BBC Monitoring (BBCM) can confirm that two major Western broadcasters are suffering consistent jamming of their transmissions to Ethiopia. Jamming is deliberate interference aimed at preventing the target broadcast from being heard. The standard technique is to transmit an irritating noise or continuous music on the same channel as the target.
In the latest media development to hit the Horn of Africa, the scene of numerous “radio wars” over the past quarter-century, shortwave broadcasts from Washington-based Voice of America (VOA) and Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW) are now being jammed.
In both cases, the target of the jamming is radio programmes in Amharic, the lingua franca and main official language of Ethiopia. VOA is also suffering jamming of another of its regional language services. The deliberate interference appears to have started in the first half of this month, possibly on or around 12 November.
VOA and Cologne-based DW are funded by the US and German governments to broadcast radio and TV programmes to foreign audiences. The moves against the VOA and DW follow intensification by Ethiopia of its jamming of broadcasts from neighbouring Eritrea. The jamming of Eritrean state radio, the latest episode of which began in summer 2007, was stepped up in late September and early October, BBCM observed at the time.
Details of the jammed broadcasts
The VOA’s daily one-hour (1800-1900 gmt) service in Amharic is now being jammed. According to the opposition website Ethiopian Review – www.ethiopianreview.com – the jamming of VOA began on 12 November. BBCM observations have confirmed the presence of jamming signals on at least three of the five frequencies used by the VOA. The direction whence the jamming originates (established by the use of directional aerials) is consistent with the signals being transmitted from within Ethiopia.
VOA currently uses 9320, 9860, 11675, 11905 and 13870 kHz for its Amharic service. The service is not streamed on the Internet, but audio of recent broadcasts is available at www.voanews.com/horn.
On 19 November, VOA’s service in another major Ethiopian language, Oromo, was also observed to be jammed. VOA’s Oromo service broadcasts at 1730-1800 gmt, immediately before the Amharic transmission and on the same frequencies.
DW’s daily one-hour (1400-1500 gmt) service in Amharic is also being jammed. Noise interference has been observed on two of DW’s shortwave frequencies (11645 and 15640 kHz). DW recently added a third frequency (15660 kHz). At the start of its Amharic programme on 19 November it announced that this had been done in response to the jamming. The lead item in the news bulletin that followed was that the Ethiopian government had conducted air raids on villages in the Ogaden region in the southeast of the country. DW maintains a multimedia website for its Amharic service at www2.dw-world.de/amharic.
Opposition broadcasts
Ethiopia The Woyanne regime has also jammed various private opposition radio broadcasts. The country has been targeted for many years by such operators, which hire airtime (generally an hour a day or on certain days of the week) from commercial shortwave transmission facilities, including those based in Germany and the former Soviet Union. The number and identity of such broadcasts, and their schedules, often varies, depending on the availability of funds to hire shortwave airtime. Eritrea is also targeted by private opposition shortwave stations.
German radio broadcasts to Ethiopia “jammed” – hobbyists
Shortwave radio hobbyists have reported deliberate interference to the Amharic-language transmissions of Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW), beamed to Ethiopia.
A US hobbyist noted “jamming” of DW’s signal on 11645 kHz on 14 and 15 November, and to DW’s Amharic broadcast on 15640 kHz on 15 November. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest, 15 November)
A German listener said the interference resembled a combination of sounds, “like bubble, motorboat, pips, and whistle buoy howl”.
In a separate report, Ethiopian Review website reported on 13 November that VOA broadcasts to Ethiopia had been jammed since 12 November “with the help of the Chinese government that provided technicians and powerful radio jamming equipment”.
(Source: BBC Monitoring research 16 Nov 07)
9 thoughts on “Woyanne is jamming Voice of America and Deutsche Welle”
Woyane wants to lead the country in a taliban style. and spending a lot of public money in such useless activity.
wether we listen voa/dw or not it is natural to hate and oppose woyane. to oppose woyane it is enough to be a human being.
Very recently by 2005 election woyane is rejected over all the country . In this case there are people who didnt listen and read at all about woyane but their nature and activity speak a lot about them.
down and death to woyane!
It is sad that it is the US and German taxpayers who pay for the broadcast and for its jamming. How can European and US governments continue to justify giving money directly to the Meles Zenawi regime? Meles continues to use the supports he get from the ‘generous Western governments’ to supress the people.
Citizens of these countries need to know how their money is being used to sustain a dictator in Ethiopia.
Dear Elias:
Please make a correction and always write the dictatorial Ethiopian regime in place of Ethiopia or Ethiopian government said this or did this statements!
Ethiopia as we know it doesn’t have a legitimate government. Circumstances at times dictates us to be blunt and call “Komatan komata kalalut gebiche lifetfit yilal” enedemilut malete neaw. I hope you know what I mean.
Thanks for your hard work brother. We shall overcome!
Hallo ER
My source in Addis has informed me that Woyane is pressuring residents to join their party.
When people apply for business licenses or renew existing one they are being forced to not only to join but also bring certain number of new members. Do you have information to corroborate mine?
R. E.
It is not surprising what the desperate Weyane is doing to cover up the truth. Why? They are simply “wshetamotch” pathological liars. That is why! How many times have they lied through their teeth to the Ethiopian people and the world at large? OK, may be the Ethiopians are waiting for the right moment to dump these rascals who are ruling the country and terrorizing their neighboring countries through the barrel of the gun. What about the so called democratic countries’ collusion with the criminals at the Menelik Palace? Who in the world is going to believe these Western countries when they preach us democracy, good governance and the rule of law when they conveniently break it, it seems, at whim? Give me a break. Whether we like it or not, it is the responsibility of the Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali and other people to make the lots of our people better and tolerable. If we keep on accusing each other for some short sited vision, which is no vision at all, then we are harming our people, destroying whatever meager resources we have and squandering it all to kill each other. Haven’t we killed each others residents and maimed enough that we are so blinded by hatred that we keep on dreaming of doing some more harm to each other? Come to think about it, do we really have a right to complain how brutal the Weyane regime is (and brutal it is) when we have not cleaned our house? It is ONLY us that can prevent some more catastrophes of our people. Nobody else would, neither the US, the EU not even the hapless and, frankly, embarrassing outfit known as AU!
የወያኔ አዲሱ ሚሊኒየም ስብከት ባዶነቱ ተረጋገጠ:: ከምቼውም ጊዜ በላይ አምባገነንቱን እያጠናከረ ይገኛል:: መቻቻልና ተግባብቶ እየሰሩ ሃገር መገንባት ማለት ይህ ነው:: ከኔ ውጭ ሌላ አትስሙ!አትናገሩ ! የውጭ ሚዲያ አይፈቀድላችሁም!
ይህ ነው እንግዲህ በአዲሱ ሚሊኒየም የተገኘው ነሳነት!!!!!!!!!!!!
እግዚኦ የውንድ ያለህ!!!
Woyannee-Tigraians turning Ethiopia into a paradise like tha of North Korea, under the leadership of the Golden race with the bright mind of the Great Leader martial Meles Zenawi.
Tekeziew
Since the weyanne robbers and murderer came into Ethiopia, they had never been accepted and never been trusted eith with the children of Ethiopia and Ethiopia.
Now matter how these robbers of property and murderers of innocent citizens desperately and forcefully try to bribe millions Ethiopians to support them, as it has been seen positively and clearly, the wise and good thinker Ethiopians have collectively rejected the weyanne mafia and crime families year after year.
As the fate of weyanne crime family is approaching as quickly as anything that travels faster and faster, soon the crime families will be caught either alive or dead and be subjected to the justice that would deliver them the right punishment tantamount to the crime they committed.
Before they came out of their dark caves, Shabya and Weyanne were simply robbers.
when they came out of their hiding caves, they were still poor and the twin enemies of Ethiopia; after they came into Ethiopia, they became millionaires and nazimurderers.
What will be their fate?
Today, they are intoxicated with the blood of Ethiopians and are spending money lavishly.
When will they be sober and law abiding criminals?
Before and after they came out of their hiding caves, no single Ethiopians trusted them either with Ethiopia or with the children of Ethiopia. The robbers got mad and they turned into blood suckers and flash eaters.
Will they be chocked on the blood they drank and the flash they ate?
Today, they are trying to silence the voice of Ethiopians, today, they attempting to silence the voice of the democratic leaders.
Will they be run out of breath?
These mafia families have now run out of or exhausted all the means that they used for the past many years to silence Ethiopians.
The fact and the truth of the matter is, Ethiopians, by the mighty feasts shall crush these murderers into dusts.