JAKARTA, Indonesia—After the wrongful loss of their broadcasting license, a three-year wait for a response to their appeals, and harassment by officials and military police, staff of Radio Era Baru today had at least one piece of good news in the legal battle to get their station back on the air.
On Oct. 5 the State Administrative Court overruled a decision by the Ministry of Communications and Information to assign Radio Era Baru’s frequency to another radio station.
A lawsuit by Radio Era Baru contesting the revocation of the station’s broadcast license in 2007 is still before Indonesia’s Supreme Court. Radio Era Baru argued in the state court that the station’s frequency could not be reassigned until the suit regarding its license was resolved.
Radio Era Baru, meaning New Era Radio in English, is the local affiliate of Sound of Hope Radio Network (SOH). It started broadcasting Chinese language news in Indonesia in March 2005. As a voice independent from the Chinese state, among other things the station covers government corruption and human rights abuses, including the persecution of Falun Dafa adherents and Tibetans.
Raymond Tan, from Radio Era Baru said that the Chinese regime pressured the Indonesian government to close down the station by sending letters via the Chinese Embassy to several government agencies. The letters, Tan alleges, warn of damaged relations between the two countries if Radio Era Baru was not silenced. Within months, extension of Radio Era Baru’s broadcast license was denied, thus making it “illegal.”
Despite severe obstacles – including revocation of their license, the awarding of their exact frequency to the SING FM radio station, and threats to their personal liberty—the station continued broadcasting until March of this year, when agency officials backed by military police confiscated their equipment.
Read the original Chinese article.
On Oct. 5 the State Administrative Court overruled a decision by the Ministry of Communications and Information to assign Radio Era Baru’s frequency to another radio station.
A lawsuit by Radio Era Baru contesting the revocation of the station’s broadcast license in 2007 is still before Indonesia’s Supreme Court. Radio Era Baru argued in the state court that the station’s frequency could not be reassigned until the suit regarding its license was resolved.
Radio Era Baru, meaning New Era Radio in English, is the local affiliate of Sound of Hope Radio Network (SOH). It started broadcasting Chinese language news in Indonesia in March 2005. As a voice independent from the Chinese state, among other things the station covers government corruption and human rights abuses, including the persecution of Falun Dafa adherents and Tibetans.
Raymond Tan, from Radio Era Baru said that the Chinese regime pressured the Indonesian government to close down the station by sending letters via the Chinese Embassy to several government agencies. The letters, Tan alleges, warn of damaged relations between the two countries if Radio Era Baru was not silenced. Within months, extension of Radio Era Baru’s broadcast license was denied, thus making it “illegal.”
Despite severe obstacles – including revocation of their license, the awarding of their exact frequency to the SING FM radio station, and threats to their personal liberty—the station continued broadcasting until March of this year, when agency officials backed by military police confiscated their equipment.
Read the original Chinese article.
