostations in Russian, one analogue example is
"Radio Rossii" (instead of Radio Rossiya). The pronounciation of
"Pridnestrovye" and "Pridnestrovya" is very similar though, that's
why it is easily misunderstood by non-Russian ears.
(B.Trutenau-LTU Nov 15, 2001 in DXLD 1-173)
All this this is not so new. I can tell you, that at my CRW
Clandestine Radio QSL Gallery there are 5 QSLs from this station.
The first one (1994 J.Parker-Great Britain) is a long letter with
info in English. It has the same info as the German letter (1995
D.Kraus-Germany). If you have difficulties in reading the English
text - I can send you the original picture with better resolution ..
(M.Schöch-D Nov 19, 2001 for CRW)
...............................................................
Logs - SOMALIA
Radio Hargeisa
7530 R. Hargeisa 1913 Male and female speakers with indigenous
music. Signed off with male solo ending at 1931. Fair level of
signal degraded by atmospheric noise.
(C.Jones-AUS Nov 12, 2001 in CDX 373)
...............................................................
Logs - WESTERN SAHARA
Radio National de la RASD
7460 Radio National de la RASD 2230-2245 Lute music sung by women,a
concert of music, announcements in Arabic and Berber
(D.Faris-TCH Oct 28, 2001 in CDX 372)
7460 R. Nacional de la RASD, 2341 Spanish news, talk of independen-
ce. Good signal without QRM. (Marí Nov 1) 1815-1905 folkmx, nx in AA
(T.Ekblom-FIN Nov 2, 2001 in CDX 373)
7460 R. Nacional de la RASD 1928. Excited male speaker (probably
describing sporting activity) then at 1930 speaker from studio in
Arabic and (assumed) Berber. Fair level of signal, degraded by
atmospherics.
(C.Jones-AUS Nov 12, 2001 in CDX 373)
FWIW, today a friend on the West coast was hearing Tamil on 7460
circa 12 UT (with directional antennas, no signal strength) and I've
been listening to Arabic on 7460 since arriving home around 2130 UT.
This is supposedly the Algerian clandestine broadcasting to Western
Sahara (my Arabic isn't sufficient to recognize an ID yet). The
signal peaked at 40db/s9 about 2130-2200, down to s9 now at 2245,
and I'm now hearing a second station (Radio Free Asia?) underneath.
Until the USAF is through with 7460, this may be the time to explore
in and around the frequency [Re WWCR vacation of 7460 -DXLD]
(T.Sundstrom-NJ-USA Nov 13, 2001 in DXLD 1-172 / WOR 1105)
...............................................................
Logs - ZIMBABWE
Voice of the People
7120.0, Voice of the People (via Madagascar), 1705-1715 Nov 4, talks
in Shona and local pop mx with an excellent signal. Not 7125 or
7215 as rptd elsewhere.
(V.Korinek-ARS Nov 4, 2001 in DX-Window via DXplorer-ML)
------------xxxxxxxxxx QSL Verifications xxxxxxxxxx------------
Qsl's - AFGHANISTAN
see 'CRW 088 Special Afganistan'
...............................................................
Qsl's - ETHIOPIA
Rainbow Radio
9855 kHz. Radio Rainbow, P.O.Box 140104, 53056 Bonn, Alemania. Carta
QSL (Verificador: T.Assefa). Transmisión vía Deutsche Telekom,
Alemania. Envío de 1 dólar. Contestó en 60 días.
(C.Morales-ARG Nov 2001 in Conexion Digital 133)
A copy of this QSL can be seen in the CRW Clandestine Radio
Gallery via http://www.clandestineradio.com/martin/bild-cla.html
...............................................................
Qsl's - KURDISTAN
Voice of the People of Kurdistan
6995 kHz. Voice of the People of Kurdistan, Postfach 210231, 10502
Berlín, Alemania. Carta QSL (Verificador: Dara Gafori, Patriotische
Union Kurdistan-PUK), prendedor del PUK. Contestó en 60 días.
(C.Morales-ARG Nov 2001 in Conexion Digital 133)
Te envío copia de la Carta QSL de la emisora clandestina "Voice of
the People of Kurdistan", carta recibida en la última semana.
(C.Morales-ARG Nov 10, 2001 for CRW)
A copy of this QSL can be seen in the CRW Clandestine Radio
Gallery via http://www.clandestineradio.com/martin/bild-cla.html
...............................................................
Qsl's - VIETNAM
Radio Free Vietnam
15235 R Free Vietnam verified with QSL card. v/s: Vuong Ky-SWon, Dir
in Chief QTH: P.O.Box 29245, New Orleans, LA 70189, U.S.A.
E-mail: vkyson@bigfoot.com or rfvla@aol.com More information about
R Free Vietnam is www.radiofreevietnam.com Better to use e-mail now.
(M.Ishii-JPN, DXW, Oct 27, 2001 via BCDX 547)
------------xxxxxxxxxx Miscellaneous xxxxxxxxxx----------------
Misc - AFGHANISTAN
see 'CRW 088 Special Afganistan'
...............................................................
Misc - CUBA
About the decline of Cuban exile programs
I asked Jeff White, manager of WRMI and a broker for many Cuban
exile programs about the decline of Cuban exile programs. Here is
his reply:
Let me try to answer your question about the declining number of
Cuban exile broadcasters.I would say that the number has been
slowly declining since around the beginning of the Clinton
administration. Part of this was probably because many Cuban
exiles thought that the anti-Castro efforts of Reagan and Bush
would not be continued during the Clinton adminstration, and so
there was little hope for Castro to go away while Clinton was
president.
There was a flurry of anti-Castro broadcasting after the fall
of the Berlin wall and the ouster of the Sandinistas by Chamorro
in Nicaragua. Many Cubans here were sure that Cuba would be the
next country to get rid of communism. But that didn't happen,
and gradually over time the enthusiasm of the Cuban exiles died
down, they gave fewer contributions to the exile organizations
in Miami, and shortwave broadcasts began to decline. So that has
been a long-term trend over the past 9 or 10 years. There are ebbs
and flows, depending on political events, but the overall trend has
been downward.
Recently, however, the economic situation has been the prin-
ciple cause for the decline in these broadcasts. More people are
out of work or making less money, so members give less to the Cuban
exile organizations, and they have less money to spend on shortwave
broadcasting. When Alpha 66 discontinued its broadcasts recently,
it was literally a choice between continuing to broadcast on short-
wave or continuing to rent space for their headquarters office.
With the Cuban American National Foundation, their recent abrupt
decision to end shortwave transmissions after 12 years was due to
both internal conflicts and money problems. This organization which
had for over a decade been the largest and most powerful Cuban exile
group suddenly didn't have enough funds to pay its employees. Accor-
ding to reports in the Miami Herald, the Foundation had been largely
operating from a fund that founder Jorge Mas Canosa left the organi-
zation when he died. But the fund, it turns out, was not in cash,
but in shares of stock in his very successful telecommunica- tions
company, MasTec. That was fine until the bottom fell out of the
stock market, and it was especially bad for high-tech industries
like MasTec. I forget the exact figures, but shares fell from
something like $35 to $5 within a fairly short period of time.
According to their own figures, the Foundation was spending 5 or 10
times as much on radio producer salaries and phone calls to Cuba as
they were on shortwave airtime. Employees' pay checks were boun-
cing, and all of a sudden they decided that they couldn't keep
going, so they shut down the entire radio production operation and
gave us about two hours' notice that it was all ending. They still
owe us over $18,000. And if this is the situation with the largest
group, you can imagine that the smaller groups are also suffering
from the economic slowdown. Their members just don't have as much
money to give as they used to.
And forget about CIA funding. That went out several years ago
when Radio Caiman and La Voz del CID went off the air. There are a
few exile groups that receive government or private grants, but it's
not a great deal, and sometimes they are specifically not allowed to
use that money for radio broadcasts.
So that's an overview of the situation. At present, I think
we have about four Cuban exile broadcasters on WRMI, and none of
them have daily programs. (Most are weekly.) The situation could
pick up again in the future, and I think there could be a big boom
in shortwave broadcasting to Cuba if and when Castro falls or dies
or whatever. But at the moment, Cuban exile broadcasting is at its
lowest point since at least 1989, when Radio Miami began operations
first as a broker, then operating our own station.
Also during the past 10 years, many of the charismatic leaders
of the Cuban exile community have died, and most of them were strong
supporters of shortwave broadcasts to Cuba. I am sure that if
people like Jorge Mas Canosa of the Cuban American National Founda-
tion and Diego Medina of Alpha 66 were alive today, these organiza-
tions would still be doing some sort of shortwave broadcasts to
Cuba, with their economic problems and all. I am convinced that
part of the drop in membership support to some of these groups is
due to the lack of charismatic leaders like they had in the past.In
general, over the past decade, a lot of the older Cuban exiles have
died.The younger generation of Cuban Americans were mostly born and
raised in the U.S., and they are just not as passionate as their
parents about the Cuban cause, including exile broadcasts to Cuba.
There are exceptions, of course,but this is a general tendency.
(J.White-WRMI-USA via H.Johnson-USA Nov 7, 2001 in CDX 372)
OPINION DE MUCHOS CUBANOS SOBRE RADIO MARTI
Durante el paso del huracán "Michelle" por la Provincias Centrales
de
Cuba, he sacado de un artículo de Cubanet publicado el viernes 9 de
noviembre lo siguiente sobre Radio Martí. No copié totalmente el
articulo, dado que se desviaba un poco del tema de la radio y las
telecomunicaciones. Muchos cubanos opinaron sobre la importancia de
Radio Martí al paso del huracán lo siguiente:
Se recogieron expresiones favorables en estos municipios respecto a
la labor informativa de Radio Martí, en especial de los partes
metereológicos de Angel Martín, los que fueron considerados
oportunos, constantes y completos. A la pregunta de cómo escucharon
Radio Martí, algunos damnificados contestaron que conectando sus
aparatos radioreceptores a baterías de automóvil.
"Radio Martí fue la única fuente de información que tuvimos durante
y después del huracán, y que tenemos en este momento", afirmó un
residente de Perico
(Oscar- FL-USA Nov 10, 2001 in DXLD 1-173)
...............................................................
Misc - DENMARK
Neo-nazi radio station facing ban
Europe's only legal Neo-Nazi radio station, Radio Oasen [Oasis] in
Denmark, has had its licence permit removed by the local radio board
in the Danish town of Greve. The board decided to act after the
station violated the country's racism laws by airing disparaging
remarks about blacks, Jews and homosexuals. However, broadcasts are
continuing because the station has lodged an appeal to the Ministry
of Culture against the decision.
Radio Oasen is operated by the Danish National-Socialist Movement
(DNSB), an extremist political party with similar views to the
British National Party in the UK. Many people find its views
abhorrent, but the Danish constitution guarantees freedom of
expression. Party leader Jonni Hansen denies that the station has
violated the law, and claims the ban was announced because he is
standing for the local elections on 20 November.
Radio Oasen was granted a broadcasting licence in October 1995 by
the Local Radio and Television Committee, which warned the neo-Nazis
that their licence would be immediately withdrawn if they aired
racist programmes containing racist propaganda. Under Danish law,
spreading racist propaganda is not illegal, but incitement to racial
hatred is banned. Hansen said at the time he wanted to use the radio
station to campaign for a racially-clean Denmark, fight for the
superiority of the white race, as well as broadcast Nazi ideology
and play Hitlerian music and Nazi rock. But Radio Oasen's community
radio licence was revoked in September 1996 after it aired texts
from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf". Danish Nazis are believed to con-
sist of a hard core of some 150 people but with a group of suppor-
ters totalling over 2,500 people.
However, in 1999 the DNSB announced that they had moved their head-
quarters to Greve, 20 km from the centre of Copenhagen, and radio
transmissions were starting again for several hours a week on an FM
transmitter that can be heard across a wide area of greater Copen-
hagen. They also claimed to have received a grant of 31,200 Danish
krone from the Department of Culture to run this "non-commercial
station". Broadcasts now total 56 hours a week, to a potential
audience of 150,000.
(Source: Radio Netherlands "Media Network" web site, Hilversum,
in English Nov 7, 2001 via R.Hofwiler-D for CRW)
...............................................................
Misc - EAST EUROPE
Washington Post Article on RFE
Yesterday (Friday) the Washington Post had an article which quoted
the Czech PM as having told Secretary Powell that WTC attacker
Mohammed Atta had thought about attacking the RFE headquarters in
Prague. This seemed to be news to Powell.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/a5145-2001Nov9.html
(F.Waterer-CAN Nov 10, 2001 in ODXA-ML)
There appear to be a lot of things happening around the world that
seem to be news to Powell.
(O.Siegel-CAN Nov 10, 2001 in ODXA-ML)
Radio Liberty Story
The following story just ran on Yahoo News about Radio Liberty :
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011112/lf/attack_czech_radio_dc_1.html
(S.Harvey-USA Nov 12, 2001 in SWPrograms-ML)
...............................................................
Misc - ERITREA
Eritrea Suspends UNMEE Programme. 12 November 2001
Media Network has learned that the weekly radio programme of UNMEE
(the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea) has been
suspended by Radio Eritrea. The programme, which started at the
beginning of this year, has not been aired since 24 October. The
reason for the suspension is not clear, but Jean Viktor Nkolo, Chief
Public Information Officer for UNMEE, says that the organisation is
seeking a dialogue on the matter with the Eritrean authorities.
Meanwhile, UNMEE is still trying to get its programme on the air in
Ethiopia, so far without success
(© Radio Netherlands Media Network via DXLD 1-170)
UN radio broadcasts suspended - Ethiopian paper |
Text of report in English by Ethiopian newspaper Addis Tribune web
site on 13 November
The transmission of Radio UNMEE's [UN Mission in Ethiopia and
Eritrea] weekly programme, which has been broadcast on Radio Eritrea
since January, has been suspended, effective 24 October. UNMEE's
chief public information officer, Jean Victor Nkolo, said that UNMEE
has written to the Eritrean Commissioner for Peacekeeping Mission to
express its dismay that such a decision was taken and intends to
follow up the matter with the commissioner and the minister of
information. UNMEE also intends to press on with further
consultations with Ethiopian authorities who have so far not given
access to Radio UNMEE on their airwaves, Nkolo said.
Source: Addis Tribune web site, Addis Ababa, in English 13 Nov 01
(via BBCM via DXLD 1-170)
...............................................................
Misc - HUNGARY
MEDIA WATCHDOG SLAMS PANNON RADIO.
The media watchdog of the National Radio and Television Board (ORTT)
said on 14 November that Pannon Radio is "solely committed to the
dissemination of an extremist ideology" bearing the mark of
"far-right nationalism and of conspiracy theories," Hungarian media
reported. The ORTT report said that the radio broadcasts programs
opposed to liberalism, globalization, and multinational companies,
while also promoting hatred against Roma and homosexuals, anti-Se-
mitism, and xenophobia. In so doing, the report said, Pannon Radio
violates the media law and the constitution and by disseminating
only the views of the Hungarian Justice and Life Party ignores its
obligation to provide balanced information. The report recommends
imposing a 2-3 million forint ($7,059-$10,588) fine on the station.
(RFE/RL Newsline Nov 15, 2001 via H.Biener-D for CRW))
...............................................................
Misc - NIGERIA
Voice of Biafra Intl
Journalist Mika Palo says that the prgmng from this one comes
dangerously close to hate radio. See
http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/biafraa011109.html
(RNMN NL Nov 11, 2001 via DXplorer-ML)
...............................................................
Misc - QUATAR
Sender außer Gefecht
Nachrichtensender in Schutt und Asche gebombt
Kairo/Doha/Kabul (rpo). Ein US-Kampfflugzeug hat in der Nacht zum
Dienstag nach Angaben des arabischen Nachrichtensenders El
Dschasira das Büro des Senders in der afghanischen Hauptstadt Kabul
bombardiert. Der Sender ist außer Gefecht.
"Es gibt derzeit für uns keine Möglichkeit unseren Korrespondenten
Taysir Aluni zu erreichen", sagte ein Nachrichtensprecher des in
Katar ansässigen Senders.
Aluni war in den vergangenen Wochen der einzige ausländische TV-
Korrespondent, der weiter aus der afghanischen Hauptstadt berichten
konnte. Der Korrespondent von El Dschasira in Kandahar sagte, zum
Zeitpunkt der Bombardierung habe sich kein Mitarbeiter des Senders
in dem Büro aufgehalten.
http://www.rp-online.de/special/krieg_gegen_terror/2001-1113/sender.html
(via M.Schöch-D Nov 13, 2001 for CRW)
Shelling puts Al-Jazeera TV office in Kabul out of action:
DOHA, Nov 13: The Kabul office of Al-Jazeera television was hit by
shells and put out of action when Afghan opposition forces entered
the capital, the Qatar-based channel said today. "Shells fell on the
Al-Jazeera bureau in Kabul, but there were no casualties," said the
station's correspondent in Kandahar, quoting his colleagues in
Kabul. He added that foreign journalists in Kabul had been confined
to a hotel in the capital. (AFP/APP)
( http://www.dawn.com via F.Waterer-ON-CAN Nov 13, 2001 in DXLD
1-170)
Analysis: Al-Jazeera TV's coverage of Afghan war loses pro-Taleban
edge
With the advance of anti-Taleban forces and the departure of Al-
Jazeera's correspondents from Kabul and Kandahar, the Qatar-based TV
station's reporting from Afghanistan no longer predominantly
reflects the Taleban perspective. Al-Jazeera is now showing the
Afghan people's positive reaction to the Taleban retreat and is
using CNN coverage to compensate for the loss of its access.
Following reports on 13 November that US planes had attacked its
office in Kabul and contact had been lost with correspondent Taysir
Alluni, Al-Jazeera became reliant on feeds from CNN for live
coverage from Kabul, changing the coverage perspective.
During its 1230 gmt news bulletin on 13 November, for example, the
station interviewed CNN correspondent Matthew Chance via telephone
from Kabul. He reported that there was "anger" directed at the
Taleban among people on the street. On 14 November, Al-Jazeera
broadcast a live interview from Kabul with CNN correspondent
Christian Amanpour reporting that there is "no sense of anarchy" or
"chaos".
Al-Jazeera's video reporting on the situation in Kabul showed
popular rejoicing at the Taleban forces' departure.
The station has been repeatedly showing people celebrating in the
streets, men getting shaved and music being played, all activities
which were previously banned by the Taleban.
This more balanced approach was also apparent when Al-Jazeera's
Qandahar correspondent Yusuf al-Shuli began reporting from Quetta,
Pakistan on 14 November.
Al-Shuli said that those Afghan refugees who opposed the Taleban
were happy that the "Taleban is about to be wiped out, as they put
it," and that they were making preparations to "return to what they
called liberated Afghanistan."
This different perspective on the part of Al-Jazeera was, however,
less apparent in Taysir Alluni's reporting from the capital of
Paktia Province, where he fled after the bombing of his Kabul
office.
While noting on 14 November the Afghan people's "anger against the
Arab fighters," he continued to report on civilian casualties from
US bombing.
Al-Jazeera compensated for its lack of first-hand reporting on 14
November by giving greater airtime to other sources, broadcasting 23
minutes of a press conference by the Northern Alliance foreign
minister, 20 minutes of the Bush-Putin press conference live from
the White House, and 16 minutes of US Defence Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld's press conference live from the Pentagon.
Source: BBC Monitoring research 15 Nov 01 (via DXLD 1-172)
...............................................................
Misc - RUSSIA
CHECHEN STATE RADIO RESUMES BROADCASTING.
Chechen state radio has resumed broadcasting, having suspended
broadcasts in October 1999 when the current war began, Chechnya's
Deputy Media Minister Yurii Rossokhan told Interfax on 13 November.
A new Chechen newspaper began publication in August after repeated
delays.
(RFE/RL Newsline Nov 14, 2001 via H.Biener-D for CRW))
Website for R.Chechnya Svobodnaya
A website was opened for Radio Chechnya Svobodnaya:
www.chechnyafree.ru , an English version is available. Though the
name of the station is not explicitly mentioned on the pages, it
offers a large number of audioclips from its programmes. The website
is maintained by GTRK Golos Rossii (Voice of Russia). The email
given is: info@chechnyafree.ru .
R.Chechnya Svobodnaya is broadcast a.o. via the 1200kW transmitter
in Tbilisskoye on 171 kHz.
(B.Trutenau-LTU Nov 17, 2001 in MWDX-ML)
...............................................................
Misc - SOMALIA
Plan to "strengthen" Radio Baydhabo | Text of report by
Somali pro-Rahanwein Resistance Army radio on 17 November
The Radio Baydhabo director, Shariff Husayn Robow [last element
phonetic], today disclosed that there was a plan to strengthen Radio
Baydhabo. While addressing the staff, Mr Robow said the radio will
run a number of programmes. The radio will sign on at 12.00
p.m.[local time, word indistinct, presumably 6.00 p.m. - 1500 gmt]
and it will sign off at 9.00 p.m. [local time, 1800 gmt]. The
director further told the staff that he was happy that the station
was well equipped and urged them to air programmes that will be
beneficial to the public. Finally, the director told the staff that
during his one year tenure the station had achieved much progress,
specially in the areas of social programmes.
Source: Radio Baydhabo in Rahanwein 1700 gmt 17 Nov 01
(via BBCM via DXLD 1-174)
...............................................................
Misc - TURKEY
Turkey: Ban on Kurdish broadcasts "violates
constitution" | Text of report by German-based Kurdish newspaper
Ozgur Politika web site on 16 November; subheadings as published
TV 21 which used to broadcast in Amed [Diyarbakir] was closed in
2000 on grounds that "it broadcast a Kurdish song which included
violent elements". Despite this however, the Gun Yayincilik [Day
Broadcasting], which started broadcasting four months ago is
broadcasting Kurdish songs that are not banned by the Culture
Ministry.
Nevzat Bingol, chairman of the board of directors of the Gun TV,
noted that it is only natural to broadcast Kurdish songs in a region
where the majority of the population is Kurdish. Stating that their
broadcasts do not include elements of violence and that the people
miss listening to music in their own language, Bingol said: "We have
been broadcasting Kurdish music for a long time. We believe that
there is no law that bans Kurdish music in Turkey. I think that
Articles 9 and 39 of the Lausanne Agreement, which constitutes the
basis of the Turkish Republic, note that the state provides the
necessary aid to Turkish citizens who use and speak languages other
than Turkish. We broadcast Kurdish music on this basis."
"We are doing the right thing"
Drawing attention to the fact that their ratings have constantly
increased since the day they that have started broadcasting Kurdish
music, Bingol said: "We are checking whether or not we are doing the
right thing by broadcasting Kurdish music on the basis of the
listening rates. Currently we are broadcasting in Diyarbakir and its
surroundings. People in a great number of provinces listen to our
broadcasts. I believe that 60 to 65 per cent of the people in
central Diyarbakir listen to our broadcasts."
Explaining that they broadcast a great number of Kurdish songs,
including Ahmet Kaya's "Kervan" [Caravan] in the Kurdish language,
Nevzat Bingol noted that they intend to broadcast programmes in the
Kurdish language in the future.
They like them very much
Rustem Akkaya from Diyarbakir noted that he has been watching Gun TV
since the very first day that it started broadcasting and that he
likes the broadcasts very much. Akkaya said: "I watch Gun TV because
it broadcasts regional songs and because it appeals to the region. I
like it because I feel that it is one of us."
If the laws allow, Gun Yayincilik plans to expand its broadcasting
and to broadcast programmes in the Kurdish language.
A suit was filed
Meanwhile, the electronic equipment of Gun Radio was seized on 31
October 2001 on the grounds that "this equipment prevents wireless
communications". The owner of Gun Radio filed a suit at the Ankara
Sixth Regional Administrative Court on 12 November. Nevzat Bingol,
owner of the Gun Radio which is currently closed, noted that he
decided to file a suit because he was not able to achieve any
results from his contacts with the Internal Ministry and the Radio
and Television High Council (RTUK). Pointing out that under normal
conditions he should have received a reply within 48 hours, Nevzat
Bingol reported that he has not yet received a reply to the petition
he submitted to the Administrative Court.
Once Again with the Radio Ses
After being closed for seven days by the RTUK on grounds of
broadcasting Kurdish songs, the Radio Ses [Voice], which broadcasts
on the FM 99.9 [MHz] frequency in Mersin, renewed its broadcasts as
of midnight the day before yesterday. Lawyer Kadir Arikan, chairman
of the Radio Ses board of directors, criticized the closure decision
as follows: "Despite the fact that the phrase "it is forbidden to
broadcast in a banned language" has been removed from the
constitution, we were closed by the RTUK. The RTUK closed our
broadcasts on grounds that we played "Kurdish music". We view the
RTUK's decision as an obstacle in the way of our membership in the
EU and a violation of the constitution which has recently been
amended. I believe that this stand also runs counter to their
customs."
Source: Ozgur Politika web site, Neu-Isenburg, in Turkish 16 Nov 01
(via BBCM via DXLD 1-175)
...............................................................
Misc - USA - HISTORY
Narrator: The Flight of the Blue Eagle
Just recently, the United States began a series of radio broadcasts
to the people of Afghanistan, using a total of 7 different airplanes
for this purpose. According to a report from BBC Monitoring, these
new broadcasts began about three weeks ago, on October 14.
These airplane broadcasts are heard in Afghanistan on two mediumwave
channels, 864 kHz and 1107 kHz, which were the channels in use by
Radio Afghanistan in Kandahar and Kabul. These broadcasts are in
alternating languages, Dari and Pashto, which are the twin official
languages in Afghanistan. The program feed to the airplanes can be
heard on the shortwave channel 8700 kHz in the upper sideband mode,
though it is not yet known where this transmitter is located.
Each of these radio broadcasting airplanes contains a bevy of
electronic equipment, which includes three broadcast transmitters at
10 kW for use in the mediumwave and FM bands. Electric power for
all of the onboard electronic equipment is generated by four
generators which are driven by the propeller engines on the
aircraft.
The story of these aircraft used for radio broadcasting goes back
over a period of some 30 years. Today in this additional Wavescan
feature, we trace the fascinating story of "The Flight of the Blue
Eagle".
It all began back in 1962 during the Kennedy Era and the Cuban
Missile Crisis. A large cargo plane operated by the United States
navy was quickly stowed with broadcasting equipment and flown over
the waters separating Florida and Cuba.
For these inaugural broadcasts, a radio receiver in the plane took
an off-air program feed from the VOA mediumwave station at Marathon
in Florida. The ground-based VOA channel was 1180 kHz and the plane
re- transmitted this programming on 1040 kHz.
Since this historic though unannounced beginning, airplanes have
been used for local broadcasting in the mediumwave, FM, TV and
shortwave bands while flying over a total of at least 11 different
countries.
Two years later, in the summer of 1964, a series of mysterious radio
broadcasts were heard by DXers living in the central coastal areas
along the Atlantic seaboard in the United States. These broadcasts
were first noted on the shortwave channel 19,100 kHz and later on
532 kHz on the lower edge of the mediumwave band with identification
announcements as "The Blue Eagle". Programming consisted of their
own presentation of popular music, and sometimes a relay of local
mediumwave stations such as WLDB and WMID in Atlantic City, New
Jersey.
Subsequent information revealed the fact that these broadcasts from
the "Blue Eagle" were actually test broadcasts from an airplane
before transferring over to Vietnam for use as an aerial broadcast
unit. It should be noted that the Blue Eagle is a symbol of the
United States navy.
A total of six Lockheed Constellation C130 aircraft were fitted out
with similar equipment for the purpose of aerial broadcasting and
these are operated by the 193rd Operations Wing of the Pennsylvania
Air National Guard. Currently, new Constellation aircraft are
beginning to replace the 30 year old planes, though the same
electronic equipment will be transferred from the old planes into
the new.
The broadcasts from these airplanes were originally identified on
air as "The Blue Eagle", though this radio broadcasting network of 6
Constellations is now known collectively as "Command Solo". On
each occasion of active deployment, the identification is changed
to meet local circumstances.
When flying over Vietnam during the Vietnam War, the Blue Eagles
identified as "AFRTS, the American Forces Radio TV Network". In
Vietnamese, their programming identified as VPMF, "The Voice of
Patriotic Militiamen’s Front".
During the invasion of Haiti in 1994 in an attempt to restore
democracy, the radio programming from the aircraft was identified in
French as "Radio Democracy". While flying over Serbia and Bosnia,
the identification was "Radio Allied Voice", and in the Gulf War,
it was "Voice of the Gulf". In the current broadcasts over
Afghanistan, no clear identification announcements in the local
languages have yet been noted.
These planes have also flown on active broadcast missions over
several other countries, including the Dominican Republic, Panama
Grenada, and Somalia. Very few QSLs have been issued for these
unique broadcasts, though at least three QSLs are known.
QSLs from American "Blue Eagles" & "Command Solo" Planes
Listener, Location, Year, kHz, Flying Over, ID, QSL
Mr C. M. Stanbury, USA [sic], 1962, 1040, Cuba, VOA, VOA card
Terry Krueger, Florida, 1994, 1035, Haiti, Democracy, Letter
Clive Rooms, England, 1999, 1270, Balkans, Allied Voice, Letter
(A.M.Peterson, AWR Wavescan 359 for Nov 11 via DXLD 1-172)
...............................................................
Misc - VIETNAM
New Horizon
New Horizon 15675 ex 15750 per the High Adventure website. Still
scheduled from 1330-1430 in Vietnamese, but untraced when I checked
at 1345 on Nov 13, not surprised to not hear this from Florida
though. Following up on my original report in Cumbre DX I asked High
Adventure in late September for details on this program, particu-
larly why a Christian station is airing what seems to be a very
political program. High Adventure asked for some information citing
New Horizon's political programming which I sent them. They said
that they would check into it and get back to me. That was six weeks
ago. Several follow-ups haven't brought a response either. Not sure
what that means, perhaps that New Horizon is indeed a political
program and not a Christian one, but that High Adventure wasn't
aware of this until I pointed it out to them nearly a decade after
the program started.
(H.Johnson-USA Nov 13, 2001 in CDX 373)
------------xxxxxxxxxx Sources xxxxxxxxxx----------------------
Thanks to the following contributors : Claudio Morales, Hansjoerg
Biener, Roland Hofwiler, Yves Sorokobi
Source Abbreviations:
ACH : Anti-Castro Historiography-USA
A-DX : A-DX-mailing list-Austria
BBCM : BBC Monitoring-UK
BCDX : Broadcast DX-Germany
CDX : Cumbre DX-USA
ConDig : Conexion Digital-Argentina
CRW : Clandestine Radio Watch-Germany
DXLD : DX Listening Digest-USA
EDXP : Electronic DX Press-Australia
HCDX : Hard-Core-DX-mailing list-USA
OBS : Observer-Bulgaria
PDX : Play DX-Italy
QIP : QSL Information Pages-Germany
TDP : Transmitter Documentation Project
TFW : The Four Winds Online-Italy
BBCM items are Copyright BBCM 2001.
______________________________________________________