Zimbabwe: Government Admits to Jamming Radio Station http://allafrica.com/stories/200703070346.html
Media Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek) PRESS RELEASE March 6, 2007 Posted to the web March 7, 2007 The Zimbabwe government has admitted that it is jamming the Voice of America's Studio 7 broadcasts into the country, claiming its actions are aimed at protecting Zimbabwe's sovereignty. The admission was made in Parliament on February 28, 2007, by the Deputy Minister of Information and Publicity Bright Matonga while responding to a question by Kambuzuma parliamentarian Willas Madzimure. Africa 2007 Madzimure had asked why the government was jamming Studio 7, which is manned by Zimbabwean journalists and broadcasters exiled in Washington DC. "We cannot allow foreigners to invade our airwaves without our authority," said Matonga. "We will continue to do it. We need to protect our sovereignty. If you go to England you will not receive any foreign radio stations." Gerry Jackson of SW Radio Africa, which similarly broadcasts from London, said the Zimbabwean-manned radio station has since resorted to using text messages to beat the country's censors in the wake of two continuous years of jamming (see IFEX alerts of 5 July 2006, 3 June, 28 April and 23 March 2005). Jackson says the daily SMS headline service is proving to be popular, with the station receiving 100 requests a day from those wanting to join the service. The station's website offers podcasts, and transcripts of interviews are circulated by email to those in Zimbabwe and hundreds of others living in the diaspora. So far about 2000 people have signed up to SW Radio Africa's text scheme in the last two months. The jamming has mainly affected SW Radio Africa's broadcasts in Zimbabwe's urban areas, where mobile phones are most popular. Reports of the jamming of broadcasts are part of efforts to block Studio 7 and SW Radio Africa from reaching Zimbabweans with alternative information on developments in the country. The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has since its establishment in 2001 failed to issue licenses to private broadcasters. This has led to several stations manned by exiled Zimbabweans, such as the London-based SW Radio Africa and Studio 7, beaming into Zimbabwe on short and medium wave from beyond the country's borders. MORE INFORMATION: For further information, contact Zoà Titus, Programme Specialist, Media Freedom Monitoring, MISA, Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61 232 975, fax: +264 61 248 016, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Internet: http://www.misa.org http://zlgr.multiply.com (raidio monitoring site plus audio clips ) http://www.worldisround.com/articles/302315/ (Litohoro) 321199/Tinos http://www.flickr.com/photos/zachgr pictures upload . on my main : www.geocities.com/zliangas -tty-px.html : test of various TTY programs -ethics.htm : greek ethics , days and institutions -frape.htm: the greek way of cofee !!! Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece greekdx @ otenet dot gr --- Pesawat penerima: ICOM R75 , Lowe HF150 , Degen 1102,1103,108, Tecsun PL200/550, Chibo c300/c979, Yupi 7000 Antenna: 16m hor, 2x16 m V invert, 1m australian loop ---[Start Commercial]--------------------- Preorder your WRTH 2007: http://www.hard-core-dx.com/redirect2.php?id=wrth2007 ---[End Commercial]----------------------- ________________________________________ Hard-Core-DX mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx http://www.hard-core-dx.com/ _______________________________________________ THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael Stutz at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/dsl.html
