02 April 2008
Exile Tibet radio claims China steps up jamming of broadcasts
(AP) The exile radio network Voice of Tibet (VOT) has accused Beijing of stepping up jamming of its shortwave news broadcasts into Tibet during a crackdown on anti-Chinese demonstrations in Tibetan areas and ahead of the Beijing Olympics. "There has been enormous focus on journalists not getting free access to Tibet. The other side of the coin is that information from the outside is not getting into Tibet", said Oystein Alme, a Norwegian who runs the nonprofit foundation's business office in Oslo. "They started jamming us nearly 13 years ago", Alme told The Associated Press. "Now they have been stepping it up in connection with the demonstrations". Alme said the Chinese use ground stations in Tibet to transmit two or more additional signals on the frequency used by the VOT to make the broadcasts incomprehensible. The Chinese are "denying Tibetans access to uncensored news and information from the outside world". Alme said Chinese jamming violated international treaties giving the network exclusive rights to its registered frequency.