Little warning of a big event taking place in the Netherlands this weekend in protest of the Dutch government’s recent mass auction of the radio spectrum and companion crackdown on the vibrant pirate scene. The news comes from Vrije Radio:
“The Dutch government’s recently implemented Zerobase Radio Frequency Policy is designed to control and regulate free use of the ether by commercial radio stations. On May 23 this year most available space on the Dutch airwaves was auctioned off to the highest bidder. It should come as no surprise to anyone that as a result of this auction it has become clear that for the next eight years only the biggest, most commercially and mainstream oriented stations will be able to exploit the remaining Dutch frequencies. The government’s claim to preserve diversity in the new airwave distribution has proven to be a fraud.”
“The Zerobase Policy acknowledges only two kinds of radio: public and commercial. Any radio formats that don’t fit within either of these categories have in effect become criminal organisations. Zerobase’s nasty little brother “Project Etherflits”, an initiative of the Department of Economic Affairs, has since March of this year been pro-actively identifying and tracking “illegal” broadcasters throughout the North and East of the country, confiscating studio equipment and imposing large fines. Many stations have already been forced off the air.”
“Recently strong rumours have been circulating that the mayor of Amsterdam has granted permission to use police and riot-control forces to get rid of the city’s Free Radio stations – Radio 100, Radio Patapoe and Radio de Vrije Keyser. Although Free Radio culture in the Netherlands has a long history and remains innovative, popular and highly valued as an important cultural and political resource, Free Radio is neither public or commercial. Thus, under the Zerobase legislation these stations will never be granted a legal broadcasting permit. Nowhere in Europe have legislators been so blind to active, independent radio-making culture. This needs to be changed.”
“During its twenty-five years of existence Dutch Free Radio has been a beacon of Dutch and international fringe cultures, alternative political action and social change. An extraordinarily diverse range of radio makers have seized the chance to express and promote their culture and present [counter]information in a way that would be impossible under the rules and regulations of the so-called “free” market.”
“Free Radio is an initiator of and participant in an important broad (sub)cultural coalition. Because of the ill-defined definitions of legislators, THE CONTINUING EXISTENCE OF FREE RADIO IN THE NETHERLANDS IS NOW UNDER SERIOUS THREAT. THE DUTCH FREE RADIOS NOW PROTEST AGAINST THIS SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT.”
“WE URGENTLY DEMAND THAT THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT ACKNOWLEDGES NON-COMMERCIAL, NON-PUBLIC FREE RADIO AS A SEPERATE LEGAL RADIO CATEGORY WITHIN THE NATIONAL FREQUENCY POLICY. THAT IS TO SAY THAT LOW-COST, FREE-ACCESS DOMAINS IN THE ETHER MUST BE CREATED.”
“To support this demand, to shed light on our situation, and to discuss possible solutions, the Dutch Free Radios are organizing a huge radio event in Amsterdam on June 14 at 5 different locations in and around the Vondelpark….100,000 ANTENNAS – FREE RADIO MANIFESTATION….to show that we are still alive and kicking, and how much we will be missed if Dutch politicians fail to end the threat to Free Radio stations in the Netherlands.”
The multi-station broadcast will be coordinated and streamed live online via IMC-Netherlands. The Independent Media Center network itself has been invaluable for keeping abreast of the Dutch free radio crisis.
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