{"id":48541,"date":"2021-04-14T17:23:17","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T21:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=48541"},"modified":"2021-04-14T17:27:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T21:27:58","slug":"burmese-activists-use-fm-pirate-radio-to-propagate-anti-coup-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/04\/burmese-activists-use-fm-pirate-radio-to-propagate-anti-coup-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"Burmese activists use FM pirate radio to propagate anti-coup messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>(Source: Rest Of World via Tom Daly)<\/p>\n

\n

Young Burmese activists are broadcasting anti-coup messages on pirate radio<\/a><\/h1>\n

“This is revolution radio.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a safehouse in Yangon last Thursday morning, a small group of 20-somethings gathered to assemble a portable radio transmitter. For several hours, they broadcast translations of international news into Burmese\u2014tributes to protesters killed by the armed forces, revolutionary songs and poems, and interviews with the leaders of Myanmar\u2019s civil disobedience movement that has sprung up to oppose the military junta that seized power in February.<\/p>\n

Then, they dismantled the equipment, each person taking a different piece by a different route to another safe location where they store it. Security is tight. They never broadcast from the same place twice, and the group use aliases, even among themselves. This is Federal FM Radio, live on 90.2 MHz.<\/p>\n

Its name betrays its politics. Support for a federal Myanmar, one which rejects the state\u2019s majoritarian Bamar identity and strives for true ethnic unity, has surged in the months since the coup. It is a message that does not sit well with the military government, which has responded with violent repression and internet blackouts. But young dissidents like these refuse to be silenced and have turned to old technologies to spread the word.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis radio was born out of Myanmar\u2019s Spring Revolution,\u201d said one of its founders, who goes by \u201cMulan.\u201d \u201cThis is revolution radio.\u201d<\/p>\n

The junta has imposed nightly internet blackouts to disrupt the protest movement, preventing people from organizing and communicating with the outside world. Social media platforms have been blocked, although many people continued to access them through virtual private networks.<\/p>\n

However, on April 2, the mobile internet in Myanmar was completely switched off. Fixed-line connections are rare, and the move left millions of people unable to access news or to communicate with one another. In the vacuum, State media has broadcast propaganda that underplays the scale of the crisis, portrays protesters as \u201cterrorists\u201d and foreign agents, and blames the civil disobedience movement for recent violence on the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur people need to get information, real information, because the military spread out fake news on their own media,\u201d Mulan said. She and her colleagues were able to source radio equipment from a friend of the movement \u2014 they won\u2019t say precisely who, for obvious reasons. The team is entirely made up of young, digital natives, and most of them were working for civil society organizations before the coup. None of them knew how to operate the gear, but they found technicians willing to train them. \u201cSo now, we are learning, like, a radio crash course,\u201d Mulan said.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continue reading the full story at RestOfWorld.org.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: Rest Of World via Tom Daly) Young Burmese activists are broadcasting anti-coup messages on pirate radio “This is revolution radio.” In a safehouse in Yangon last Thursday morning, a small group of 20-somethings gathered to assemble a portable radio transmitter. For several hours, they broadcast translations of international news into Burmese\u2014tributes to protesters killed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,297],"tags":[167,1583,5423,5422,4092,9241,8461,102],"class_list":["post-48541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-pirate-radio","tag-burma","tag-fm-pirates","tag-myanmar","tag-myanmar-radio","tag-pirate-radio","tag-rest-of-world","tag-tom-daly","tag-why-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-cCV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":34516,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/pirate-radio-fcc-enforcement-focuses-on-small-markets\/","url_meta":{"origin":48541,"position":0},"title":"Pirate Radio: FCC Enforcement focuses on small markets","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Tom Taylor Now) The FCC\u2019s busting more pirates in smaller markets. True, the Dallas office issues two Notices of Unlicensed Operation for an 87.9 in Houston, run out of New Beginnings Fellowship Church. But agents from Dallas also found a pirate FM at 93.5 up in the smallish Texas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17581,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/fcc-commissioner-outlines-2016-anti-pirate-agenda\/","url_meta":{"origin":48541,"position":1},"title":"FCC Commissioner outlines 2016 anti-pirate agenda","author":"Thomas","date":"March 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to an anonymous SWLing Post contributor who writes: The FCC released this material [yesterday]. It consists mainly of letters to various organizations to ask their members to avoid cooperating with unlicensed radio stations. The concern is that real estate owners may be harboring unauthorized stations, and that businesses\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"fcc-logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/fcc-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/fcc-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/fcc-logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41556,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/pirate-act-passes-senate\/","url_meta":{"origin":48541,"position":2},"title":"PIRATE Act passes Senate","author":"Thomas","date":"January 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Radio World via Marty) \"Opponents of illegal broadcasting scored a major and long-anticipated victory today: The Senate (finally) unanimously passed the\u00a0PIRATE Act\u00a0Wednesday. Short for \u201cPreventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement,\u201d only one hurdle remains for S.R. 1228: President Trump\u2019s desk. The legislation also represents a coup for FCC Commissioner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34691,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/fcc-fines-ham-25000-for-operating-an-fm-pirate-radio-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":48541,"position":3},"title":"FCC fines ham $25,000 for operating FM pirate radio station","author":"Thomas","date":"November 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC) FCC fines Amateur Radio licensee $25,000 for operating unlicensed FM station ARRL reports in an FCC Enforcement Bureau case going back to early 2015, a Paterson, New Jersey, Amateur Radio licensee has been penalized in the amount of $25,000 for allegedly continuing to operate an unlicensed FM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15733,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/fcc-remarks-on-the-growth-of-pirate-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":48541,"position":4},"title":"FCC: Remarks on the Growth of Pirate Radio","author":"Thomas","date":"November 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bob, who writes: Remarks on the Growth of Pirate Radio from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Communications and Technology Subcommittee, November 17, 2015: \"I know that this committee is concerned about pirate radio. During my tenure we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SX-99-Dial-Nar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4450,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/pirate-radio-recordings-x-fm\/","url_meta":{"origin":48541,"position":5},"title":"Pirate Radio Recordings: X-FM","author":"Thomas","date":"September 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Listening conditions Saturday night were \u00a0pretty good--we had clear skies and \u00a0though propagation wasn't excellent, I did manage to record a full broadcast (over 3 hours) of X-FM. X-FM typically features a wide variety of music spanning trance\/electronica to varieties of rock\/metal. This broadcast was no exception--hear for yourself: PLEASE\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pirate Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Pirate Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/pirate-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/RadioListening-300x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}