Five in a Row: The Forgotton BBC Relay Station

The Forgotton BBC East Africa Relay Station, Berbera in Somalia

You will remember that we presented here in Wavescan a few weeks back the story of radio broadcasting in the two Yemens, North & South, which today are generally operating as one country under the single title, Yemen. During our research into the interesting radio backgrounds in
Yemen, we were reminded again that once upon a time the BBC operated a relay station in that area. In actual reality, the BBC has operated five different relay stations in this general area, one after the other, over a period of time. In coming editions of Wavescan, we will present the story of each of these five BBC relay stations, and in our program today, we begin at the beginning. Here then, is the story of the BBC East Africa Relay Station, which was located at Berbera in Somalia.
The country of Somalia is located in what is called the Horn of Africa, a projection of the continent that points towards the Arabian Peninsula. The Somali peoples were one of the very early peoples of Africa and they moved into the area in the times of African pre-history. Their country is largely desert, though some coastal areas are agriculturally productive. It is estimated that there are around 20 million Somali people, plus or minus, in their homeland and beyond.
The Somali language is described in the encyclopedia as descendant from the Cushite family of languages, and in early times, various forms of Arabic writing were used to transcribe the spoken language. In October 1972, the usage of the English Latin alphabet was officially introduced for use with the Somali spoken language and they use all letters in the English Latin alphabet except P V & Z.
The coastal Somali people were experienced traders in historic times. In the year 1490 BC, the woman Pharaoh Hatshepsut in Egypt sent five cargo ships down the coast of Africa to Somalia, known as Punt during that era, and the ships returned with many forms of exotic African goods and people.
A full account of this remarkable trading expedition is presented on the walls of the Deir El-Bhari Temple in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. As a mid teenage girl, Hatshepsut is traditionally recognized as the princess who rescued the baby Moses from the water proofed basket that was floating on a large irrigation canal flowing off the Nile in the delta areas of Egypt.
In the late 1800s, European powers began to take a political interest in Africa, and France annexed a Somali territory that is now known as Djibouti. In 1884 England annexed northern Somalia as British Somaliland; and five years later, Italy annexed southern Somalia as Italian Somaliland. In 1960, the British & Italian Somalilands were granted independence and they united into one nation as Somalia.
Unfortunately, these days Somalia is noted for its internal strife and fightings, and some of the coastal Somali peoples are noted for their acts of piracy on the high seas.
The coastal city of Berbera, located on the bay in the Gulf of Aden, is an ancient African city, dating way back into Greek times. The name “Berbera”, is taken from the ancient Greek language, meaning “sea oyster”.
During the year 1890, an underwater cable was laid from Perim Island in the Gulf of Aden across to Berbera as part of a communication system linking England with Aden and beyond to India & Australia. When the era of wireless communication began, a wireless station was co-sited with the cable station at Berbera and it was on the air with spark wireless transmissions in Morse Code under the rather logical callsign BER. This station was inaugurated before the Great War on January 1, 1912.
A subsequent callsign for the Berbera station was VPJ, and additional stations were installed in British Somaliland; VQX at Burao, VSA at Hargeisa & VQY at Zeyla.
On November 2, 1959, the British government was officially informed that a relay station for the BBC was already under construction at Berbera in Somalia. However, one year later, it became apparent that the two Somalias, British & Italian, were about to achieve independence and become united into one country, Somalia.
It was stated in the British Parliament that it was hoped that the new Somalia would permit the BBC to continue with its usage of the Berbera relay station. However, soon afterwards, it became apparent that the BBC would need to leave Berbera due to differences between the governments of the new Somalia & England.
The BBC relay station at Berbera in Somalia was constructed and operated by DWS, the Diplomatic Wireless Service. It was activated in either 1960 or 1961 on mediumwave 701 kHz with programming in Arabic, Swahili and the General Overseas Service in English, but not in the Somali language. The program feed was taken off the BBC shortwave service to Africa, via a shortwave transmitter located at Daventry.
The power output of the BBC-DWS transmitter at Berbera is listed as 10 kW, 100 kW or 400 kW. Maybe there was a standby transmitter at 10 kW located at the cable station, but it is probable that a high powered transmitter at 400 kW was not on the air at this isolated location. Thus, we would suggest, the output power of this single mediumwave transmitter was 100 kW.
This BBC relay station located at Berbera in Somalia is listed in the World Radio TV Handbook for just two years, 1962 & 1963, and it was officially designated as the BBC East Africa Relay Station.
In March 1963, the British government agreed to the closure of the BBC Berbera relay station due to political differences between Somalia & England. The station left the air during the next month, April, at the end of two or three years of active on air service.
There are no known QSL cards verifying the BBC Somalia on mediumwave. However, it is possible that a few personnel who could actually tune in this lonely mediumwave station, and who were also serving the BBC as volunteer monitors at the time, did actually receive a much prized valid QSL card from this rather temporary East Africa Relay Station.
Two weeks from now, we will continue the story of this BBC relay station, at a new location under a new name.
(AWR/Wavescan/NWS # 114 via Adrian Peterson)

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Somalia's al Shabaad takes BBC off the air

Somalia’s al Shabaab rebels said yesterday they had taken the BBC off the air in regions they controlled because it spread Christian propaganda. The insurgents, who profess loyalty to al Qaeda and are fighting a deadly insurgency in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, also said they had looted transmission equipment belonging to the BBC. “Starting from today all BBC FM stations in the areas controlled by al Shabaab will be off air and their equipment will be taken over,” the group said in an emailed statement.

“BBC is owned by England and it spreads (a) colonial and Christian agenda in the Muslim world. BBC fights Islam … it is against the Islamic administration in Somalia.” The BBC broadcasts via its own local FM frequencies in Somalia and local stations relay its signal. The BBC does not have any studios in Somalia.

Jerry Timmins, BBC Head of International Relations & Africa Region, said, “We are disappointed in this interference with our broadcasts in Somalia as in the end, it is the Somali people who are most affected.” He said the broadcaster had no warning the rebel group intended to close down its relay stations and added that the BBC sought to represent all views in its broadcasts. “The BBC speaks to all sides in Somalia - including al-Shabaab - and reports events as they unfold. It is essential for the people of Somalia that the BBC is allowed to continue to report accurately and impartially on the situation in the country without undue interference from anyone,” he said.

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has decried a crackdown on press freedom in recent weeks and called the clampdown on the BBC an act of repression. ”This…is a strong demonstration of the gravity of media repression by al Shabaab. We are very concerned at the obvious intent…to get tough on journalists and media organizations that have taken an independent attitude of reporting,” NUSOJ said.

Somalis living in al Shabaab-held territories confirmed that BBC had gone off air on local frequencies but said programming could still be picked up on shortwave.

Al Shabaab controls huge swathes of central and southern Somalia and has left the government, backed by the West, in control of little more than a few streets in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab has already banned music from radio stations in areas it controls and allows only Arabic Koranic chanting.

Paris-based journalist rights group Reporters Without Borders also condemned al Shabaab’s action against BBC, and the Voice of America. “Al Shabaab has today added another misdeed to its long list of violations of free expression.”
(Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

New shortwave station in Somalia

On Sam Voron's website https://sites.google.com/site/somaliahamradio/ among other interesting stuff, there is a mention of new Somali SW station Radio Hage. Info says it operates from Galkayo with 1.25 kW on 3980 and 6915 at 0900-1000 and 0300-0500 (UTC). Direct links about Radio Hage: https://sites.google.com/site/somaliahamradio/somalia-short-wave-radio-broadcasts and http://sites.google.com/site/somaliahamradio/radio-hage-somalia . (Savolainen in DXplorer, Apr 16)

The e-mail address of Radio Hage is: radiohagesom@gmail.com . An impressive list of active radiostations in Somalia as of Apr 2009, edited by Australian radio amateur Sam Voron. This unruly country has a size bigger than Spain and Portugal together, but only a population of about 7 million. There are just two stations on shortwave, but 50 on FM as follows from NW: Autonomous Somaliland: 3, Puntland: 19, Galmudug: 1, Central Somalia: 5, Mogadishu area: 18, South Somalia: 2 and SW Somalia: 2.

I tried to catch Radio Hage on 6915 at 0344-0348, Apr 26, but only WYFR, Okeechobee, was heard with bible quotations in English, 35343. (Petersen)

7145, Radio Hargeisa, Somaliland, 1605-1901*, Apr 20 and 25, Somali news, political reports, music from Horn of Africa, 1700 ID, news mentioning Somalia, Oman, Nigeria, London, Israel, Tehran and Switzerland, ex 7120.1, 35433. (Petersen, Schulze and Wiespointner). They sent me a partly detailed card (time missing) from the Bergheim/Germany address in three weeks for return postage and a recording on CD. According to v/s Baldur Drobnica, there still is no direct postal route available into Somaliland. (Kuhl in DXplorer, Apr 25)

(DX Window # 375 via Anker Petersen)

New radio station planned for Somalia

The African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia is to start a radio station in Mogadishu.

The Defence/Army Spokesperson, Maj Felix Kulayigye said that the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) has already procured the radio equipment.

"The machines are already in East Africa. We are training those who will be handling radio programmes," he said

According to a military source, the radio will be a mouthpiece of the Transitional government led by Sheikh Sharif to bolster its campaign against the Islamist hardliners who have been calling for general upraising in the country against the AU force. However Maj. Kulayigye denied that the setting up of the radio is intended to counter war propaganda by the Islamist fundamentalists in Somalia.

He said the radio will broadcast educational programmes and the need to have a peaceful Somalia. (The Monitor, in ScreenAfrica.com, July 10;
Gabriel Ivan Barrera-ARG, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 15)
(WWDXC/Top News-BC DX #921)

Previous blog post May, 2009 - New shortwave station in Somalia
http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/search?q=somalia

Somali minister reportedly says Radio Bar-Kulan illegal

Text of report by Somali independent Radio Gaalkacyo on 21 March

The justice minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Abdirahman Janaqow, says the opening of Radio Bar-Kulan is illegal.

The justice minister of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government has said that the recently-launched, UN-backed Radio Bar-Kulan is operating illegally in the country. The minister said the radio has no legal permission from the government of Somalia, adding that the new station cannot contribute to Somalia’s peace and security.

Speaking to the media in Mogadishu, the minister said his government was unaware of the radio and described it as illegal. He stated that the name of the radio [Bar-Kulan means "Meeting Place"] sounds as if military men are sharing information and news through the radio. The minister strongly condemned the radio, stressing that it always focuses on fighting in Somalia and that Somalis mostly hear about violence and gun battles from it.

The newly UN-backed Radio Bar-Kulan has only been on the air for two weeks [in fact, the station launched on 1 March].

(Source: Radio Gaalkacyo, Gaalkacyo, in Somali 1015 gmt 21 Mar 10 via BBC Monitoring)

Related story:
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/new-radio-station-launches-broadcasts-to-somalia
(R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Three suspended Somali radio stations resume broadcasting

Following four days of closure, Shabelle Media Network, Horn Afrik and Holy Koran radio stations have been reopened after the Somalia transitional government gave them his consent to go on the air again yesterday afternoon. The CEOs of the three Mogadishu based independent FM stations and four officials of the Somali government led by the Information Minister, Madobe Nunow, convened in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, discussing what sparked the shut down of the stations.

The Minister said the decree to close down the radios was originated from the Somalia National Security Department, stressing that he only approved it.

Mohammed Amin, Shabelle representative in that meeting said the Minister promised that his information department would be fully engaged in going on with Somali media. “There were no further discussions in the closed door conference. Madobe Nunow has merely announced that we can on air again,” he said.

In an interview with Shabelle, Michael Ranneberger, US ambassador to Kenya, said he was pleased that the radios have gone on air. “The media in Somalia are very essential to the national reconciliation congress and therefore their reopening is so important,” he said. Ranneberger stated that he contacted Somalia president Abdulahi Yusuf and premier, Ali Gedi, over allowing the independent media in the country to operate freely.

The Somali government ordered the closure the radio stations after major military operations were carried out by Somalia and Ethiopian troops who confiscated caches of weapons and extracted number of Somalis from their homes after they were suspected of links with the defeated Islamists.
(Source: Shabelle Media Network/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Somali government plans contract with VOA and BBC

Text of report by Somali pro-Puntland government Puntlandpost website on 11 April

The Information Ministry of Somalia plans to make a new contract with BBC and VOA Somali service to air their programmes through government Radio Mogadishu.

The Information Ministry of Transitional Federal Government of Somalia said to make new agreements with BBC and VOA stations on ways to air their programmes in southern Somalia. Al-Shabab Islamic Movement on Friday [9 April] issued a decree banning these two media outlets to operate in areas it controls and confiscated their equipment.

Somalia’s information minister Dahir Muhammud Gelle said to have left to Kenya to sign a contract for his ministry at a time government Radio Mogadishu has immediately launched VOA Somali service programme. The BBC and VOA have already entered contracts with Horn Afrika before its suspension and they were accused of airing anti-Al-Shabab programmes and the Muslim world.

The BBC has denied these allegations and vowed to continue serving in Somalia, said Head of BBC Africa.

Meanwhile, Hisb al-Islam has recently issued a decree banning all local radio stations from airing songs and music and threatened to punish any radio that disobeys the order.
(Source: Somali Puntlandpost website in Somali 11 Apr 10 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Five in a Row: BBC Middle East Relay Station: Perim Island

Two weeks back, we began a short series of topics here in Wavescan in which we are presenting the story of the five BBC relay stations in the Arabian coastal areas, one after the other. The
first topic was on the story of the BBC East Africa Relay Station located at Berbera in Somalia. Here now is the second topic in this series, the story of the BBC Middle East Relay Station, located on the island of Perim, at the mouth of the gulf that is labeled in current maps and in the Bible as the Red Sea.
The very small Perim Island is a volcanic outcrop just five square miles in area. The highest point is just a small hill at 200 feet above sea level, and vegetation on the island is very sparse. There is no fresh water on the island, and every item needed by people living on the island must be imported from wherever it is available.
This small isolated island never had a significant local population in ancient times, and even to this day, the only local inhabitants are a few fishermen who use the island as a base for their fishing enterprises. However, when the island has been used as a base for various purposes, the population of imported personnel has sometimes stood quite high.
Perim Island was occupied by the Portuguese in 1513, and subsequently by the French, and then the British. During the 1800s, a lighthouse was erected on the island, and this was around the time that the island served as a coaling station for ships traversing the Suez Canal.
In the year 1872, the Eastern Telegraph Company established a cable station on Perim Island for connection with England, Africa, India and ultimately Australia. This cable station was later taken over by C&W, Cable & Wireless, or as it was known in the Arabic language, the “Lightning & No Wire Company”. A spark wireless station was installed at this facility nearly a century ago and this was on the air under the callsign BVQ.
On July 1, 1960, the two Somalilands, British & Italian, achieved independence and they united into the one Somalia. As mentioned in our program two weeks ago, it became necessary for the BBC soon afterwards to close their rather new East Africa Relay Station located at Berbera due to political differences between England and the new Somalia.
During the year 1964, the equipment from Berbera in Somalia was transferred across the waters and re-installed on the island of Perim, a distance of some 200 miles. While this station was under re-installation, security personnel repulsed a terrorist attack which fortunately inflicted very little damage.
This BBC relay station was again co-sited with an old C&W cable station, this time on the island of Perim, and it was installed and operated by DWS, the British Diplomatic Wireless Service. The BBC station on Perim Island operated on the same mediumwave channel as in Berbera Somalia, 701 kHz.
The power output of this mediumwave station on Perim has been listed variously as 10 kW, 100 kW or 400 kW. One listing shows the power as 1.5 megawatts, but this is probably the total power generated at the station for all purposes on the island.
This re-sited BBC relay station was re-inaugurated as the BBC Middle East Relay Station in the earlier part of the year 1965, probably during the month of April or May. BBC Perim was heard in Australia & New Zealand around local dawn, and this would suggest that the actual power output was 100 kW; 10 kW would not propagate too well to the South Pacific, and 400 kW would require the generation of too much electricity locally on a small island where everything is imported.
As was the case with the station when it was at Berbera, the re-located station on Perim took an off air relay from the BBC transmitters on shortwave in England. This programming was in mainly Arabic & English. No programming was produced locally.
However, changing political circumstances also plagued this radio station at its new location. The two Yemens, North & South, were united politically, though not always very amicably, and the island of Perim was handed over by the British government to this new entity. It became necessary to again close, and move.
During the year 1966, the population on Perim Island was at its all time high, with some 600 people living there. These resident foreigners were serving with the BBC, the leftover of the old C&W cable station, supportive business and social operations, and armed service personnel. In addition, many local people from the nearby coastline of Yemen were resident on the island, as local employees, and also as local opportunists.
During this era on Perim, the 3rd station in a row was already under construction at another location in the Arabian coastal areas. Another island, the island of Masirah on the eastern edge of the Saudi peninsula, had been chosen for a larger new mediumwave station. The BBC MIddle East Relay Station on Perim Island closed during the year 1966 in favor of the much larger and newer station on the Island of Masirah after less than two years of service at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Three weeks from now, we are planning to present the 3rd BBC station in a row, the much larger mediumwave station on the island of Masirah.
(AWE Wavescan/NWS # 116 via Adrian Peterson)

Voice of America provides Somalis with news on piracy

Coverage includes interview with captured pirate's father

Washington, D.C., April 20, 2009 - The father of a Somali pirate who is in U.S. custody tells the Voice of America's (VOA) Somali Service that his 16-year-old son is not a "troublesome boy" but he has been misled by gangs and money.

Abdilkadir Muse, the father of Abdiweli Abdilkadir Muse, condemned piracy, saying, "May God save those who are involved." In a telephone interview, the senior Muse said his son had been a student in Galkayo, Somalia. Muse, a nomad who spends time in the eastern part of Ethiopia, said his son lived with his mother.

"For someone who has not seen hunger in his house, who knows about the religion ... what causes him to go on the seas … the only thing I can think of is that because of his young age, he was led into mistaken action," the father said. "You would never expect things like these would be possible from him. He is not a troublesome boy."

The 16-year-old Muse was captured after U.S. Navy sharpshooters killed three other Somali pirates and rescued the captain of the Maersk Alabama, a U.S. cargo ship some 350 miles off the coast of Somalia on April 12, 2009.

The Muse interview is just one of the many stories VOA is reporting on during the piracy crisis. Somalis are receiving up-to-date news and information, participating in call-in shows, expressing their views and listening to exclusive interviews and analysis.

"There are an unknown number of pirates and they are not from one particular region of the country," said Abdi Yabarow, chief of VOA's Somali Service, which has interviewed Somali, U.S. and U.N. officials as well as Somali civilians.

Abdi Rahman Mohammed Farole, president of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in Somalia, told VOA Friday that he did not support international troops pursuing pirates in Somalia, even though the U.N. Security Council has authorized anti-piracy operations on land.

Experts say some ransom money has gone to support people in Somalia, a poor country of more than 9 million people. Pirates have also claimed they have seized ships for allegedly dumping toxic waste in the oceans, but that claim has not been substantiated. More than 200 mariners are being held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

VOA's Somali Service broadcasts three hours daily, seven days a week. Started in February 2007, the service - on AM, FM and shortwave radio and the Internet - has expanded its weekly audience to an estimated 66.4 percent in Mogadishu, the capital. VOA-s English-language website (www.VOANews.com ) has covered the piracy issue extensively.
(VOA)

Somalia's Radio Shabelle shuts down

Mogadishu’s independent Shabelle radio station announced on Wednesday it was shutting down after security forces surrounded its offices and opened fire, destroying equipment over the past two days. ”We are sadly announcing that our media network has ceased all its media activity after forces from the transitional government of Somalia randomly fired at our premises,” Shabelle said in a statement posted on its website.

“The damage caused by heavy gunfire directed at our premises is immense so we can’t continue operating our radio station. All the equipment, including our main studio, are destroyed,” the statement added. Shabelle chairman Abdimaalik Yusuf Mohamud said: “We are also ceasing our operations because of the increasing threat to our staff and our building.”

“This is totally inhuman and a savage attack on Somalia’s struggle to freedom of speech,” he added in a statement released after the station shut. The security forces, who last weekend stormed the station and detained 17 staff, have accused one of Shabelle’s journalists of hurling a grenade at a police patrol.

Global media watchdogs have assailed the government, saying its crackdown on the independent press has made Somalia the world’s second dangerous place for journalists after Iraq. At least seven journalists have been killed in Somalia this year and media watchdogs have urged all sides to ensure better protection for reporters, several of whom have also been wounded or robbed.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Warsan Radio last station in Somalia

Somalia
Warsan Radio, located in Baidoa, is currently the only shortwave station, broadcasting from Somalia. The station recently shifted from 7750 kHz to 7110 kHz.

Schedule in Somali 0300-0600 and 0900-1900 UTC.

Station website: http://www.warsanradio.com (with streaming audio)
Email: warsanradiobaidoa@gmail.com

Baidoa has been one of two cities rocked by explosions in recent days. Additional news at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/04/explosions-in-two-somali-cities-leave-four-dead
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/world/africa/somalia-bombing-mogadishu.html

Somalia stations Radio Hargeisa (Somaliland) and Puntland Radio (Puntland) are inactive at this time.

Somalia's Shabelle radio back on the air

Excerpt from report by Somali independent Shabelle Media Network website on 2 October

Shabelle Media Network today returned back on air after being off air for 15 days after government troops attacked and closed the radio station.

The radio station returned on air at around 12 p.m. [local time]. It told its listeners and readers of its website that they would start receiving the usual news and programmes.

The moves comes after government forces who had cordoned off the premises of the station left the premises and the roads leading to the radio station. [Passage omitted]

The attack on Shabelle radio station has caused a damage worth 50,000 dollars

(Source: Shabelle Media Network website, Mogadishu, in Somali 2 Oct 07 via BBC Monitoring)
Related story:
Mogadishu’s independent Shabelle radio station announced on Wednesday it was shutting down after security forces surrounded its offices and opened fire, destroying equipment over the past two days. ”We are sadly announcing that our media network has ceased all its media activity after forces from the transitional government of Somalia randomly fired at our premises,” Shabelle said in a statement posted on its website.

“The damage caused by heavy gunfire directed at our premises is immense so we can’t continue operating our radio station. All the equipment, including our main studio, are destroyed,” the statement added. Shabelle chairman Abdimaalik Yusuf Mohamud said: “We are also ceasing our operations because of the increasing threat to our staff and our building.”

“This is totally inhuman and a savage attack on Somalia’s struggle to freedom of speech,” he added in a statement released after the station shut. The security forces, who last weekend stormed the station and detained 17 staff, have accused one of Shabelle’s journalists of hurling a grenade at a police patrol.

Global media watchdogs have assailed the government, saying its crackdown on the independent press has made Somalia the world’s second dangerous place for journalists after Iraq. At least seven journalists have been killed in Somalia this year and media watchdogs have urged all sides to ensure better protection for reporters, several of whom have also been wounded or robbed.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Voice of America to begin daily broadcast to Somalia

Starting on 12 February, the Voice of America (VOA) begins a new daily radio broadcast in the Somali language to the Horn of Africa. A group of Somali broadcasters at VOA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. will team up with freelance reporters in Africa and elsewhere around the world to provide millions of Somali speakers with accurate, up-to-date news and information.
“We look forward to joining the information community in Somalia,” said VOA Director Dan Austin. “Providing accurate, objective, and timely news and information to the people of Somalia is vital during this critical time in the region’s history,” he added.
The new half-hour VOA programme will air seven days a week and will include world news as well as news of Somalia and entire Horn of Africa region. The broadcast will also offer music and discussion features that will allow leaders and ordinary listeners alike to express their opinions on topics of interest.
VOA’s Somali-language service is being funded by a grant from the US Department of State. The new service will supplement VOA’s current broadcasts to the Horn of Africa in Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrigna. VOA previously broadcast in Somali between 1992 and 1994.
The VOA Somali broadcast will air on AM, FM and shortwave radio at 1600 UTC and repeats at 1700 UTC. The 1700 UTC broadcast will also air on HornAfrik (88.8 FM), a VOA-affiliated station. The programmes will also be available live and on demand on the service’s website.
Frequencies:
1600-1630 UTC: 13580, 15620 , 1431 kHz
1700-1730 UTC: 13580 Khz, 15620 kHz
(Source: VOA/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

New radio station launches broadcast to Somalia

Bar-kulan Radio a new Somali radio station which says it aims at contributing to peace, stability and prosperity for all Somalia, launched test transmissions today. The station is supported by the Hirondelle Foundation, and its director is David Smith, who has previously worked for RNW and Radio Canada International.

In message on the station’s website, David Smith says that “A dedicated team of Somali journalists has been working hard to bring to you credible, independent programming about, for and by Somalis. Bar-Kulan ["Meeting place"] speaks with its own voice. Editorial independence is its bedrock. Bar-Kulan is answerable only to the people who produce its content and the people of Somalia and its Diaspora.”

The shortwave test schedule is 0500-0600 UTC on 15750 kHz and 1600-1700 UTC on 9960/9930 kHz. According to a program schedule on the website, the station currently broadcasts between 0400 and 1900 UTC, but I can’t find any details of other transmission platforms. The station’s Facebook page says it is broadcasting online, but there doesn’t appear to be a live stream as yet.

Both the shortwave hours are listed as news programmes with “In-depth news coverage including the reports sent by the stringers, short interviews, packages, and business and sports slots.”

According to the station’s senior editor Farah Lamaane, a former BBC producer/correspondent who is now based in Kenya, Bar-Kulan is “a new 24 hour radio station which has just been established. Soon there’ll be radio transmitters throughout Somalia which will bring dramatic change to the entire Somali media structure.”
(R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Bar-kulan Radio www.bar-kulan.com/

Bar-Kulan Radio - Opening annct at 1600 UTC ...
http://tinyurl.com/ykggpvw
(Alokesh Gupta, India)

Somalia shuts down broadcasters

At least three FM radio stations and a TV station in Somalia were today ordered to close down. A decree issued by the security department of the Somali government ordered the Shabelle Media Network, Horn Afrik, IQK and Aljazeera TV stations in Mogadishu to be shut down.
The decree says, “From today 15 January, 2007 the above mentioned radio and TV stations to halt their broadcasting operations as soon they receive this decree. The managements of the media are being informed to come to the government security department that lies in Bar FIAT in Mogadishu on Tuesday”.
All radio stations instantly went off air. The news comes as all local and foreign journalists were busy covering the events in Somalia. In the past the Islamic Courts have closed down some of the local FM radios in the country after they broadcast music and songs. The government did not specifically justify why the free media in Somalia was shut down.
(Source: Shabelle Media Network)

Additional information may be obtained via:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6263343.stm

(Source: Bob Grove, Monitoring Times)

Somalia's Radio Mogadishu under Islamists' control

Somalia’s resurgent Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) have taken the territories where the country’s former national radio is located in the capital Mogadishu. Sources in the capital have told BBC Monitoring that the Radio Mogadishu (Voice of the People of the Somali Republic) is now under the Islamists’ control.

The station is located near Villa Somalia, which was the residence of the country’s late President Siyad Barre. The surrounding areas fell to the Islamists on 27 July 2006. These territories were until then under the control of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), which is led by Husayn Aydid, who is the interior minister and deputy prime minister in the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Besides handing over the villa, Aydid’s supporters also surrendered their weapons. It is unclear whether the station was among the properties surrendered to the Islamists.

Sources in Mogadishu have however told the BBCM that the station is now under the Islamists’ control. The UIC’s intentions remain unclear and BBC Monitoring has not noticed any changes in the station’s programming or management structure.

If the Islamists decide to impose direct, effective control on the station, Radio Mogadishu (Voice of the People of the Somali Republic) will become the first Somali station officially allied to the Islamists, who already have their own web site.

The head of the UIC’s information council, Shaykh Abdirahim Ali Mudey, told the private Somali Shabeelle radio on 3 August that “the time anyone could broadcast whatever report they desire was over”.

Aydid assumed control of the station from his late father, Muhammad Farah Aydid, who was one of the most powerful faction leaders in Mogadishu in the early 1990s. The senior Aydid had taken control of Radio Mogadishu when he captured the capital in 1991. The station became his mouthpiece, a trend which continued during the reign of his son. The radio also became known as the SNA radio. Aydid’s power base has been ebbing and the capture of the villa marked his final capitulation.

Radio Mogadishu operates between 0300 and 0500 gmt, and 0900 to 1900 gmt. It airs news bulletins at 0330, 1115, 1400 and 1700 gmt.

Its programming is exclusively in Somali. Besides news, the station also airs health and educational programmes, and phone-in programmes.

(Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 7 Aug 06/R. Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Sentec A10 schedules

The following stations use Sentech transmitting facilities in Meyerton, South Africa.

A10 schedules
Effective: 28 March 2010 - 30 October 2010

Time (UTC)Freq (KHz)Tx kW Target Area Language
---------------------------------------------

Adventist World Radio
1700-1730 9600 250 East Africa Swahili
1730-1800 9600 250 East Africa Masai
1800-1830 3215 100 Botswana,Namibia English
1800-1830 3345 100 Zimbabwe,Zambia English
1800-1830 9610 250 East Africa English

Radio Bar Kulan (Clandestine)
1600-1700 9930 500 Somalia Somali

BBC
0300-0400 6145 500 West Africa English
0300-0330 6155 500 East & Central Africa Swahili
0300-0600 6190 100 Southern Africa English
0300-0600 3255 100 Southern Africa English
0400-0430 6155 250 East Africa Swahili
0400-0600 7310 250 West Africa English
0430-0530 3380 100 S.Mozambique Portuguese*
0430-0530 6145 250 N.Mozambique Portuguese*
0500-0600 11925 250 East & Central Africa Kirundi #
0530-0600 11925 250 East & Central Africa Kirundi ##
0600-0700 12015 250 West Africa English
0600-1600 6190 100 Southern Africa English
0600-1400 9860 100 Southern Africa English
0700-0730 17640 500 West Africa French
0700-0800 17830 500 West Africa English
1330-1530 11705 500 East & Central Africa Swahili #
1400-1600 7230 100 Southern Africa English
1500-1530 7405 500 East & Central Africa English
1530-1615 7405 500 East & Central Africa Swahili ##
1530-1630 7405 500 East & Central Africa Swahili *
1530-1700 7405 500 East & Central Africa English #
1600-2200 3255 100 Southern Africa English
1600-2200 6190 100 Southern Africa English
1615-1700 7405 500 East & Central Africa English ##
1630-1700 7405 500 East & Central Africa Kirundi *
1630-1745 11705 100 East Africa Swahili #
1700-1900 7405 250 East & Central Africa English
1745-1800 7230 500 East & Central Africa Swahili
1800-1830 5985 250 Indian Ocean Isles French
2030-2100 3380 100 S. Mozambique Portuguese*
2030-2100 6135 250 N. Mozambique Portuguese*
2030-2100 6065 500 Angola Portuguese*
2100-2200 7405 100 West Africa English
2200-2300 5935 100 West Africa English
* Monday to Friday
# Saturday
## Sunday

Channel Africa
0300-0355 6135 250 East & Central Africa English
0300-0500 3345 100 Southern Africa English
0500-0800 7230 100 Southern Africa English
0600-0655 15255 250 Far West Africa English
0800-1200 9625 100 Southern Africa English
1200-1300 9625 100 Southern Africa Nyanja
1300-1400 9625 100 Southern Africa Lozi
1400-1600 9625 100 Southern Africa English
1500-1555 15660 250 East & Central Africa Swahili
1600-1655 15235 250 West Africa French
1700-1755 9675 500 West Africa English
1900-2000 3345 100 Southern Africa Portuguese

Deutsche Welle
0500-0530 9825 250 Central Africa English
1700-1800 9735 100 Central Africa French

EDC
1600-1700 11770 100 Sudan Various *
* Every day but Friday

Family Radio
1600-1700 6225 250 Madagascar Malagasy
1700-1800 6225 100 Madagascar French
1800-1900 9495 250 East Africa Kinyarwanda
1800-1900 6180 100 East Africa English
1900-2000 5930 250 East Africa Swahili
1900-2000 6100 100 Angola Portuguese
1900-2000 3955 100 Mozambique Portuguese
1900-2000 3230 100 Southern Africa English

FEBA Radio
1600-1700 12125 250 East Africa Amharic
1730-1800 5890 250 East Africa Silte

Hirondelle Foundation
0400-0500 11690 250 Central Africa French

IBRA Radio
1730-1800 9615 100 Somalia Somali

Radio Dialogue
1755-1855 4895 100 Zimbabwe English

Radio France International
0500-0700 11605 100 West Africa French
0600-0700 11830 250 Angola Portuguese
0700-0800 15170 250 West Africa French
1200-1300 17660 250 Central Africa French

Radio Sonder Grense
0500-0800 7285 100 Northern Cape,RSA Afrikaans
0800-1600 9650 100 Northern Cape,RSA Afrikaans
1600-0500 3320 100 Northern Cape,RSA Afrikaans

RTE
1930-2030 6225 100 Central Africa English

SA Radio League
0800-0900* 7205 100 Southern Africa English
0800-0900* 17570 250 East Africa English
1905-2005** 3215 100 Southern Africa English
* Sunday
** Monday

Trans World Radio
0330-0345 7215 250 Ethiopia 1234567 Amharic
0600-0645 11640 500 Nigeria 12345 English
0600-0615 11640 500 Nigeria 67 English
1557-1627 9675 250 Burundi 12345 Kirundi
1625-1655 9660 500 Somalia 12345 Somali
1625-1640 9660 500 Somalia 7 Somali
1718-1733 7265 250 Mozambique 1234567 Yao
Day 1 = Monday, Day 2 = Tuesday…

Voice Of America
0530-0600 9880 100 West Africa French
1600-1630 11695 100 East Africa Kirundi #
1700-1730 6080 100 West Africa English
1800-1830 12120 100 West Africa Portuguese*
1830-2030 6080 100 West Africa French
# Saturday
* Monday to Friday
(BCL/Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India)

Schedule updates from Sentec

Effective: 30 October 2010 -27 March 2011

(From Meyerton,South Africa)

All times UTC

BBC (partial schedule listings only)

0300 0400 6145 100 1234567 West Africa English
0300 0330 11720 250 1234567 East Africa Swahili
0400 0500 9460 100 1234567 West Africa English
0400 0430 11720 250 1234567 East Africa Swahili
0430 0530 3380 100 12345S. Mozambique Portuguese
0430 0530 6145 250 12345N. Mozambique Portuguese
0500 0700 11770 100 1234567 West Africa English
0500 0600 11925 250 .....6. Central Africa Kirundi
0530 0600 11925 250 ......7 Central Africa Kirundi
0700 0730 15490 500 1234567 West Africa French
0700 0800 17830 500 1234567 West Africa English
1430 1745 15745 500 .....6. East Africa Swahili
1500 1700 15105 500 1234567 East Africa Eng/Swa/Kir
1700 1900 15420 250 1234567 East Africa English
1745 1800 7465 500 12345.7 East Africa Swahili
1745 1800 7465 500 .....6. East Africa Swahili
1800 1830 7465 250 1234567 Indain Oc.Isles French
1830 1900 7425 100 12345.. Rwanda/Burundi Kirundi
2000 2030 15105 500 ....5.. West Africa Hausa
2030 2100 3380 100 12345 S.Mozambique Portuguese
2030 2100 6135 250 12345.. N.Mozambique Portuguese
2030 2100 7260 500 12345.. Angola Portuguese
2100 2200 7465 100 1234567 West Africa English
2200 2300 5910 100 1234567 West Africa English

BBC World Service
0300 0600 3255 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
0300 0600 6190 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
0600 1600 6190 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
0600 1600 9860 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
1600 2200 3255 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
1600 2200 6190 100 1234567 Southern Afr English

Channel Africa
0300 0400 3345 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
0300 0400 6120 250 1234567 East Africa English
0400 0700 7230 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
0600 0700 15255 250 1234567 West Africa English
0700 1600 9625 100 1234567 Southern Afr Eng/Nya/Lozi/Port
1500 1600 17770 250 1234567 East Africa Swahili
1600 1700 15235 250 1234567 West Africa French
1700 1800 15235 500 1234567 West Africa English

AWR
1700 1800 11925 250 1234567 East Africa Swahili/Masai
1800 1830 3215 100 1234567 Namibia English
1800 1830 3345 100 1234567 Zimbabwe English
1830 1900 11830 250 1234567 East Africa English
1900 1930 15240 250 1234567 West Africa Fulfulde
1930 2000 11750 250 1234567 West Africa Ibo
2000 2100 11755 250 1234567 West Africa French/Yoruba

Trans World Radio
0330 0345 7215 250 1234567 Ethiopia Amharic
1557 1627 9675 250 12345.. Burundi Kirundi
1625 1655 9660 500 12345.. Somalia Somali
1625 1640 9660 500 ......7 Somalia Somali
1718 1733 7265 250 1234567 Mozambique Yao

VOA
0600 0700 9885 100 1234567 West Africa English
1400 1500 15580 250 1234567 West Africa English
1530 1700 6080 100 1234567 West Africa English
1600 1630 11750 100 .....6. East Africa Kirundi
1800 1900 11905 100 1234567 East Africa Amharic
2030 2100 9780 250 12345.. West Africa Hausa

Family Radio
1600 1700 6225 250 1234567 Madagascar Malagasy
1700 1800 6225 100 1234567 Madagascar French
1800 1900 6045 100 1234567 East Africa English
1800 1900 9595 100 1234567 West Africa Kituba
1800 1900 9770 250 1234567 East Africa Kinyarwanda
1900 2000 9705 250 1234567 West Africa English
1900 2000 3230 100 1234567 Southern Afr English
1900 2000 3955 100 1234567 S.Mozambique Portuguese
1900 2000 6100 100 1234567 Angola Portuguese
1900 2000 9660 250 1234567 East Africa Swahili

Radio Sonder Grense
0000 0500 3320 100 1234567 N.Cape Afrikaans
0500 0700 7285 100 1234567 N.Cape Afrikaans
0700 1800 9650 100 1234567 N.Cape Afrikaans
1800 2400 3320 100 1234567 N.Cape Afrikaans

RFI
0430 0500 7340 500 1234567 East Africa Swahili
0500 0700 11605 100 1234567 Central Africa French
0530 0600 11790 100 1234567 East Africa Swahili
0600 0700 11830 250 1234567 West Africa Portuguese
0700 0800 15170 250 1234567 West Africa French
1200 1300 17660 250 1234567 Central Africa French
1500 1600 12015 250 1234567 East Africa Swahili

SA Radio League
0800 0900 7205 100 ......7 Southern Afr English
0800 0900 17860 250 ......7 East Africa English
2005 2105 3215 100 1...... Southern Afr English
Hirondelle Foundation
0400 0600 11690 250 1234567 Central Africa French

RNW
1900 2000 11830 500 1234567 Middle East Arabic
1900 2000 12080 250 1234567 West Africa English

RTE Ireland
1930 2030 6225 100 1234567 Central Africa English/Other

IBRA
1730 1800 11740 100 1234567 Somalia Somali

Radio Dialogue
1755 1855 4895 100 1234567 Zimbabwe English

Radio Bar-Kulan
1600 1700 9960 500 1234567 Somalia Somali

Day 1 = Monday, Day 2 = Tuesday………
(Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India)

Puntland authorities reopen Radio Gaalkacyo

Text of report by Somali independent Radio Gaalkacyo on 17 November

Radio Gaalkacyo [in Gaalkacyo, the provincial town of Mudug Region, central Somalia] has resumed operations following a brief closure by police in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, but the radio director, Hassan Muhammad Jama (Jid-hun) remains in custody.
The decision to reopen the radio station was announced by Mudug regional commissioner Abdirizaq Darwish. He said the presidential decree issued recently was only instructing the arrest of the radio director and not the closure of the station.
Mr Darwish said Radio Gaalkacyo can resume its operations and has issued an apology to the radio’s staff over the misunderstanding of the president’s decree.
Somali Professional Journalists Association [SOPJA] based in Gaalkacyo has accused the Puntland regional administration of violating the freedom of the media and demanding that the media operate under an unsatisfactory system.
However, local residents have expressed concern over the arrest of the Radio Gaalkacyo director.
(Source: Radio Gaalkacyo, Gaalkacyo, in Somali 1015 gmt 17 Nov 08 via BBC Monitoring
R. Netherlands Media Network weblog)

earlier post from Nov. 17
Somalia: Radio Gaalkacyo closed down
Text report of report by Somali opposition Radio Voice of Mudug on 16 November The police of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland have closed down Radio Gaalkacyo, an independent radio station that operates in Gaalkacyo [HQ of Mudug Region], and arrested its director Hasan Muhammad Jama. Sources say the radio was closed down after airing programmes and reports about the forthcoming Puntland presidential elections and having special interviews with candidates. Reports also say Radio Gaalkacyo’s highlighting of the Puntland electoral commission could have led to the closure.
The closure of Radio Gaalkacyo and the arrest of its director have coincided with the arrival of the Puntland president Mahmud Muse [Gen Adde] and his entourage in Gaalkacyo town. The president will be overnight there campaigning. The Puntland regional administration has been accused of pressurizing and violating media freedom in the region.
(Source: Radio Voice of Mudug, in Somali 1330 gmt 16 Nov 08 via BBC Monitoring)
Andy Sennitt adds: This station, formerly known as Radio Free Somalia, was for a time also on shortwave. Its website also appears to have been closed.
(R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Somalia's Radio Shabelle ordered off the air

Somali radio stations off air
06/06/2007 15:11 - (SA)
http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/10927
Mogadishu - Somalia's transitional government on Wednesday ordered three local private radio stations to stop broadcasting from the country's capital.
Mogadishu-based stations Shabelle Radio, Radio HornAfrik and the Voice of the Koran radio stopped broadcasting early on Wednesday afternoon, an AFP correspondent said.
"We have been ordered to close the radio station and we don't know why so far," Mohamed Amin, Director of RadioShabelle, told AFP.
"I have called some government officials to ask them why the radio stations have to close but they said we could discuss the issue later," he added.
Government officials were not immediately available for comment but have in the past complained of pro-Islamist bias in the outlets' reporting. The Somali government in January banned the same three Mogadishu broadcasters as well as Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network for 24-hours following the ousting of an Islamist movement by Ethiopia-backed Somali troops at the start of the year. Somali officials are attempting to organise a national reconciliation conference to start on June 14, despite an increasing Islamist-led
insurgency, including suicide car bomb and landmine attacks on prominent targets in Mogadishu.
(Source: Zacahrias Liangas, Greece/HCDX)