BBC Monitoring observed a station identifying as “Radio Bana” on 5100 kHz shortwave at 1455 gmt on 30 January 2007. Vernacular-language programming was observed at tune-in, followed at 1458 gmt by an English programme titled ‘Academia’, which was a profile of Nelson Mandela. The programme concluded with the following announcement:
“Radio Bana is set to announce two new programmes in English, as well as new times for our existing programmes, ‘Academia’ and ‘Eritrean Teachers Forum’. The new programmes are: ‘Focus on English’, to practise English-language skills, and ‘Teaching World’, a programme for teachers in Eritrea.
Both these programmes include materials from the BBC. So, from Monday the 5th of February, you can listen to one of our four radio programmes in English every evening from seven till seven-thirty [local time, equivalent to 1600-1630 gmt]. We are also broadcasting on a new shortwave test frequency, 5.1 MHz, in addition to our regular mediumwave frequency of 1089 kHz. Remember to listen at seven every evening.”
The station went off the air at 1531 UTC, following a closing announcement in Tigrinya and the national anthem.
Radio Bana (Dawn) is operated by the Eritrean government, with programmes in English and local languages produced by the Adult Education and Media department of the Ministry of Education.
(Source: BBC Monitoring Research 31 Jan 07/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog )
