Rádio Ecclésia’s project of establishing a FM network has everything to do with the new prospects of peace in Angola. Elections are scheduled to take place within two years, following the signing of a cease-fire between the Angolan army and UNITA rebels in April.
The Catholic radio station is determined to give airtime to as many different opinions as possible. ‘Most people don’t know any other voice than that of the Government’, says José Paulo, the station’s chief-editor. ‘There is not an independent radio station that can reach out to the villages, and bring just the facts of what happened.’
The change to stereo will eventually mean an end to broadcasting on short wave, which has a more limited reach. Rádio Ecclésia is setting up FM transmitters in Benguela, Huambo, and the country’s 14 other main cities, which at first will simply rebroadcast its signal from Luanda, but later will also produce local output.
A satellite system will not only link the network of FM stations, but will also permit data transmission to the regional stations. The new network, a project that is being financed by NiZA among other organisations, should be up and running by the end of 2003.
No-go areas
Since the conflict ended, reporting on the situation in the country has become easier, says José Paulo. ‘UNITA has lost the war, and is trying to transform itself into a political party. They are eager to get their message across to people, and are more approachable.’ Also logistically, searching for news has become less difficult. Areas that were previously no-go zones have opened up. Rádio Ecclésia is about to send a radio crew from Luanda overland to Zambia, through the province of Moxico.
‘It will be the first time in 25 years’, says Paulo. ‘The situation never allowed us to go deep inside Angola. Even when the roads were open we couldn’t risk sending our reporters. But now security is not a problem; you can go anywhere. A few weeks ago, journalists from South Africa entered Angola via Namibia and travelled the country. They didn’t have any trouble. It is just that the roads are very bad, and the land mines worry us. Even soldiers don’t know where they are; they are not indicated on maps.’
Kidnapping
However, the government has still not done away with some old habits. Since it first appearance at the end of 1954, Rádio Ecclésia and its employees have been subjected to a great deal of official harassment because of its editorial policy. The station continued to report on the civil war in the country, even after the Angolan authorities issued an implicit order for a blackout of news about the conflict, and thus remained one of the few sources of information about what was really going on.
Over the years, political events forced many of the Rádio Ecclésia staff to flee the country, and the radio station was silent for nearly two decades, up to March 1997, when it made a new start.
Despite the new dispensation, government doors remain closed. ‘It is virtually impossible to get an interview with a Minister, or even to verify information’, says José Paulo.
Buying talent
Four armed men snatched Paolo himself from the streets of Luanda in June 2000, after the station had aired a live debate on the role of oil and diamonds in fuelling the conflict in Angola. The kidnappers’ car, however, got stuck in a bush track enabling Paulo to escape while being shot at.
‘Many government officials are afraid to say anything’, says Paulo. ‘When we informed the Ministry of Communications about the expansion of our radio network, they didn’t reply. Instead, we found out that they started implementing our project.
The government-run radio station is trying to extend its reach as well. In a way, that is good, because we can compete.’ But, according to Paulo, the government is not playing a fair game. Not daring to close down Rádio Ecclésia, the authorities resorted to carrying out a campaign of buying Rádio Ecclésia’s most talented staff. ‘Seven journalists have left our station already and are now working in government television or radio. They were offered 1000 dollars a month, a car, and a nice house. It is a way to weaken us. We have to handle our programs with new people.’
Nuns and priests
José Paulo decided to hire journalists who feel closer to the Christian identity of the radio station: nuns and priests. ‘They just finished their studies at a Catholic university in Portugal, and are good journalists.
Most importantly, the government won’t be able to buy them. Then there is the old cast who will remain with us on contracts stating that they are not allowed to leave the radio station within five years.’
With this new strategy, and the change to stereo, Rádio Ecclésia is trying to get ready for the run-up to the elections. Many new programs are in the pipeline; one of them carries a title that translates from Portuguese into ‘taking the truth out of the shadow’. ‘It is about the truth that happened during the war and nobody was able to tell’, Paulo explains. ‘We are already making interviews. We find that people very much want to talk. They want to express their feelings about the country, about their lives. That kind of programs we want to air once the radio station reaches the provinces.’
Inge Ruigrok is a freelance journalist inge-r@planet.nl
More information:
Rádio Ecclésia - www.recclesia.org
Emissora Católica de Angola
Rua Comandate Bula, N. 118
São Paulo
Luanda, Angola
Tel: (244-2)443041
Fax: (244-2)443093
