March 9-10, the Cultural Survival team completed our final of a series of exchanges between 12 community radio stations here in Guatemala.
On February 22, 2013, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Cultural Survival and local community radio association Mujb'ab'l yol held a forum aimed at spreading the word regarding the role of community radio in the fight to democratize speech in Guatemala. With close to 100 guests, including representatives from Congress, and members of the police force and military, the movement gained new sources of support and strengthened existing sources of support.
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Contact: Mark Camp, Deputy Executive Director, 617-441-5400 x11
The Congress of Guatemala approved a bill in a closed-door session on November 20th reforming the Telecommunications Law to extend the current commercial radio licenses for another 20 years.
The UN issued a statement in response stating their concern over these new changes that were made without any discussion with affected populations and with what has been called “unusual speed,” according to the national newspaper the Prensa Libre.
On October 12th the government of Guatemala commemorates the Dia de la Hispanidad, the day Colombus arrived to the Americas.
The second annual national conference of community radio stations was held in Guatemala on October 10th-12th with the participation of over 30 community radio stations from around the country. The conference aimed to strengthen the identity of the movement of community radio stations in Guatemala as agents of social change in the face of an increasingly oppressive political regime.
On Thursday, October 11th, the community radio station Radio Doble Via, of San Mateo, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala was raided by police and equipment confiscated.
On May 8th, in the village of San Miguel Chicaj, Baja Verapaz, the Achi-Mayan community radio station, Uqul Tinamit "The Voice of the People," was raided by national police forces; their equipment confiscated and one member of the station arrested and fined.
On March 13th the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, visited Guatemala, giving an audience to the grievances of the Indigenous peoples in the country during a visit to the highland town of Totonicapan.
Last week the community radio movement won a partial victory in the fight for democratic access to radio frequencies in Guatemala, with the congress's failure to vote approval on the bill 4404, which would have extended the current radio frequencies allocated to the mass media for another 25 years.
By rejecting the bill in it's first round of debate, the bill will be delayed until it can be re-entered in the next calendar year when the newly-elected Congress takes office.
The community radio movement publicly denounced bill 4404, as it disregards Indigenous Peoples' right to access media and is celebrating this measured victory. "The news comes as such a relief," explained movement leader Alberto Recinos. "We feel that the actions we have taken to prevent bill 4404 from passing at this stage have really had an impact. The decision to delay further debate gives us time to strategize our next steps."
In a recent editorial in Guatemala's major newspaper La Prensa Libre, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and ally of the community radio movement, Dr. Frank La Rue, also expressed his disapproval of the legislation. His opinion piece, entitled "Behind the People's Backs" is summarized in English below. Read his full article in Spanish, here.
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