The Siege is Knocking at the Door: Ké Huelga Will Not Surrender

Submitted to It’s Going Down
Translated from Ke Huegla

In recent years, the federal government and military, the owners of the major media of intoxication and various bosses throughout the country, have created a climate of criminalization against the free and community radios. The mafia in charge of legitimating the repression, better known as the Federal Institute of Telecommunications—IFT, has contributed to exacerbating this climate of terror. In March of 2016, they launched the campaign, “Wanted for theft: transmitting from a radio station without concession is a crime”. The witch hunt against the radios that transmit without permission has been fierce: 194 inspections, 33 confiscations, and 364 inspection proposals between January and June of this year. We do not know how many of these actions have been carried out against free and community radios, but we have multiple accounts of attacks by the authorities of Oaxaca, Puebla, Michoacán, Guerrero, Morelos, and Mexico City. And to show some recent examples:

On Sunday June 26^th, 2016 Salvador Olmos was assassinated. He was a musician, anarchist and radio member of Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca. Witnesses, friends and family of Salvador have blamed the local police for this brutal crime. On September 13, in the same city Agustín Pavia Pavia was assassinated. He was a teacher, lawyer and radio member assassinated by “unknown” people that shot him outside of his house. Both compañeros participated in the community radio Tu-un Ñuu Savi: La Palabra del Pueblo de la Lluvia.

On August 18^th, 2016, members of the IFT visited the cabin of Radio Zapote in Mexico City and beneath threats robbed their equipment. In addition to the political nature of the actions, it should be noted that Radio Zapote hadn’t transmitted in FM for three months. On September 28^th, two radios that transmitted on the frequencies 87.5 and 103.9 were decommissioned in the municipality of Tepalcingo, Morelos. That same day, but in Amilcingo, members of the IFT appeared in Chahuistile where they attempted to enter the premises of Radio Amiltzinko, and at the ring of the towns’ bells, decided to run.

In four months, two assassinations, three equipment robberies, and an attempt of decommission: this is the treatment the government, police, hired thugs and IFT give to the free media.

On our part, we denounced the interference of white noise in 2015 which again happened in June of 2016: Radio La Movidida, that transmits in 102.7 FM, due to its proximity to our frequency often erases the signal of Ké Huelga.

This climate of death and repression shows that the government, media corporations, hired thugs and the IFT, are employing all mechanisms in their reach to end the spaces of free expression everywhere in Mexico. For this, we call on everyone to mobilize in defense of the free media and in particular of our radio. We think that at any moment, the interferences can add up to attacks on our spaces and detentions against members of Ké Huelga.

Against these actions of extermination:

We demand the end to the persecution against the projects of free, community and independent media.

We demand the end of the closures and seizures of the transmission equipment of the radios and respect to the integrity and liberty of their members.

We hold responsible the federal authorities, the IFT and the authorities of UNAM for whatever aggression is carried out against our project or any member of Ké Huelga Radio.

We call on everyone to spread the signal of our free radio, by listening at 102.9 FM, listening to us on the Internet at kehuelga.net and spreading this message by all possible means.

Ké Huelga endorses the commitment born in 1999 of direct combat against the media monopoly by all means and forms within our reach. We will not allow repression to silence our voices that struggle against the capitalist monster and its servants.

Liberty of expression is conquered through struggle, then and now!

Ké Huelga Radio

Free, Social and Against Power

October 2016

Tags: Pirate Radio