3 de febrero de 2011 | Noticias | Derechos humanos
Not Silenced
Garifuna community radio Faluma Bimetu back on air
Descargar: MP3 (1.7 MB)
Garifuna community radio Faluma Bimetu (Coco Dulce), from the Honduran community Triunfo de la Cruz, is back on air. The radio had temporarily stopped broadcasting in January due to the harassment suffered by the members of the radio and the threats received against the building where the radio is established.
In January, 2010, the radio had been set fire and the people responsible continue unknown. Back then, the material losses caused by the fire prevented Faluma Bimetu to be on air for a month, and could resume their work thanks to the support received.
Now, the radio had stopped broadcasting due to fear of being set on fire again, added to the fact that in January 14th, community leader and the director of the station, Alfredo Lopez, was brought to justice after a shooting in Triunfo de la Cruz. While he wasn’t charged, the workers of the community radio feared further reprisals.
In more than ten years on air, the radio suffered several attacks since it provides a space to expose the interest of tourisms businessmen in Triunfo de la Cruz and Tela Municipality, since there are attempts to sell community lands in an illegal way to promote tourism megaprojects in Bahia de Tela.
The World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC) and Reporters without Borders (RSF) demanded the Honduran authorities to ensure the protection of the communication media of minorities, and will hold them responsible for all acts of censorship or sabotages that affect Faluma Bimetu.
“The fate of Triunfo de la Cruz and its radio station is being threatened by the same combination of forces that is undermining much of the rest of the county: the collusion of local officials with the agrarian and industrial oligarchy; the impact of organized crime along the Atlantic seaboard, where one journalist was murdered among 10 other in the country last year; and the repression stemming from the June 2009 coup d’état, which has targeted minority media and journalists in particular”, states a press release issued by AMARC and RSF
Recently, the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank La Rue, said he was concerned about the attitude of the government in terms of community radios that denounce issues around human, social and environmental rights, and called the government to ensure freedom of speech.
Photo: http://agenciapulsar.org/
