Last Free Radio In Amsterdam Under Serious Threat!!

Dutch Authorities Try To Take Out Free Radio Patapoe In Amsterdam

Last Monday afternoon the Dutch Telecom authorities, Agentschap Telecom
(AT), attempted to take Free Radio Patapoe (97.2 FM, Amsterdam) off the
air. Unable to locate the studio or transmitter they left again, saying
they would be back in force to search the building which they believe
hosts the radio from top to bottom. Free Radio Patapoe is a
non-commercial radio station, run by volunteers and serving free
broadcasts to the Amsterdam community 24/7 for the past 17 years.

On Monday February 9th three gentlemen (a local neighborhood policeman
accompanied by a colleague and a representative of the AT) showed up
saying they had reason to believe there was an illegal radio station in
the building. The place being fairly large and the person they spoke to
not knowing what they were looking for they left again after searching
several rooms, and promising they would be back with a warrant to search
each and every room on the premises and possibly arresting those
present. After the disappearance off the ether of our sister stations
Radio 100 and Radio de Vrije Keyser (one now a web caster, the other
temporarily off air) it now seems they want to pull the plug on Radio
Patapoe (97.2 FM) as well. Over the past year hundreds of pirate
stations and ether enthusiasts have already been taken out throughout
the Netherlands in the name of the auctioning off and the redistribution
of the existing airwaves. The public is left with a situation where if
no one takes any action only dreary commercial broadcasting will remain.

Radio Patapoe has been around since 1987 and has been threatened many
times before in its existence. Having been forced out of such
illustrious squats as the Graansilo (now a yuppie bastion) and the
Kalenderpanden (ditto) in the past, the end now seems at hand once more.
For 17 years Radio Patapoe has been the goofiest, most chaotic, most
dangerous, dearest and cuddliest radio station in Amsterdam and
surroundings. Without any subsidies, advertising or any budget
whatsoever its volunteers provide you with broadcasts 24/7.

The Agentschap Telecom and their representative mr. Amena have been
trying to rid the Dutch ether of radio amateurs and pirate stations for
years now. In March last year this culminated in their "Action Ether
Raid (Etherflits)": "If before our emphasis was on preventing
interference caused by the illegal use of frequencies, this action
focuses on the prevention of illegal broadcasting as such."
(http://www.agentschap-telecom.nl/informatie/publi caties/etherflits/arch
ief/persbericht_15_04.html). Besides ideological issues, the desired
redistribution of broadcasting licenses is now a major factor. The
existing policy has been to auction off broadcasting licenses and thus
make room for new legal and commercial broadcasters. To this end it is
claimed the airwaves should be "clean." But the reasons are far from
clear. Professional, commercial broadcasters are much more powerful than
radio pirates and suffer little or no interference by them. Most pirates
will readily and voluntarily move to a free frequency at the least sign
of possible interference. But then of course the mere idea that people
might use the airwaves for free is an abomination in itself. "Free"
becomes practically synonymous with criminal.

Radio makers who cannot or will not work for commercial broadcasters and
who feel ill at ease with the often stricter regimes at local non-profit
stations (such as Amsterdam's SALTO) are being left in the cold, at the
loss of a wide variety of different forms of music, information and
experimental radio formats. The public has to pay the cost, being left
with unexciting and commercially dictated radio formats, while potential
new radio makers are left without a platform. Our only crime is that we
use the airwaves. But the ether is not a cable network, it is not
someone's real estate: the ether is just so much air. FM broadcasting is
incredibly easy and anyone can tune in using a simple transistor radio.

Recently our minister of Economic Affairs, mr. Brinkhorst, has been
ordered in parliament to investigate possible ways of allowing pirate
radio its own space on air, prompted by the many complaints and protests
by both listeners and radio amateurs at the loss of their stations. The
fact that pending this investigation the Agentschap Telecom keeps on
raiding radio pirates as if nothing happened is an outrage and a total
waste. But Radio Patapoe will not give up just like that; not now, not
then, not ever.

We very much welcome your international letters of support at
patapoe@freeteam.nl , your spreading the word through your own channels,
and your putting pressure of the playful variety on your local Dutch
political representatives.

Some useful links:

Radio Patapoe
http://freeteam.nl/patapoe , includes live stream.
News section: http://freeteam.nl/patapoe/news.htm
Background reading:
http://freeteam.nl/patapoe/archive.htm#txtlib
"Hundreds of Free Radio Stations off the Air":

http://indymedia.org/en/2003/05/108919.shtml
Dutch free alternative radio portal:
http://www.vrijeradio.tk/
Agentschap Telecom:
http://www.agentschap-telecom.nl/
Up-to-date news, mostly in Dutch:
http://indymedia.nl/"