Tag Archives: Why Shortwave Radio

Fiji democracy group planning pirate radio

In a move inspired by pirate radio stations of the 1960s, political activists in the South Pacific are planning to position a Dutch-registered merchant vessel in international waters off the coast of Fiji to defy censors in the military dictatorship.

Opponents of the coup leader and self-appointed Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, hope to have the station broadcasting news and interviews by the end of next month to circumvent draconian media laws imposed on press, radio and television.

Since taking power in a military coup in December 2006, Fiji’s strongman has slowly eaten away at the country’s democratic freedoms, installing newsroom censors and cracking down on foreign media ownership.

Newspapers and radio stations now have to be 90 per cent locally owned, a stipulation that will almost certainly see the closure of the 140-year-old Fiji Times.

The popular title, which has been owned by News Ltd since 1987, has been emasculated since the censors moved in to demand the removal of any anti-government stories.

With most of the population too poor to access the internet or satellite television, most Fijians rely on the press and transistor radios for their news. That is why Usaia Waqatairewa of the Fiji Democracy Movement has opted for pirate broadcasting.

Now exiled in Australia, he plans to stream live programming to the ship from a Sydney newsroom and rebroadcast the material from a transmitter on the AM waveband.

“The basic purpose is to inform the public of what’s really happening in Fiji so they can make an informed decision about whether to support Bainimarama or not,” he said.

Even the phones no longer guarantee confidentiality since the Government ordered mobile and landline users to register all their personal details. One local carrier, Vodafone, is also demanding that customers provide a left-hand thumb print and PIN, which the user would normally keep secret.

The head of the Justice Ministry, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, claims the compulsory registration of all phones is the result of a spate of bomb threats and bogus calls. Critics suggest it is more to do with the interim Government wanting to create a database of callers whose views do not correspond with the regime’s.

Telephone paranoia even extends to some tourists. A German businessman who used his satellite phone in a restaurant recently was reported to the police, who promptly raided his hotel room. He left the country in disgust shortly afterwards.

So far, such stories have not damaged tourism, which is one of the few Fijian industries still booming. A devalued currency and a strong Australian dollar have made Fiji a bargain destination for overseas holidaymakers.

But while the tourists are still heading to Fiji, businesses are pulling out. Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has sold its Fijian arm, and Qantas is trying to sell its 46 per cent stake in Fiji’s national airline, Air Pacific. Despite these economic warning signals, Commodore Bainimarama remains determined to do things his way. He has promised to go to the country in 2014 but as he has repeatedly postponed his general election plans, few believe he will keep his word.

And if an application for a loan of more than $700 million from the IMF fails, “the country’s economic outlook will be shocking”, says Anthony Bergin of the Australian Strategic Policy Unit.

CRACKDOWN LEADS TO POVERTY AND FEAR

Fiji has had four coups in the past two decades and is facing an economic crisis that threatens to bring more instability to the 800,000 people who inhabit this sprawling archipelago.

And there are concerns about human rights as Commodore Frank Bainimarama cracks down on those who oppose his dictatorship.

In a rare interview aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation last month, the military leader said “we’ll need to shut some people up” before the country can return to democracy. “I don’t trust the people,” declared the Prime Minister, adding that he was none too happy about politicians or the judiciary, either.

After silencing the powerful Methodist Church and the chiefs who are the traditional rulers of this fiercely patriotic nation, Commodore Bainimarama sacked many judges.

Suspended from the Commonwealth, Fiji risks becoming a pariah in the region.

The Prime Minister also recently expelled Australia’s acting high commissioner to Fiji.

The reforms he talks about strike at the heart of Fiji’s racially divided society. For many years, about half the population was of Indian origin, descendants of indentured labourers brought to Fiji in the 19th century to help in the sugar industry. Faced with eviction from their farms after their leases expired, thousands of Indians have sought refuge overseas while many of those unable to leave have ended up in squatter camps.

When Commodore Bainimarama seized power he promised a fairer society, with legislation designed to protect the interests of the Indian community. But unemployment, poverty and fear have created a society whose people are often too scared to talk.

– Independent
By Roger Maynard

NOTE: We’ve been following the story in Fiji for more than a year now as it is a prime example of how important shortwave radio is to people who live in a country that restricts local media. Check out our previous posts about the situation in Fiji.

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From Reuters:

Fiji has been plunged into a political crisis after the president reappointed military chief Frank Bainimarama as interim prime minister on Saturday, less than two days after a court ruled his 2006 coup and subsequent government illegal.

Bainimarama tightened media censorship on Wednesday and continued to refuse to hold elections before 2014.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. said local technicians had been ordered by the military government to shut down two FM relay stations in the capital Suva and the western sugar town of Nadi.

But ABC said its Radio Australia news programme was still broadcasting on shortwave transmitters.

The military government has asked that Fiji reporters only publish “positive” news, or in their terms, “journalism of hope.” This censorship has also pushed Radio New Zealand International out of Fiji.

Other reports have indicated that the government is now trying to restrict internet news sources and blogs. Internet cafe owners are under threat of being shut down, as well.

UPDATE (21 Nov 2009): The military-installed Fiji government has removed all broadcasting licences and given Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum the absolute power to renew or redistribute them without any compensation to those whose licences are stripped. (Source: The Australian via RNW Media Network)

Radio without borders

When people ask whether we need shortwave radio in this internet information age, events like this provide a clear affirmative answer. Once ABC and RNZI were ousted from Fiji, these broadcasters immediately reiterated to Fiji listeners that their programming can be heard all day on shortwave (see schedule below).

And that’s the remarkable thing about shortwave–it penetrates borders without regard to who is in power or to restrictions placed upon local media. Even when the internet is crippled. Can shortwave broadcasts be jammed? Sure–but it’s not all that easy to do; it’s much more difficult than, say, seizing control of a country’s internet service provider, or (as in the case of Fiji) of their local broadcasters and stations. Plus, jamming usually targets a specific frequency, so if radio listeners find their broadcasts jammed on one frequency, there are often literally dozens of ways around the jam–other frequencies often carry the same or similiar programming from the same or other international broadcasters.

Much of the decline of shortwave radio is attributed to the end of the Cold War. During the Cold War era, national superpowers were obsessed with piercing borders with their respective messages; since the Cold War ended, that technology is no longer as driven. But as the Fiji story demonstrates, the need is very much ongoing, perhaps even more so, as small countries try out a variety of political options, often exercising this power along the long and twisting road to democratic governance. Now, shortwave should have a new and broader focus: sending news, music, education and human interest programming to the developing world.

For an example of an organization making a difference through shortwave radio technology, check out Ears To Our World.