(CERIGUA/IFEX) – Community radio stations in Guatemala have been subjected to a series of attacks, raids and seizures of broadcasting equipment, in addition to being described as “pirate” stations. These actions were headed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the request of the Guatemalan Radio Association (Cámara Guatemalteca de Radiodifusoras), which is comprised of the […]
(CERIGUA/IFEX) – Community radio stations in Guatemala have been subjected to a series of attacks, raids and seizures of broadcasting equipment, in addition to being described as “pirate” stations. These actions were headed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the request of the Guatemalan Radio Association (Cámara Guatemalteca de Radiodifusoras), which is comprised of the country’s radio station owners.
The most recent actions took place on 9 August 2004, when the Public Prosecutor’s Office confiscated Remanente 108 FM radio station’s broadcasting equipment. Remanente 108 FM is a member of the Guatemalan Community Communications Council (Consejo Guatemalteco de Comunicación Comunitaria) and is located in the municipality of Mixco, near the capital, Guatemala City.
The action was led by the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Journalists and Union Organisers, Mario Castañeda, who, armed with a judicial search warrant, confiscated the transmitter the station used to broadcast daily news, cultural, sports and educational programmes, despite the fact that the judicial warrant was for search and not for seizure.
According to the Guatemalan Community Communications Council, community radio stations have been subjected to a series of attacks and have been accused of operating illegally. These actions violate guarantees laid out in Guatemala’s Constitution and in the peace accord on identity and rights of indigenous peoples.
The most worrisome issue regarding the Remanente 108 FM case is that the action was led by the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes against Journalists, which is responsible for protecting journalists and media workers as well as guaranteeing the right to freedom of thought laid out in Article 35 of the Constitution.
The raids have been carried out as a result of complaints by the Guatemalan Radio Association and the Telecommunications Supervision Office (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones), which have accused over 300 community radio stations of interfering with their frequencies and operating illegally.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has also confiscated broadcasting equipment from three radio stations located in the department of Izabal. The three stations, Los Amates, Vida Súper Stéreo and Bienestar Nazareno, were said to have failed to fulfil the necessary requirements to operate legally.
