RFE/RL: Belarusian-language radio in Poland

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Subject: RFE/RL: Belarusian-language radio in Poland

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

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RFE/RL: Belarusian-language radio in Poland


RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report
Vol. 1, No. 23, 9 November 1999

POLAND

BELARUSIAN-LANGUAGE RADIO RACJA STARTS TESTING SIGNAL. On 3 November,
the Belarusian-language Radio Racja ("racja" in Polish may mean
"argument," "reason," or "right"), based in Bialystok (northeastern
Poland), began testing its signal before launching regular programs.
Poland's National Radio and Television Committee, which approves
licenses and broadcasting frequencies, had given the go-ahead to the
station on 2 August.

Radio Racja has a license to air programs to the Belarusian minority
in Poland. It is estimated that there are 150,000-200,000 people of
Belarusian ethnic origin living in Podlasie Province (Bialystok is the
capital of the province).

Radio Racja is a Polish-Belarusian company in which the Belarusian
Union in Poland has a two-thirds stake. Eugeniusz Wappa, chairman of
the Belarusian Union, is president of Radio Racja, and his deputy is
Zhanna Litvina, head of the Belarusian Association of Journalists and
formerly head of the Minsk Bureau of RFE/RL's Belarusian Service.

Wappa told PAP on 3 November that the station will launch its first
program on VHF by the end of November. Initially, the station will be
audible in the city of Bialystok and its environs. Next year, the
station intends to apply for a permit to broadcast to the entire
province. "The radio equipment is second-hand. Up to now, we have
spent some 40,000 zlotys ($9,400) on it, and the money has come from
NGOs," PAP quoted Wappa as saying. Wappa, however, declined to reveal
Radio Racja's sponsors.

Wappa's restraint is understandable given that Radio Racja has two
teams of broadcasters: one composed of Polish Belarusians and the
other of Minsk journalists who previously constituted the core of
Radio 101.2. That radio station was banned by the regime of President
Alyaksandr Lukashenka in 1996.

Radio Racja will put out two programs: the one on VHF will deal with
matters concerning Polish Belarusians, while the other, on shortwave
(the signal transmitted from Warsaw can reach Minsk), will be oriented
toward Belarusians in the Republic of Belarus. The latter will be
prepared by Minsk journalists working in two sub-teams: one located in
Minsk and the other in Warsaw. Radio Racja's management is afraid that
the Lukashenka regime will retaliate once the station starts regular
broadcasts, and for that reason, they are willing to divulge only
scanty details about their operations.

Wappa told the "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report" on 29
October that the "shortwave team" would start its regular broadcasts
"within a week."

In an interview last week with the "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and
Ukraine Report," Oleg Latyszonek - who represents the Belarusian Union
in the Radio Racja company - said that the station is "of great
importance for
Belarusians in both Belarus and Poland's Podlasie Province." He added
that "apart from RFE/RL's Belarusian program, Radio Racja is the only
Belarusian-language station that is independent of the Belarusian
government. And it is the first full-time Belarusian radio station in
Poland, which is a historic achievement for our minority." (So far,
public Radio Bialystok has broadcast only short daily
Belarusian-language programs).

Polish Belarusians seems to share Latyszonek's viewpoint. At a
congress of the Belarusian Union in Poland on 29 October, Wappa was
re-elected chairman of the union for a third consecutive term.
Earlier, delegates to the congress had changed the provision in the
union's charter stipulating that any single person can hold the post
only for two terms.

"RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report" has learned from a
reliable source that Radio Racja is subsidized by the Open Society
Institute (Soros Foundation) and the U.S.'s National Endowment for
Democracy. According to this source, both organizations pledged to
provide support to the station for three years. During this period,
the station has no right to engage in any commercial activities.

...........

*********************************************************
Copyright (c) 1999. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
 
RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report is prepared by Jan
Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by
"RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed
every Tuesday.
 
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