ESAT accuses China of complicity in jamming signals

ESAT accuses China of complicity in jamming signals

June 15th, 2011 Print Email

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The Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), which resumed transmissions to Ethiopia last week after nearly two months of interruption, has urged the government of the People’s Republic of China to desist from providing technology, training and technical assistance to the regime in Ethiopia to enable it to jam shortwave radio and satellite transmissions to Ethiopia.

The Meles regime is currently blocking independent news websites and jamming the Amharic services of the Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, and the Ethiopian Satellite Television, among others, with the help of technology and technical assistance provided by the Chinese government.

Since its launch in April 2010, ESAT has faced intense and persistent signal interference that has disrupted its transmissions six times in its short span of life. ESAT’s management has investigated the matter thoroughly and confirmed from reliable sources inside Ethiopia that the government of China has been actively working with the Meles regime to jam ESAT’s transmissions.

Mr. Kilfe Mulat, the exiled President of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association, has said that China’s complicity in stifling freedom of expression and undermining efforts to spread democratic values in Ethiopia is shameful and sets a bad precedence in the whole of Africa. “Ethiopia is not only the seat of the AU but also a historic symbol of freedom in Africa as the only African nation that has never been colonized. Aiding tyrants to stifle their people and block the free flow of information is tantamount to committing unwarranted crimes against the freedom-loving people of Africa that are making sacrifices to exercise their inalienable rights and free themselves from corrupt tyrants that are hampering progress in the continent.”

The President of EFPJA also urged organizations and nations promoting freedom and democracy to provide resources and support to the Ethiopian Satellite Television to overcome the China-backed jamming challenge that has seriously threatened the survival of ESAT, a grassroots media project totally funded by the Ethiopian Diaspora.

Mr. Mulat further noted that the government of China must realize the fact that collaborating with African tyrants and exporting tools of repressions to countries like Ethiopia is an inexcusable act that will further tarnish the image of China as a sponsor of tyranny and oppression.

ESAT, which was set up by a group of Ethiopian exiled journalists and pro-democracy activists to fend off Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s war every avenue of freedom, has been facing attacks and interference by the Meles regime.

“In addition to building Internet firewalls for the regime, China has emerged as one of the most formidable enemies of freedom in Ethiopia and the entire continent of Africa. China should realize the fact that the Meles regime is violating its own constitution that guarantees freedom of expression to citizens. By assisting the Meles regime in jamming ESAT and other reputable broadcasters illegally, China can only earn the condemnation of freedom-loving Ethiopians who do not wish to see their liberty trampled upon by internal and external powers,” ESAT’s management said.

Article 29 of the current Ethiopian constitution stipulates: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression without any interference. This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media of his choice.” But the Meles regime is widely known for violating basic rights with impunity.

ESAT has been forced to change satellite service providers at least four times in the last one year. It started broadcasting its programs to Ethiopia on Arabsat but was forced off air due to intense signal interference and diplomatic pressure. Similarly, an effort to continue broadcasting on Thaicon was interrupted after a few months, once again, due to intense diplomatic pressure. But ESAT’s tenacious management team continued transmissions on Intelsat, an American satellite company. While a diplomatic effort to disrupt ESAT transmissions failed, the Meles regime managed to jam ESAT’s signals using the jamming equipment provided by the Chinese government.

ESAT, the first independent TV station viewed by millions of Ethiopians, has reiterated its commitment to making every effort to continue its transmissions and find ways of overcoming the Sino-Ethiopia jamming and censorship project.

ESAT, which has studios in Amsterdam, Washington DC and London, is currently transmitting 24/7 on ABS1 Satellite, C-Band at 75 East Downlink: 3.480 GHz Vertical (3480), Symbol: 1.852 Msps (1852), FEC 2/3. It has plans to transmit on a Ku-Band and shortwave radio with a view to reaching wider audience in Ethiopia. ESAT also webcasts its transmissions on www.ethsat.com.

Radio Free Sarawak says it’s being jammed

April 15th, 2011 - 15:40 UTC

by Andy Sennitt.

Radio Free Sarawak (RFS) says it is being jammed in connection with the upcoming Malaysian elections. RFS says it will continue to attempt to monitor the elections and bring information to the people of Sarawak, along with many other internet news providers who have been under continual attack over the past week .

RFS says it can confirm that the first jamming transmission happened yesterday with a test the day before, all on 15425kHz which is right next to the RFS frequency of 15420 kHz. It says its experts have traced the attack to a known agent in Belgium, who is an established broker of transmission times. He has admitted that he has been hired to broadcast at the same time and on the same frequency as RFS, which is on the air at 1000-1200 UTC.

RFS says: “This activity is against all international broadcasting agreements and a violation by a respectable operator. However, he has admitted that the contract is worth a considerable amount of money to him, as he has been hired until December, although it is clearly only the next two days before the elections that are important. The broker has been paid to broadcast his gospel music sounds across the Radio Free Sarawak signal range at double the normal broadcast strength at a full 200 kiloWatts, which will cost around US$200 an hour at commercial rates, a full $400 a day. This, times the 270 remaining days of the year, makes the contract worth a minimum of US $108,000 - the cost of what it has taken to get Radio Free Sarawak off the air for the remaining two days of the election.

RFS continues: “Our information is that the broker, who has also brokered a jamming operation against an anti-Gaddafi station in the past, made its first transmission through Russia, Vladivostok yesterday, with a weaker signal also going through the Ukraine on exactly the same frequency as RFS, 15420kHz. The broker admitted that he had asked the Russians to go directly onto the RFS signal but that, mindful of international protocols, they had refused. After pressure, the Russians agreed to broadcast on the overly close 15420kHz [sic - presumably they mean 15425] at a very powerful signal instead, which would have a similar blocking effect.”

RFS says it is currently taking measures to vigorously protest at the illegal action and will also be taking measures to rebroadcast its show to audiences in Sarawak.

(Source: Radio Free Sarawak)

Andy Sennitt comments: A few days ago, the Malaysian government admitted that it could not jam RFS because that would contravene the Human Rights Convention of Geneva. By arranging for a private broker in another country to generate some ‘deliberate harmful interference’ - the ‘polite’ term for jamming - it presumably thinks that it can get around the rules. What strikes me as odd is that the broker in Belgium has apparently spoken openly about the contract. It will be interesting to see what happens after the election. BTW I am not allowing comments on this item, as some readers of this Weblog know the identity of the broker in question. It’s regrettable that some people put the accumulation of personal wealth ahead of supporting press freedom.

Press Releases | 08.04.2011

Deutsche Welle: Ethiopian service jammed again

New example of an evident blockade of critical international media.

Deutsche Welle (DW) has condemned the latest case of jamming of its Amharic service for Ethiopia. Germany’s international broadcast has appealed to the Ethiopian administration to ensure that an undisturbed shortwave signal remain available for listeners in the region. The latest infringement has made it difficult for Deutsche Welle to deliver fair and balanced news about the political, economical and social developments in the target area.

DW’s shortwave signal for Ethiopia has been jammed since April 6. Programming from Voice of America has also been affected. This has lead DW officials to believe that it is a concentrated effort to block critical international media. Several individual broadcasters were also jammed in Ethiopia in May 2010 around the time of local elections.

The latest case of jamming is occurring at a point in time in which more than 200 from the alleged opposition of the Oromo Group have been arrested and journalists who have voiced criticism of the administration have been silenced. The Ethiopian administration is apparently concerned that the so-called Jasmine Revolution in North Africa will spread into their country. A call for protest has been popping up on social media platforms over the last few weeks using the motto “Beka” (enough).

After being approached by Deutsche Welle on Thursday, April 7, a spokesman from the Ethiopian government has denied any jamming attempts. The Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has publicly acknowledged the jamming of international broadcasters in the past.

German development organizations will be meeting on Monday, April 11 in Bonn ahead of the bilateral negotiations between Germany and Ethiopia – under the direction of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). For the first time, DW will use this opportunity to report on the current media landscape in Ethiopia and expand on jamming and the restrictions put on its correspondents in the country.

DW has been broadcasting its Amharic service in Ethiopia since 1965 and is along with Voice of America the most popular international source of information.

Iran’s Arabic TV said “jammed from Saudi Arabia”

Iran’s Arabic TV said “jammed from Saudi Arabia”

March 17th, 2011 - 13:05 UTC

by Andy Sennitt.

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Text of report in English by Iranian newspaper Iran Daily website on 17 March

The signal of [Iranian state-run, Arabic-language] Al-Alam satellite TV network has been plagued by jamming across the Middle East and North Africa and the electronic interference reportedly is from Saudi Arabia.

The Tehran-based Arabic-language TV, whose coverage of developments in crisis-hit Bahrain has been widely watched in the Arab world, first reported jamming on its [Arabsat-operated] Badr 5 transponder on Tuesday [15 March] evening and later on Badr 6 transponder early Wednesday morning, Press TV reported.

The jamming is reportedly caused by equipment capable of simultaneously interfering with Al-Alam’s frequencies on the Badr (formerly known as Arabsat) satellite [at 26 degrees East].

The report comes after Saudi troops forced their way into Salmaniya Hospital on Wednesday and prevented doctors, nurses and relatives of patients from leaving or entering the building. Several patients undergoing treatment in the hospital were injured in clashes with the police.

Bahraini police killed at least five protesters and injured dozens more on Wednesday as they assaulted a peaceful protest camp in the capital’s Pearl Square.

The attack occurred two days after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar dispatched troops to the diminutive Persian Gulf kingdom to silence anti-government protests.

The foreign military intervention in Bahrain was a source of concern to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who has called for a meaningful and broad-based national dialogue. The UN official urged Bahrain’s neighbours and the international community to support a dialogue process and an environment conducive to credible reform in Bahrain.

(Source: Iran Daily website, Tehran, in English 17 Mar 11 via BBC Monitoring)

Ethiopia Accused of Detaining Activists to Deter Uprising

Ethiopia Accused of Detaining Activists to Deter Uprising

Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa March 23, 2011

Ethiopia has detained dozens of political activists as part of what opposition groups say is a crackdown aimed at preventing a North African or Middle Eastern style popular uprising. Our correspondent in Addis Ababa says the crackdown is focused on the politically sensitive Oromia region, home to more than one third of the country’s population.

Oromo opposition leaders say as many as 100 of their party members have been arrested in federal police sweeps over the past two weeks. They say many of those detained are charged with minor offenses such as quarreling with neighbors.

Bekele Gerba, deputy leader of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement says the arrests have spread fear among opposition activists in Ethiopia’s largest region.

"Anyone who speaks the language and does not belong to the ruling party is a suspect and can be taken to prison any time," said Bekele Gerba. "They want to show, if you don’t belong to us or you happen to support any opposition, this is your fate tomorrow. This is how we are going to drag you into prison. So people are intimidated now."

Bekele says opposition groups see the crackdown as a warning to anyone hoping to inspire a popular uprising like those sweeping other countries in the region.

"They are worried about what is going on around the world and what is happening to dictators around the world, and it is because of that that mass arrest and intimidation are going around," he said.

Oromia region officials flatly rejected any political motive behind the arrests. Spokesman Mesfin Assefa says the government respects people’s right to political dissent.

"There is rule of law in this country," said Mesfin Assefa. "There is due process of law. Everybody who violates the law or who breaches the trust of public will be liable. If certain guys commit crime, they will be liable for their offenses."

The arrests come at a time when government officials are admittedly nervous about unrest in the region. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi this month said he was especially worried about political turmoil in Yemen, just 150 kilometers from Ethiopia’s northern border. Mr. Meles said some domestic opposition groups were trying to incite a copycat uprising.

"We are aware that some parties who are legally operating in Ethiopia are praying this happens, and maybe playing a few games to try to accelerate such an event," said Prime Minister Zenawi. "So we are watching these issues carefully."

A sign of the government’s growing unease has been a partial resumption of jamming of VOA language service broadcasts to Ethiopia. The broadcasts are often jammed before Ethiopia’s elections, but the jamming stops after the voting.

Opposition leader Bekele says recent broadcast have been audible, except for loud noises that disrupt the signal when political issues are discussed.

"We have a lot of problem even to listen to the VOA," he said. "The jamming. There are experts who are standing by and ready to jam the wave every time if there is any political issue. Immediately the jamming starts. It has become virtually impossible to listen to the VOA on the radio. It is only possible on the Arabsat satellite."

VOA last year began broadcasts to Ethiopia by the Arabsat satellite after Prime Minister Meles authorized jamming its short wave radio signals. The VOAnews.com website is also blocked to Ethiopian internet users.

VOA is the only international radio service broadcasting in three main Ethiopian languages, Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrayan.

23 March 2011 Last updated at 01:44 GMT

BBC Russian radio hits the off switch after 65 years

By Steven Eke Editor, BBC Russian Service

Anatol Goldberg, who ran the service (second from the left), was removed in 1958 after a public campaign to discredit him by parts of the British Establishment and a right-wing magazine

Continue reading the main story

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At the end of this week, the BBC's Russian Service will close its radio frequencies for good.

The Russian Service began broadcasting to the Soviet Union in 1946 and quickly established a reputation with Soviet listeners, in the brief period before the onset of the Cold War.

From 1949 until 1987, the jamming of the signal by the Soviet authorities consumed vast amounts of money and technical expertise. For many years, a significant part of the USSR's entire radio broadcasting system was devoted to blocking transmissions from abroad.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn insisted the BBC should not endow the Kremlin with a sense of legitimacy

The BBC's Russian Service was blocked selectively and varyingly. However, jamming was never totally effective, and listening to the Russian Service as well as other western broadcasters had, by the 1970s, become a ubiquitous phenomenon among the Soviet urban intelligentsia.

'Soft' on Kremlin

This week, the Russian Service is playing out audio postcards from listeners, revealing how they listened, and what it meant to them. One especially memorable episode comes from a listener in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, explaining how her family learned of the assassination of President Kennedy from the Russian Service's news broadcasts.

The Soviet authorities had started broadcasting in foreign languages earlier - in 1929. There was never any ambiguity about its purpose. Indeed, the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia states it "serves as a powerful weapon in the propaganda of Communist ideology, a highly effective way to speedily inform the toilers in foreign countries about life in the Soviet Union".

Continue reading the main story

BBC Russian Service

• Began broadcasting 26 March 1946
• Jamming starts April 1949
• During Cold War, millions of Russians listened by shortwave despite Soviet jamming
• From 1992, Radio Russia broadcast several BBC programmes every week
• By 1999, audience of 6m
• FM broadcasts Nov 2006 halted following political pressure
• Broadcasts continue on medium wave in major cities, shortwave and via satellite
• End of radio frequencies 26 March 2011

There was no pretence that the output of foreign language broadcasting - Inoveshchaniye - was an honest or necessarily accurate reflection of Soviet life.

The ideological conflict between East and West had a direct impact on the BBC Russian Service. On several occasions, over the decades, it was accused of being too soft on the Kremlin.

The persecuted dissident writer, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, insisted over the years that it should not endow the Soviet regime with a sense of legitimacy.

The respected Anatol Goldberg, who ran the service, was removed in 1958 after a public campaign to discredit him by parts of the British Establishment and a right-wing magazine. Decades later, in the aftermath of the murder in London of Alexander Litvinenko, the service again faced accusations that it was soft on Russian official statements and positions. It strongly denied the accusations, citing the need to work to the BBC's editorial standards.

Media personality

Many BBC presenters, like Seva Novgorodtsev, were household names in Russia

The BBC's Russian radio programmes evolved over time, but it was the opening up of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost that provided a massive leap forward. Mr Gorbachev said he had been a long-term listener. Suddenly, there was access to interviews and opinions from Russia itself.

Many of the Russian Service's presenters were household names in Russia and the countries once part of the USSR. In particular, Seva Novgorodtsev, who was one of the Soviet Union's first rock DJs and who opened up the western music scene to Russian listeners, remains a much-loved media personality in Russia.

The service recently celebrated his 70th birthday with a memorable evening hosted by him in St Petersburg. It attracted a great deal of local media attention.

In its heyday, the Russian Service provided a full range of news and current affairs, analysis, musical, medical, scientific, cultural and religious programmes. In the past week, the Russian Service has revived some outstanding material from the archives: an interview with Paul McCartney and a ground-breaking hour-long, live studio interview with Margaret Thatcher, answering questions from listeners across the Soviet Union.

It was an early, highly successful example of interactivity. A much more recent example was a live broadcast with students at Moscow State University, looking at the legacy of the USSR's collapse 20 years later.

One memorable quote came from the famous TV presenter, Vladimir Molchanov, telling us that such a debate would have been impossible in Soviet times - and it would also be impossible on state-controlled national television today, even if the Russian internet remains uncensored.

Cooling relations

In post-Soviet Russia, as Russia's own media blossomed and modernised, partnerships were sealed with Russian stations, some of them with nationwide FM networks.

The BBC hoped to access a much wider radio audience with its mix of BBC standards and expertise. However, with the cooling of British-Russian political links in recent years, the strategy was revealed to be vulnerable. One after another, often without explanation, partner stations in Russia announced they would no longer collaborate. This cut off a big chunk of the audience, in a country where people will not return to the culture of short-wave listening.

Over recent years, the Russian Service has invested heavily in bbcrussian.com, boosting its audio-visual content, interactivity, as well as its presence in international and Russian social media.

The context and depth of BBC material will continue to boost the service's coverage of key regional and global stories.

The BBC Russian Service goes on air for the last time on 26th March. However, the BBC's Russian output will continue on bbcrussian.com, where two radio programmes will be broadcast every Monday to Friday and one will be broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays.

Iran’s Arabic TV said “jammed from Saudi Arabia”

March 17th, 2011 - 13:05 UTC

by Andy Sennitt.

Text of report in English by Iranian newspaper Iran Daily website on 17 March

The signal of [Iranian state-run, Arabic-language] Al-Alam satellite TV network has been plagued by jamming across the Middle East and North Africa and the electronic interference reportedly is from Saudi Arabia.

The Tehran-based Arabic-language TV, whose coverage of developments in crisis-hit Bahrain has been widely watched in the Arab world, first reported jamming on its [Arabsat-operated] Badr 5 transponder on Tuesday [15 March] evening and later on Badr 6 transponder early Wednesday morning, Press TV reported.

The jamming is reportedly caused by equipment capable of simultaneously interfering with Al-Alam’s frequencies on the Badr (formerly known as Arabsat) satellite [at 26 degrees East].

The report comes after Saudi troops forced their way into Salmaniya Hospital on Wednesday and prevented doctors, nurses and relatives of patients from leaving or entering the building. Several patients undergoing treatment in the hospital were injured in clashes with the police.

Bahraini police killed at least five protesters and injured dozens more on Wednesday as they assaulted a peaceful protest camp in the capital’s Pearl Square.

The attack occurred two days after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar dispatched troops to the diminutive Persian Gulf kingdom to silence anti-government protests.

The foreign military intervention in Bahrain was a source of concern to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who has called for a meaningful and broad-based national dialogue. The UN official urged Bahrain’s neighbours and the international community to support a dialogue process and an environment conducive to credible reform in Bahrain.

(Source: Iran Daily website, Tehran, in English 17 Mar 11 via BBC Monitoring)