🚀 go-pugleaf

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Forwarded message>
>
>>  C     I     S     P     E     S
>ACTION ALERT
>
>Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador National
>Office: P.O. Box 1801, New York, NY 10159 ~ 212-229-1290 3
>Regional Offices: Boston, MA 617-524-1166 3 New York, NY
>212-229-1290 3  Chicago, IL 312-227-2720 3  San Francisco, CA
>415-648-6520
>
>fax: 212-645-6657; e-mail: cispesnatl@igc.apc.org
>
>BREAK IN & THREATS AGAINST COMMUNITY RADIOS:
>THE LATEST ARENA ASSAULT ON PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION
>
>May 6, 1996
>
>In January, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled that the December
>seizure of community radio equipment from 9 stations by the
>National Civilian Police was unconstitutional.  The radios took to
>the airwaves shortly thereafter and resumed broadcasting while
>continuing their struggle with ANTEL, (the National
>Telecommunications Company), for legalization.
>
>Threats of seizure and harassment against the community radios and
>their supporters by the Salvadoran Government has not stopped. In
>the last week alone:
>
>%ANTEL threatened to seize equipment from Radio Cooperativa in
>Usulatan if the station continues transmitting.  Such an action
>would be in direct violation of the Constitution of El Salvador,
>as noted in the above mentioned Supreme Court ruling in January.
>
>%On Tuesday evening, April 30th, the office of the Association of
>Community Radios, (ARPAS), was broken into.  All the papers about
>the community radios were rifled through.
>
>%Threats are also being extended to groups working with the
>community stations.  ARPAS recently contracted COMPUSAL, a private
>communications company for technical assistance. Shortly after
>COMPUSAL agreed, an armed man entered their store demanding the
>equipment for the community stations.  He did not take any other
>radio equipment in the store.  Also, the regular shipment of
>equipment of COMPUSAL has not been allowed through customs.
>COMPUSAL has also been receiving phone harassment.
>
>%When ARPAS recently changed location the PNC drove past their
>former building and asked neighbors if ARPAS was still in the
>building.  Later that same day the PNC began an unusual patrol of
>the new neighborhood.
>
>Suggested Action is to Call or Fax:
>
>1. Lic. Juan Jose Daboub, President of ANTEL, Tel:
>011-503-271-7011; Fax: 011-503-281-0017.
>
>2. President of El Salvador, Armando Calderon Sol, Tel:
>011-503-271-1555;   Fax: 011 503 271-0950
>
>3. Alan Flanigan, US Ambassador to El Salvador, Tel:
>011-503-278-4444; Fax:  011-503-278-6011
>
>DEMAND:
>
>A). The legalization of community radios that provide the only
>public communication in the      rural areas where they operate.
>
>B). Inclusion of community radios as well as the
>telecommunications workers union ASTTEL in     discussions and
>planning around the future of telecommunications in El Salvador.
>
>4. Send this information to your local community station and
>encourage them to cover the story.
>
>BACKGROUND ON COMMUNITY RADIOS STRUGGLE:
>
>Community radio stations in El Salvador continue their efforts to
>be legalized by ANTEL, the telecommunications company.  On Dec.
>4th the former President of ANTEL (and President of the governing
>party ARENA) demanded that the police seize equipment and shut
>down the 11 community radio stations.  Two of the station's stayed
>open thanks to community mobilizations that prevented the seizure
>of equipment.  ANTEL'S justification was that the radios were
>operating illegally, without a license.  There is speculation that
>the ARENA Party considers community operated radios a
>communications outlet that will operate against them in the coming
>electoral campaign that will culminate with legislative and
>municipal elections in March of 1997.  There are also rumors that
>ANTEL received a call warning them that 50 more stations were
>about to be opened by sympathizers of the FMLN and that this
>prompted the December raids.  The Supreme Court passed a decision
>in January requiring ANTEL to return the seized equipment.  The
>Constitution prevents the state from seizing telecommunications
>equipment.  The stations achieved a brief victory in being allowed
>to go back on the air.  What has remained in question since
>January has been the legal status of the community radio stations.
>ANTEL interprets the Supreme Court decision as only requiring the
>return of equipment, but not as giving the stations the go-ahead
>to broadcast.  ARPAS (the Association of Radio and Participatory
>Programming in El Salvador) interprets the decision as supporting
>their right to broadcast.  ANTEL began to claim that it would be
>impossible for the stations to broadcast due to a lack of
>frequencies in El Salvador.  The National Counsel for  Human
>Rights, the United Nations Verification Office, ANTEL, and ARPAS
>began talks to try to find a solution to the problem.  Two teams
>were formed, one to discuss legal problems and another to discuss
>technical problems.  Each team had members from both ANTEL and
>ARPAS.  The technical team returned from its research showing that
>there were indeed enough frequencies.  The legal team of ANTEL
>ignored its own technical division and refused to sign the report.
>The power of the commercial radio stations on the national and
>international levels is important to take into consideration.  The
>privatization of ANTEL is in effect breaking it down into two
>parts.  One part will be telecommunication services and the other
>part will be the regulatory commission.  The larger commercial
>T.V. and radio stations, owned by wealthy Salvadorans, want to be
>the only members of the regulatory commission, and thus control
>it.  This would exclude the educational, university, and community
>stations from participation.  Privatization of ANTEL has met
>resistance from a variety of sectors including the workers at
>ANTEL.  ASTTEL, the Association of Telecommunications workers have
>attempted to present their own plans for true modernization in
>telecommunications but the Government Institution has ignored
>their alternative proposals.  ASTTEL considers the privatization
>geared toward crushing union organizing and enriching wealthy
>Salvadorans and transnational communications giants like AT&T at
>the expense of ordinary people who will lose jobs, pay increased
>phone bills and see services cut altogether in some rural areas
>because they will not be profitable.
>
>________________________________________________________
>Bruce Girard
>AMARC - Pulsar
>Email: bgirard@pulsar.org.ec
>http://www.web.apc.org/amarc/pulsar.html
>Tel: +(593-2) 525-521    Fax/Tel: +(593-2) 542-818
>Avenida America 3584, Casilla 17-01-1171, Quito, Ecuador
>
>
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D from the digital space  of  =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=20
GEORGES LESSARD,=20
Freelance Communications Arts, Training, Management & Mentoring
7305 Ch du Huard, Lac Pilon, Mt. Rolland, Quebec, Canada. J0R 1G0=20
Voice & Fax (514) 229-3666 =20
E-mail  media@ietc.ca

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." (Gandhi)

"The fool wonders, the wise man asks."  (Benjamin Disraeli)

Original material =A9 copyright 1996 George Lessard
May be quoted, resent, reproduced, stored or forwarded provided this
copyright notice is attached.
Text quoted or forwarded is the property of other copyright holder(s).

                    (1.02)
=20
---------------------- - 30 - -------------------------