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**** **     ****** **   **      February 20, 1995

International Freedom of Expression eXchange Clearing House
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GROWTH OF RADIO FOLLOWS EMERGENCE OF DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA

"INDEX ON CENSORSHIP" LOOKS AT EMERGENCE OF INDEPENDENT RADIO

Radio broadcasting in Africa is struggling to keep up with the
democratisation of the region, according to a special report in
the latest issue (No. 1, 1995) of "Index on Censorship". In the
report, entitled "Making Waves", Richard Carver of ARTICLE 19 and
Adewale Maja-Pearce of Index on Censorship say that "radio is the
most effective means of disseminating information and ideas in
Africa," since poverty and illiteracy render television and the
press inaccessible to the majority of the population. "This is
why African governments refused to open up the airwaves to
private competition until the last two or three years, when the
pressure for liberalization became too great to resist." The
report says that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was one of
the last to resist private radio, reportedly waiting until the
end of 1994 to change his mind.

"Hate radio" is one of the outgrowths of relaxing the controls of
the radio, the authors note. South Africa had been an exception
to the region's ban on private radio, having had private stations
since the 1970s. But this exception had its downside since right-
wing Afrikaaners took advantage of the freedom of the airwaves to
promote hatred. They further used broadcasts to incite their
followers to violence, a tactic used by the now infamous Radio
Mille Collines (RTLM) in Rwanda. The "Index" report argues that
"If a waveband is being utilised by a station which is inciting
its listeners to acts of violence, then a legitimate community or
commercial broadcaster is being denied that same air space." Such
occurrences indicate the necessity of an independent broadcast
body to regulate access to the airwaves.

The report notes that freedom of expression becomes an issue when
discussing restrictions on "hate speech," but points out that
"hate radio" can cross the line between freedom of expression and
incitement. "By this point the broadcasters had moved from the
protection of article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression, to
the opprobrium of article 20, which prohibits advocacy of racial
hatred and incitement to violence," write the authors.

Carver and Maja-Pearce conclude that commercial broadcasting has
been opened up throughout Africa, "but the victory has proved a
hollow one." They write, "As most governments have realised, the
international community is more concerned with the form than the
substance of political change." Thus, in most countries
broadcasting licenses go to the ruling party's friends "who will
reap advertising revenue from pop music shows or evangelise on
behalf of fundamentalist religion." The crucial struggle now is
to open up the publicly-funded national radio networks, and this
will prove immeasurably more difficult.

"Making Waves" is a shorter version of a joint-publication
entitled "Who Rules the Airwaves? A report on broadcasting in
Africa" and is available from A19 for UK L9.99 + 2.40 post/US
$15+ 3.60 post at 33 Islington High St, London N1 9LH; fax: +44
171 713 1356. Some copies are available free to countries of the
South. To apply, send details of your organisation to Index at 33
Islington High St, London N1 9LH; fax: +44 171 278 1878.

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The IFEX Communique is published weekly by the IFEX Clearing
House, Toronto. The facility is operated by the Canadian
Committee to Protect Journalists in partnership with the member
organizations of the International Freedom of Expression eXchange
(IFEX). Material may be submitted to the Communique at E-mail:
ifex@web.apc.org; Fax: (1-416) 867-1034; or Tel: (1-416)
867-1638. Editor this week: Kristina Stockwood. Subscriptions are
available by e-mail and surface mail.


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AMARC - association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs communautaires
          world association of community radio broadcasters
             asociacion mundial de radios comunitarias
3575 boul. St. Laurent, Suite 704        Tel: +(1-514) 982-0351
Montreal, Quebec                         Fax: +(1-514) 849-7129
Canada  H2X 2T7                        Email: amarc@web.apc.org
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