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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Voice of the Tigray Revolution active on shortwave and the web


BBC Monitoring observed radio Voice of the Tigray Revolution commencing their broadcast day at 0355 gmt on 26 February 2007, on their recently-adopted shortwave frequencies of 5980 and 9650 kHz.

The transmission started with their call signal - five minutes of a repetitive melody played on a washint (Ethiopian flute) - followed by an identification announcement in Tigrinya and mention of their website address, www.dimtsiwoyane.com.

The website features an extensive audio archive of news bulletins and other programmes available for streaming or downloading. Many of the hypertext links to these files, and the file titles, are dated in accordance with the Ethiopian calendar - a conversion facility for this can be found at www.funaba.org/en/calendar-conversion.cgi.

Voice of the Tigray Revolution (Tigrinya: Dimtsi Woyane Tigray) is affiliated to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, a partner in the country’s ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

Prior to the overthrow of the Mengistu regime in May 1991 the station operated as a clandestine broadcaster, sharing facilities with other pro-EPRDF radios. Now licensed, it broadcasts on a commercial basis from studios in Mekele, capital of the northern province of Tigray.
(Source: BBC Monitoring research 27 Feb 07/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)