Trials and tribulations of Radio 101.2 FM, independent broadcaster in Miensk (05/04/97)

Trials and tribulations of Radio 101.2 FM, independent broadcaster in Miensk

by Yarema A. Bachynsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

NEW YORK - "We were the only independent radio station in Miensk broadcasting in Belarusian," said Olha Babak, correspondent with BM-Inform and a former editor and announcer at Radio 101.2 FM, a popular outlet that featured music, news and retransmissions of BBC, Deutsche Welle and other Western European broadcasters. It was one of five radio stations in the Belarusian capital, along with two government-run and two private, Russian-language stations.

On August 31, 1996, the Belarusian Ministry of Communications pulled the plug on the popular Miensk station for allegedly causing interference with the government-run Radio Altai. The government offered the broadcaster the option of broadcasting with a weaker signal or moving to the suburbs.

"Naturally, moving to the suburbs or using a weaker signal would have considerably lessened the number of listeners," said Ms. Babak at an April 16 press briefing held at The Committee to Protect Journalists. Prior to its closing, Radio 101.2 FM reached over 1 million residents of Miensk and nearby towns.

Ms. Babak and Zhanna Litvina, former editor-in-chief of the disbanded station, believe that the real reason for the demise of Radio 101.2 FM was its habit of reporting both sides of the story, especially on issues concerning President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and his policies of integration with the Russian Federation. Their view may be supported by the fact that the government dragged out allocation of another frequency until after the November 26, 1996, referendum on creation of a Belarusian-Russian community, and in any case did not permit Radio 101.2 FM back on the air.

In February of this year, according to The Committee to Protect Journalists, Belarusian authorities announced plans to create a state-run radio station on Radio 101.2 FM's old frequency. According to the CPJ, the station will be run by Priamoye Deystviye (Direct Action), a pro-government organization. It is not yet apparent whether the new station will continue its predecessor' s policy of broadcasting in Belarusian instead of, as its name indicates, in Russia.

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