گزارش رادیو هلند از زمانه

رادیو هلند از آغاز به کار رادیو زمانه برای شنونده هایش گزارشی تهیه کرده است.
با آرم رادیو زمانه و مخلفات

In a short period of time, two media-outlets for Iranians have been set up in the Netherlands. And more will follow, all financed by the Dutch government. The most recent development is Radio Zamaneh, broadcasting from Amsterdam and aimed at young Iranians. Zamaneh is independent and won't shy away from debating subjects like sexuality, women's rights and restrictions on clothing.

"Iranian youth is hungry for information. They want more than just being 'injected' with biased information from state media,"

said Pantea Modiri of Radio Zamaneh. According to Modiri, young people are interested in what is really going on within Iran and in the rest of the world. "
They crave stories about tolerance, human rights and politics."

Young Iranians

Some 70 percent of Iranians are under the age of 28, according to figures from the NGO, Press Now which coordinates Radio Zamaneh, but the young don't have their own media. Most journalists in Iran are of the older generation. The team at Radio Zamaneh is made up of between twelve and 15 young journalists working in either Amsterdam or Iran. A few of them are bloggers who are being trained to become journalists by Press Now - an international organisation supporting independent media in regions of conflict or transition.

The people from Radio Zamaneh - which means 'now' in Persian- are convinced that they can reach every household in Iran with their broadcasts. The station will transmit in Persian via satellite, shortwave and the internet.

"Six million people have access to the internet, 80 percent of the people have a satellite dish and everybody has a radio, "

says Modiri.

Radio Zamaneh is broadcasting 24 hours a day on satellite. The core of its current affairs and cultural programme is on shortwave for four hours a day and the rest of the day will be taken up with music that is forbidden in Iran. This means bands from outside of Iran or 'underground' music. Modiri explains:
"for six or seven years more underground bands have been playing in Iran. Women, for instance, are not even allowed to sing in front of men. This means that CDs which women perform on are not produced or sold."

Satellite dishes are forbidden in Iran, but they're still everywhere



Dutch involvement

Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) assisted in the distribution of the shortwave broadcasts for Radio Zamaneh. RNW helped Zamaneh to get in touch with a Russian transmitting station that sends the broadcasts to Iran. Financial support for Zamaneh came from the coffers of the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is specifically funding the distribution of information - probably because it does not want to offend the Iranian government.

In 2004, a Dutch MP of Iranian origin, Farah Karimi, managed to get a majority in parliament behind her plan to invest fifteen million euros in a satellite station for Iran. However, the plan didn't go ahead, supposedly because of pressure from Iranian diplomats who accused the Dutch government of supporting the opposition in their country.

Instead, it was decided to finance a number of media projects - believed to be eleven in total - though the ministry will not confirm that figure.

"We are supporting freedom of speech in various countries in the region but prefer not to give information because we don't want to endanger the people involved,"
said a spokesperson for the ministry.

It is known, however. that the Dutch government also supports Shahrzad News, an independent website run for and by women. The site wants to promote freedom of speech and women's rights. Women are, just as much as the young, almost ignored by the conservative media in Iran. Journalists of Shahrzad News are trained by the Radio Netherlands Training Centre and the editorial staff are located in Hilversum.

Censorship
The key question for Radio Zamaneh is, of course, whether the Iranian government will allow the progammes to be broadcast. Conservative powers in the country are trying to undo the relative amount of press freedom which existed under former President Khatami. It is forbidden to own satellite dishes and only last week the government ordered the closure of the country's most prominent reformist newspaper. The Sharq was criticised for publishing a cartoon about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The government also filters or blocks around ten million websites. Modiri:
"We are not trying to provoke the government; we are not an opposition station, don't take political sides and are objective and independent. Zamaneh is striving for 'civil journalism' by interacting with civilians, especially young bloggers, who can send their reports - in written or sound form - to Zamaneh."

It is still in doubt, though, whether the government will accept this statement. On the other hand, even though there is a ban on owning satellite dishes, most Iranians have one anyway. And of the 100 publications it has closed down since 2000, many of them have reappeared under a different name and dozens of opposition publications still exist.