CLANDESTINE STATIONS ALIVE AND WELL
PART 2
(Part 1 of this post can be found HERE! This is an updated version of article I wrote for "The World of Shortwave Listening" column of The Spectrum Monitor magazine - April 2016 issue. Further details on this excellent publication is available at www.thespectrummonitor.com)
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In Part 1 of this series, we discussed some of the origins of the clandestine radio scene on shortwave. Let's continue now focusing on some more broadcasting orgranisations that can be heard on the bands.
Radio Xoriyo
The history of some conflicts in Africa date back decades and in several cases, centuries. Much of this arises between warring tribes and neighboring states. But some conflicts date back to colonial times involving the French, the British and other interests. The scars of colonial rule have complicated already difficult situations between the multitude of nationalities that make up the diverse richness of the African continent. Such is the case with the Ogaden Somali people of Eastern Ethiopia, living in an area of 200,000 square kilometers bordering Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. Their historical conflicts appear to date back to the 1880s when Abyssinian chiefs invaded the region, followed by an Italian invasion in 1935, and then British advances into the Horn of Africa in 1941. And on it goes! To adequately cover the ongoing injustices suffered by the Ogaden people is impossible in the space allocated here. Safe to say, however, it’s complicated!Radio Xoriyo has been operating sporadically for the last 15 years and is overseen by the well-established Ogaden Liberation Front (OLF). It is currently on air at 1600-1630 on 17630 kHz via the big 500kW Issoudun transmitter with programming in Somali on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It can also be heard on Mondays and Fridays on 17870 kHz (also via Issoudun) in the same time period. Like some other clandestine broadcasters, especially the ones targeting Ethiopia, their transmissions can be subject to various types of jamming. In the case of Radio Xoriyo it’s usually a form of white noise jamming.
Radio Free Sarawak
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| A QSL card from the Radio Free Sarawak as received by Malaysian DXer, Timm Breyel. |
Beginning its operations in November 2010, Radio Free Sarawak targets indigenous and farming communities in Sarawak. These people are usually poor, live in remote areas and not in a position to voice their concerns with the Malaysian Government. Environmental issues, land grabs, affairs involving corruption and illegal logging have placed the local indigenous population at risk of losing their livelihoods and way of life. Radio Free Sarawak is the 2013 winner of the prestigious Pioneer of Free Media Award by the International Press Institute, who has applauded the station’s efforts to bring freedom of information and freedom of speech to the isolated communities in Malaysia’s Borneo rainforest state.
Currently, the station is NOT on air, tending to operate on a season basis. It remains to see if it will return to the shortwave bands soon. However, up until last May, RFS operated on weekdays at 1130-1300 on 15420 kHz. But, this frequency can be subject to change and last year, the station was also noted on 15425, 15430, and 15460. Even the sign-on times can change and has often been scheduled to commence at 1030. In the early days, jamming accompanied the broadcasts, but this seems to have eased off somewhat in recent times. Transmissions are in the Iban language and occasionally Malay. There is an interesting 2:30 min TV news report on the station that was first broadcast by Al Jazeera two years ago. You can watch it at https://vimeo.com/70163757. The Radio Free Sarawak website is https://radiofreesarawak.org and there is also a very active Facebook page.
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| After the Malaysian government described Radio Free Sarawak as “the naughty radio station”, the broadcaster was delighted to wear this label as a badge of honor and quickly had T-shirts made! |
Voice of Khmer M’Chas Srok
A more recent addition to the list of clandestine stations is the Voice of Khmer M’Chas Srok. Its broadcasts are aimed towards the people of Cambodia and is principally concerned with the overbearing influence of Vietnam upon the ideals, governance and culture of the Khmer population. Issues include the development of a one-party government headed by the Vietnamese Communist Party, and bilateral security agreements between Cambodia and Vietnam that allow for Hanoi’s armed forces to intervene in Cambodia as deemed necessary by the Vietnamese Communist Party. The broadcaster also considers that Cambodia’s government is under full control of Vietnam through the infiltration of Vietnamese nationals in state institutions, the judiciary, the economy, and compounded by a large influx of Vietnamese migrants into the country, taking work and power away from Cambodian nationals. Programs discuss the deep concerns that the Khmer people have with respect to their legitimate and traditional rights. |
| A banner from the website of the Voice of Khmer M’Chas Srok |
Transmissions began in February 2014 and are produced by a U.S. based organization under the guidance of a former Radio Free Asia journalist Hassan Kassem. Currently, the station can be heard only on Sundays and Thursdays at 1130-1200 on 17860 kHz via the Dushanbe transmitter in Tajikistan. The language used is Khmer (Cambodian) and in the 30-minute broadcast there are often lovely indigenous musical items. There appears to be no attempt to jam the transmissions (yet!). Recently, I recorded the opening music and announcements, which can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/Q7NYtIBGw4Y There is an English language portion of their website: http://www.khmer-mchas-srok.org/index.php?lang=en
Radio República
“… an International radio station run by the Cuban Democratic Directorate "Directorio" transmitting uncensored news and information to the Cuban people. Radio República serves as a voice for Cuba's Resistance Movement throughout the island. In addition to providing "real" news to the Cuban people, Radio República is a sought after refuge for Cuban activists seeking to record acts of repression in progress. Radio República serves as a vehicle to document and monitor the whereabouts and physical integrity of activists suffering persecution for their pro-democracy activity. Radio República also serves to give voice to, and help coordinate the grass roots movement for freedom and justice throughout municipalities and communities in the island.”
The station uses the transmitting facilities of Issoudun, France and appears to be well-heard in both the U.S. and Cuba. Indeed, here in Australia, the signal is also quite strong during our winter DX season (May-August). The WRTH points out that in order to avoid jamming the frequency is subject to change. However, in recent times the station has settled on 9490 kHz for its four-hour broadcast at 0100-0500. http://directorio.org
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| A studio shot inside Radio República, from their website. |
Radio Ranginkaman
And for something a bit different, there is a station calling itself Radio Ranginkaman (a.k.a. Radio Rainbow) whose programs are aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Little is known about this broadcaster, even though it was first monitored by DXers in late 2012.In the past, the station has been scheduled for Mondays and Fridays at 1600-1630 UTC on both 7575 kHz (via Kichinev, Moldova) and 15690 kHz (via Kostinbrod, Bulgaria) although the second frequency has not been heard here in recent times. The 41mb frequency is often heard here in Australia.
http://radioranginkaman.org
Targeting North Korea
One part of the world that cops plenty of attention from political and religious organizations is the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. At last count, there are thirteen broadcasters targeting the D.P.R.K. These include the religious stations Voice of the Martyrs and Voice of Wilderness, along with political movements such as the Voice of Freedom, Echo of Hope, Free North Korea Radio, North Korea Reform Radio, Radio Free Korea and Voice of the People. Also note that as of October 2015, the station formerly known as Radio Free Chosun is now identifying itself as National Unity Radio. Obviously, most of these broadcasts are subject to intense jamming by Kim Jong Un’s administration. However, occasionally some stations are not jammed due to frequent power outages within North Korea. At those times, the broadcasts can be picked up quite clearly around the globe.Finally
There are many other clandestine broadcasters operating on shortwave that we haven’t covered here in this series. Like the stations featured here, they all have interesting backgrounds, histories and motivations driving them in their efforts to reach out to listeners across the globe. We will visit some more clandestine stations in the near future.73 and good DX to you all.
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
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