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PAKISTAN: A radio station was discriminatorily closed down by the government

September 26, 2006

NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Pakistan authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

26 September 2006
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UA-316-2006: PAKISTAN: A radio station was discriminatorily closed down by the government

PAKISTAN: Repression on free media and freedom of expression; discrimination; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wants to inform you regarding a discriminatory close down of the The Mast FM 103 radio station at Balakot, North West Frontier Province by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on 23 August 2006. It is believed that the PEMRA's action is due to the Mast FM 103's criticism on the alleged misuse of funds and corruption in the rehabilitation programmes carried out by the government agencies in the earthquake affected area. 

The Mast FM 103 has five radio stations in Pakistan. After a destructive earthquake occurred on 8 October 2005 that affected northern parts of the country and Pakistani held Kashmir, the radio station management decided to start broadcasting from quake hit areas and obtained temporary permission for this from the PEMRA on 8 November 2005. The Mast FM 103's radio station at Balakot, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) was operated purely on a non-commercial basis and had been set up by an investment of Rs. 8 million (USD 125,000).  This was Mast FM 103 Radio Network's contribution towards assisting with the national tragedy. Balakot was the worst hit area during the earthquake where more than 30,000 people were killed and were most of the international organisations were working.

PEMRA sent a letter dated 12 August 2006 to the Mast FM 103 management instructing it to close down the operation of the Balakot radio station due to the reason that its broadcast licence expired on August 7. The Director of the Mast FM 103 then sent a letter to PEMRA on August 15 requesting the renewal of the licence. However, PEMRA rejected the renewal request and ordered an immediate stop of the radio station's transmission on August 23. No reason for the refusal was given by PEMRA. However, it is strange to note that PEMRA has extended the temporary broadcasting licenses of all the other seven FM radio stations operating in the earthquake stricken area.

PEMRA's cancellation of the concerned radio station is believed to be due to the station's criticism of the alleged misuse of funds and corruption in the rehabilitation programmes carried out by the government agencies, especially the Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA).

The management of Mast FM 103 and the chairman of the Association of Independent Radios (AIR) were reportedly told by the officials that the aforementioned government agencies were not happy with the Mast FM 103's criticism of their performance and pressured PEMRA not to renew its license.

Upon hearing of the cancellation of Mast FM 103's temporary licence to operate at Balakot, the people in the earthquake hit areas have been holding almost daily protests against the government action. Meanwhile, Mast FM 103 appealed to PEMRA that the cancellation of its Balakot radio station's broadcast license is discriminatory and again requested it to renew the license.

Prior to this incident, in 2004, two stations of the Mast FM103 stationed in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab province and Karachi, the capital city of Sindh province, were ransacked by the rangers and officials from PEMRA, who confiscated machines and equipment including the BBC's transmission lines and also arrested the broadcasters. The station management later got relief from courts regarding this matter.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT:

PEMRA's action against the Mast FM 103 is in violation of Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan that guarantees the freedom of speech, expression and the press. However in Pakistan, journalists who are outspoken against the government have been subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings. Moreover, the government abuses its legal authority to suppress the free media. Some examples of those cases that the AHRC has recently documented are as follows:   

UG-019-2006: PAKISTAN: Government's inaction regarding a series of attack on journalists   
UA-255-2006: PAKISTAN: Journalist shot and injured by unknown persons and then arbitrarily arrested on charges of kidnapping
UA-200-2006: PAKISTAN:  Media personnel continue to be tortured and assaulted
UA-144-2006: PAKISTAN: Government shuts down websites in an effort to suppress news on Balochistan
UA-145-2006: PAKISTAN: Journalists to stage protest over rights of those in the media
UP-127-2006: PAKISTAN: Missing journalist found dead in Pakistan

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant government authorities listed below and express your concern about this serious case. Please urge them to ensure the renewal of the broadcast license of the Mast FM 103 station at Balakot and stop the repression of the free media and journalists in the country.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ___________,

PAKISTAN: A radio station was discriminatorily closed down by the government   

I am writing to bring your urgent attention the discriminatory closedown of the Mast FM 103 radio station at Balakot, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA). PEMRA's action against the Mast FM 103 station is in violation of Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan that guarantees the freedom of speech, expression and the press.

According to the information I have received, PEMRA refused the renewal of the temporary broadcast license of the concerned radio station at Balakot, the most seriously hit area during the earthquake in October 2005, and cancelled its license on 23 August 2006. No reason was given to the station administration regarding this matter. I think it is a clear discriminatory action against the concerned radio station considering the fact that the broadcast license of all other seven FM radio stations operating in the earthquake stricken area have been renewed by PEMRA. 

PEMRA's action is believed due to the Mast FM 103's criticism on the alleged misuse of funds and corruption in the rehabilitation programmes carried out by the government agencies, including the ERRA. I was informed that government officials allegedly told the radio station management that the cancellation of the license of its Balakot station is due to the Mast FM 103's criticism on the performance of the government relief agencies. Mast FM 103 appealed to PEMRA that the cancellation of its Balakot radio station's broadcast license is discriminatory and again requested it to renew the license.

As far as I aware, this is not the government's first repression against the Mast FM 103. In 2004, two stations of the Mast FM103 stationing in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab province and Karachi, the capital city of Sindh province, were ransacked by the rangers and officials from the PEMRA, who confiscated the machines and equipment of the Mast FM 103 including the BBC's transmission lines and arrested the broadcasters.

I strongly urge you to take immediate action to ensure the renewal of the broadcast license of the concerned radio station without delay. PEMRA's action against Mast FM 103 not only violates the freedom of the media but also fundamental rights of Pakistan citizens who have a right to access information relating to public interest. I also request you to inquire the actual circumstances of the incident and take action against those responsible, especially if it is proven that any government officials or agencies wrongly influenced the license cancellation of the Mast FM 103 station.

Lastly, I strongly urge the Pakistan government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and strictly implement it into domestic level without further delay. It is shameful to see that Pakistan, the member of the newly established UN Human Rights Council, has a very poor record of the ratification of the major international conventions. It must fulfil its primary responsibility to protect and uphold human rights for its citizens.

Yours truly,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Iftikhar Rashid
Chairperson
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
Green Trust Tower, 6th Floor, Jinnah Avenue,
Blue Area, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: 0092-051-9222320/26/32/40/42/43/45/50/51/52/56
Fax: 0092-051-9207419
E-mail: ctv@pemra.gov.pk, info@pemra.gov.pk 

2. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: (please see - <http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx>http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

3. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

4. Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block,
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 920 2819
Fax: + 92 51 920 3119

5. Mr. Akram Khan Durrani
Chief Minister of NWFP
Chief Minister's office
Peshawar
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 91 9211719
Fax: +92 91-9210707

6. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o J Deriviero
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9177
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION)


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-316-2006
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.