Radio Resistance FM goes off-air, 48 hours
after the coup leaders bowed to local and international pressure to hand over
the power to civilian rule. The radio initiative came to fight back the coup
leaders’ propaganda.
The soldiers who staged a coup in Burkina
Faso silenced most privately-owned radio and TV stations and controlled the
state-owned national TV broadcaster, RTB.
At the same time, other members of the
presidential security regiment quickly surrounded RTB headquarters, forced
privately-owned radio and TV stations in Ouagadougou to suspend broadcasting,
and roughed up several journalists.
"We were forced to go into newsrooms and come
up with stories without verifying them." One reporter in Ougadougou who
preferred anonymity said.
In this tense and dilemma situation, "Radio
resistance" was started and it could be heard on airwaves at 108.0 FM.
Under Burkina Faso's media
legislation, the radio is illegal because it's not officially registered.
Though illegal, Burkinabes in the capital,
Ougadougou, have an alternative view.
"We were lucky to have had a radio that feeds
us information." A woman in Ougadougou told DW. "The Internet connection was bad
and the telephone lines were completely terrible," she added.
Interim President Michel Kafando and his
Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida were reinstalled on Wednesday and government
soldiers who had remained loyal to the government withdrew from the capital,
Ouagadougou.
The officially registered media houses are
now back in business. François Yesso, the Deputy Director of Radio PULSAR says
his radio station was forced to halt its programs but "we are back on air today
and in the coming days we shall continue with our programs as they were
before."
Individuals behind resistance radio
initiative, plan to go off-air since the crisis is almost over and life is back
to normal. A man behind the initiative of using the media as means of fighting
back the coup leaders says its time to stop the programs.
"I don't think it's good to have the radio
station programs on air. In a few hours, all the programs will be stopped." A
Burkinabe who preferred anonymity said. He added that “the plan was to have it
on air in case of a coup or other disasters."
However, the broadcasting authority
in Burkina Faso was caught in surprise when they heard about the radio. The
director of technical department says, "we must be careful with these ‘ghost'
media in times of crisis considering their missions and their legal
recognition."