By IPS Correspondents
BANGKOK, Dec 26 2003 (IPS)

The voice of community radio is getting louder across Asia, but so is the interference coming from governments that are wary about their growing strength.

The voice of community radio is getting louder across Asia, but so is the interference coming from governments that are wary about their growing strength.

In recent years, political change in countries like Indonesia and Thailand has given local communities more room to make use of state-controlled frequencies and to gain more space in an increasingly commercial media environment.

Community radio ventures have thus mushroomed, often broadcasting from homemade transmitters and makeshift venues like unlit toilet cubicles to abandoned spaces.

In Indonesia, the number of community radio stations has risen to 200, more than half of which are in Java and the rest in smaller islands like Bali, Lombok and Sumatra. The number of radio stations has nearly doubled since the end of the Suharto era in 1998. In Thailand, the years since 1997, when the new constitution came into place, have seen community radio tackle local issues, often taking critical views of the government. There are more than 150 community radio stations today, although they are operating as part of pilot efforts and not on full licences – and the number continues to grow.

Such strength has led governments to be careful of these grassroots efforts.

In both these South-east Asian countries, governments are delaying the establishment of independent regulatory bodies that would institutionalise the presence of community radio and clarify the rules under which they can operate, says Kulachada Chaipipat, director for Thailand of the South-east Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA).

In Thailand, “they (government officials) feel that (community radio stations) challenge the authority of bureaucratic organisations like the post and telegraph department, as well as the Public Relations Department which issues the (broadcasting) licences,” added Supinya Klangnarong of the non-government Campaign for Popular Media Reform.

The debate is linked to the bigger debate over the shrinking space for independent media in Thailand, where Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has come under fire for using his corporate and political clout to crack down on critical media.

”Thaksin’s government is worried about the critical media although they can control the mainstream media,” Supinya said in an interview. ”But they cannot stop the emergence of community radio here because people want community radio.”

”There is a poor understanding of the community and the right of community radio to exist. Media is not a part of their (the communities’) lives yet they have a role in controlling development programmes,” said Vinondini Effendi of the Indonesia-based Combine Research Institution.

In Indonesia, the government passed a broadcast bill in November 2002 that provided for community-based broadcasting. The same bill calls for a broadcast commission to be set up, but there has not been movement on that.

The grey area in which community radio finds itself forced to operate in Thailand makes it vulnerable to legal action and other harassment, critics told a recent conference on media and human rights in Asia in Kanchanaburi.

Despite the 1997 constitution’s statement that radio frequencies are for the public, there remains no law to put this into practice and no independent regulatory boards to implement the provision to “allocate the frequencies àand supervise radio or television broadcasting and telecommunication businesses”.

None of the two independent regulatory bodies – the National Communications Commission and the National Broadcasting Commission have been set up. Kulachada said, “The process won’t start because the government is delaying the selection of the committee and there is a status quo.” The constitutional directive to have frequencies for the public are a sea change in Thailand, where since 1955 the broadcasting industry has been governed by laws that require licences and where radio stations are mainly controlled by the military.

The Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres quoted the army chief as saying he would not allow the National Broadcasting Commission to reassign frequencies, saying the army needs to control “media that are crucial to national security”.

Community radio stations ”have trouble obtaining frequencies and their legal status remains very shaky”, it added.

Indeed, community radio stations in Kanchanaburi and Innburi were told by the Public Relations Department to terminate transmission in 2002.

Under the new frequencies act of 2000, which community radio stations have used to set up shop, this would not have been the case as 20 percent of frequencies would be assigned to community broadcast. “There was a debate among those involved, in defining the ownership of this 20 percent,” explained Kulachada.

She added that the “government was trying to get a share” in this ownership, which was solely meant for the public.

Uajit Virojtrairatt, who has helped communities in Thailand set up their radio stations, also pointed to a worrisome trend – authorities, keen to keep control over radio frequencies, are now interpreting community radio to mean giving funds to small stations in the districts, instead of letting them emerge independently from communities’ own initiative. ”The government wants to remain as the agenda setter and control over the agenda especially those agendas which could affect the popurality of government or the ruling party,” Kulachada explained.

Yet at the grassroots level, Uajit says community radio is making a difference in real ways such as by allowing villages to discuss a wide range of subjects, from their views of government policies to the prices of goods.

”At first, they were very hesitant and said ‘how can we put up a radio station’?” she recalled. But once it was up and they realised they could speak over the radio, Uajit recalled, ”there was no stopping them”.

Effendi says that the benefits community radio brings are small but no less relevant. In one Indonesian village, Effendi says, it has allowed residents to hear about a village meeting through radio – rather than having someone walk hours uphill to announce it.

But these stations are plagued by lack of resources and skills, not to mention occasions where Effendi says they crash into other radio stations’ frequencies.

To obtain a broadcasting licence in Indonesia, community radio stations have to pay a 300 million rupiah (35,300 U.S. dollars) fee to the communication department. Often, the application process is time-consuming, expensive and requires legal help.

This difficulty prompts many community radio stations in Indonesia to resort to illegally establishing broadcast centres, until they are uncovered by the police.

In short, the situation in these two countries – coming alongside the growth of community radio in countries from Nepal to the Philippines – is such that community radio often becomes ‘illegal’ radio or, as Effendi says, perceived as a threat to national security.

Excerpt:

By IPS Correspondents
BANGKOK, Dec 26 2003 (IPS)

The voice of community radio is getting louder across Asia, but so is the interference coming from governments that are wary about their growing strength.

In recent years, political change in countries like Indonesia and Thailand has given local communities more room to make use of state-controlled frequencies and to gain more space in an increasingly commercial media environment.

Community radio ventures have thus mushroomed, often broadcasting from homemade transmitters and makeshift venues like unlit toilet cubicles to abandoned spaces.

In Indonesia, the number of community radio stations has risen to 200, more than half of which are in Java and the rest in smaller islands like Bali, Lombok and Sumatra. The number of radio stations has nearly doubled since the end of the Suharto era in 1998. In Thailand, the years since 1997, when the new constitution came into place, have seen community radio tackle local issues, often taking critical views of the government. There are more than 150 community radio stations today, although they are operating as part of pilot efforts and not on full licences – and the number continues to grow.

Such strength has led governments to be careful of these grassroots efforts.

In both these South-east Asian countries, governments are delaying the establishment of independent regulatory bodies that would institutionalise the presence of community radio and clarify the rules under which they can operate, says Kulachada Chaipipat, director for Thailand of the South-east Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA).

In Thailand, "they (government officials) feel that (community radio stations) challenge the authority of bureaucratic organisations like the post and telegraph department, as well as the Public Relations Department which issues the (broadcasting) licences,” added Supinya Klangnarong of the non-government Campaign for Popular Media Reform.

The debate is linked to the bigger debate over the shrinking space for independent media in Thailand, where Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has come under fire for using his corporate and political clout to crack down on critical media.

”Thaksin’s government is worried about the critical media although they can control the mainstream media,” Supinya said in an interview. ”But they cannot stop the emergence of community radio here because people want community radio.”

”There is a poor understanding of the community and the right of community radio to exist. Media is not a part of their (the communities’) lives yet they have a role in controlling development programmes,” said Vinondini Effendi of the Indonesia-based Combine Research Institution.

In Indonesia, the government passed a broadcast bill in November 2002 that provided for community-based broadcasting. The same bill calls for a broadcast commission to be set up, but there has not been movement on that.

The grey area in which community radio finds itself forced to operate in Thailand makes it vulnerable to legal action and other harassment, critics told a recent conference on media and human rights in Asia in Kanchanaburi.

Despite the 1997 constitution’s statement that radio frequencies are for the public, there remains no law to put this into practice and no independent regulatory boards to implement the provision to "allocate the frequencies àand supervise radio or television broadcasting and telecommunication businesses”.

None of the two independent regulatory bodies – the National Communications Commission and the National Broadcasting Commission have been set up. Kulachada said, "The process won’t start because the government is delaying the selection of the committee and there is a status quo." The constitutional directive to have frequencies for the public are a sea change in Thailand, where since 1955 the broadcasting industry has been governed by laws that require licences and where radio stations are mainly controlled by the military.

The Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres quoted the army chief as saying he would not allow the National Broadcasting Commission to reassign frequencies, saying the army needs to control "media that are crucial to national security”.

Community radio stations ”have trouble obtaining frequencies and their legal status remains very shaky”, it added.

Indeed, community radio stations in Kanchanaburi and Innburi were told by the Public Relations Department to terminate transmission in 2002.

Under the new frequencies act of 2000, which community radio stations have used to set up shop, this would not have been the case as 20 percent of frequencies would be assigned to community broadcast. "There was a debate among those involved, in defining the ownership of this 20 percent," explained Kulachada.

She added that the "government was trying to get a share" in this ownership, which was solely meant for the public.

Uajit Virojtrairatt, who has helped communities in Thailand set up their radio stations, also pointed to a worrisome trend – authorities, keen to keep control over radio frequencies, are now interpreting community radio to mean giving funds to small stations in the districts, instead of letting them emerge independently from communities’ own initiative. ”The government wants to remain as the agenda setter and control over the agenda especially those agendas which could affect the popurality of government or the ruling party,” Kulachada explained.

Yet at the grassroots level, Uajit says community radio is making a difference in real ways such as by allowing villages to discuss a wide range of subjects, from their views of government policies to the prices of goods.

”At first, they were very hesitant and said ‘how can we put up a radio station’?” she recalled. But once it was up and they realised they could speak over the radio, Uajit recalled, ”there was no stopping them”.

Effendi says that the benefits community radio brings are small but no less relevant. In one Indonesian village, Effendi says, it has allowed residents to hear about a village meeting through radio – rather than having someone walk hours uphill to announce it.

But these stations are plagued by lack of resources and skills, not to mention occasions where Effendi says they crash into other radio stations’ frequencies.

To obtain a broadcasting licence in Indonesia, community radio stations have to pay a 300 million rupiah (35,300 U.S. dollars) fee to the communication department. Often, the application process is time-consuming, expensive and requires legal help.

This difficulty prompts many community radio stations in Indonesia to resort to illegally establishing broadcast centres, until they are uncovered by the police.

In short, the situation in these two countries – coming alongside the growth of community radio in countries from Nepal to the Philippines – is such that community radio often becomes ‘illegal’ radio or, as Effendi says, perceived as a threat to national security.

Excerpt: