(AMARC/IFEX) – Radio Nasa, the Nasa indigenous peoples’ radio station, was shut down on the morning of 2 September 2004. Acting on a Communications Ministry order, police and mayor’s office representatives seized the station’s equipment. Radio Nasa was launched in Toribío in 1996 with the support of indigenous leaders and the local catholic mission. Toribío […]
(AMARC/IFEX) – Radio Nasa, the Nasa indigenous peoples’ radio station, was shut down on the morning of 2 September 2004. Acting on a Communications Ministry order, police and mayor’s office representatives seized the station’s equipment.
Radio Nasa was launched in Toribío in 1996 with the support of indigenous leaders and the local catholic mission. Toribío is located in northern Cauca department, southern Colombia. The community has received a number of environmental, peace and development awards.
Even though Radio Nasa had repeatedly expressed an interest in obtaining access to frequencies allocated by the government, there has been no progress on such requests in the last seven years. “Our radio station has legitimacy because it is supported by the community and our programming is 100 percent community-based,” said one of Radio Nasa’s members.
The radio station’s closure signifies an important loss for northern Cauca. However, as Diego Dagua of Radio Payumat station said, “Radio Nasa will continue to be heard because our doors will still be open to its members and its programmes.”
Radio Nasa’s closure has taken place in a context of escalating violence in this region of Colombia. Five Toribío municipal leaders have disappeared recently, including the community’s indigenous mayor, Arquimedes Vitonás.
