Monitoring Iraq: War of
the Airwaves
by Mika
Mäkeläinen
A war of the airwaves in Iraq
began months before fighting on the ground. This
is a comprehensive guide to monitoring radio stations
transmitting to and from Iraq. Here you can find
a listing of stations involved in the war, complete
with frequencies and audio samples, updated regularly
as new fronts are opened in the fight for the hearts
and minds of the Iraqi people.
Although
television coverage on Iraq is even heavier than
before the Gulf War of 1991, shortwave (SW) and
mediumwave (MW/AM) radio still offer people around
the world a unique chance to get alternative, first
hand accounts and opinions on the crisis - at least
if you speak Arabic or Kurdish. Broadcasts for the
Coalition forces are in English, and the international
language of Iraqi music can be heard on almost all
the stations.
For most of the Iraqi people
radio is the only window to the outside world. No
wonder that the Iraqi audience is currently targeted
by a total of seven Coalition-supported radio services,
four Kurdish stations and five other opposition
stations operating on the mediumwave and shortwave
bands.
Near Iraq and in parts of Europe
these broadcasts, ranging from a mysterious clandestine
operation Radio Tikrit to non-stop Arabic
pop music on Radio Sawa, can be heard even
on the AM band. Further away, and across the Atlantic,
you still have a choice of several shortwave stations.
Reception is generally best when
the path between your location and Iraq is in darkness.
From April 1, local time in Iraq has been four hours
ahead of Universal time, UTC. All times listed here
are in UTC. Glossary
and abbreviations contains explanations to other
necessary terms.
Please note that during a time
of crisis, schedules may vary, frequencies may change
without notice, and some stations are forced off
the air. The stations are listed as follows: 1)
Iraqi government, 2) Opposition and international
stations, 3) Military broadcasting stations, and
4) Kurdish stations. This reference article contains
only broadcasting stations that are currently active
on the MW or SW bands and that are intended for
the general public - so here you will not find confidential
military communications, other utility stations
nor broadcasting stations that are currently inactive
or only operating on the FM band with a very limited
reach.
Iraqi
government
![DoD 1998: bomb damage to a radio jamming station in Tikrit](../photos/iraq_tikrit_jamming.gif)
Bomb damage assessment
photo of a radio jamming station in Tikrit (photo
by DoD 1998) |
Republic
of Iraq Radio (
) has monopoly in radio broadcasting and has been
firmly in the hands of the ruling Ba'ath party.
For the past decade the station has suffered from
deteriorating technical equipment. Iraq used to
possess a very impressive array of powerful transmitters
and modern antennas for both domestic and external
broadcasting, nearly all of which was destroyed
in the Gulf War. Back in 1990, the biggest transmitter
site in Salah el Deen (44.10E, 33.58N) alone contained
16 transmitters, each 500 kW of power. On the mediumwave
band, a total of five transmitters of 1000 kW were
on the air, in addition to several transmitters
of 600 and 300 kW, according to the World Radio
TV Handbook (WRTH). After the war and many years
of neglect, in 1998 Iraq had (according to the CIA)
only 14 active AM transmitters, 51 FM transmitters
and 4 shortwave transmitters, and in 2002 the figures
were down to 11 active mediumwave transmitters,
14 FM transmitters and 3 shortwave transmitters.
WRTH 2003 has listed the following mediumwave stations
in operation:
Frequency
(kHz): |
Location:
|
Time
(UTC): |
Program: |
Comments,
status: |
558 |
Rutba |
0258-0010 |
GS |
? |
603 |
Nineva |
0258-0010 |
GS, Y |
heard 3/2003 |
657 |
unknown |
0258-1600 |
GS |
heard 4/2003 |
693 |
Basra |
0300-1700
1700-2100 |
V
M |
presumably
destroyed 3/2003 |
756 |
Baghdad |
0258-0000 |
V |
heard 3/2003 |
846 |
Nasiriya |
0258-0010 |
GS |
heard 2/2003
sign-off at 0013 |
909 |
Baghdad |
0258-0010 |
GS |
heard 4/2003 |
1035 |
Nineva |
0315-2130 |
K |
? |
1224 |
Nasiriya |
0258-0010 |
GS |
? |
1548v |
unknown |
0258-0010 |
GS |
? |
1575v |
unknown |
0258-0010 |
GS |
last heard
1/2002 on 1570.4 and 4/2002 on 1575.6 |
abbreviations: GS = General
Service at 0258-0010 UTC, V = Voice of the Masses
at 0300-0000 UTC, M = Mother of Battles Radio,
K = Kurdish program, Q = Quran program, Y =
Voice of Youth |
During the past few years, frequencies
most often reported outside Iraq include 603,
756, 846 and 909 kHz. Of the different
program feeds, Voice of the Masses and Mother of
Battles Radio (established after the Gulf War) have
no longer been observed recently. After the war
began, only the General Service and Voice of Youth
have been audible. Two weeks into the war, Iraqi
Radio has proved to be surprisingly resilient, and
continues to be heard despite repeated attacks by
coalition forces against broadcasting facilities,
which according to the coalition are used also for
military communications.
On
shortwave, Iraq's once powerful foreign service
Radio Iraq International had lost nearly
all of its transmitters already before the war.
Programs were erratic at best and seldom reported
anywhere. During the past few years, the station
had occasionally been heard on 11787 kHz,
which was presumed to originate from a transmitter
located in Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad. English
broadcasts were scheduled at 2000-2100 UTC, followed
by 30 minutes in German and another 30 minutes in
French. After the start of the war, Republic of
Iraq Radio General Service (domestic service) has
been heard irregularly on 11787 kHz as well as on
a new frequency of 6175 kHz shortwave from
an unknown location. The station headquarters, with
address listed as Iraqi Broadcasting & TV Establishment,
Salihiya, Baghdad, Iraq, has been targeted by coalition
air attacks.
Opposition
and international stations
The
Future (
), al-Mustaqbal in Arabic, is run by the
Iraqi National Accord, INA (al-Wifaq al-Watani
al-Iraq). INA is an opposition group of military
and security officers who have defected from Iraq.
INA was created by the British intelligence MI6,
but has received extensive support from the CIA
since the mid-1990's. INA is working to remove Saddam's
regime and to install a democratic political system.
Al-Mustaqbal began broadcasting on April 21, 1996.
Currently the station airs a minimum of 6 hours
of programming daily, consisting of two 3-hour feeds,
which have partly different content. The station
can be best heard at 2130-0030 UTC, and operates
on the frequency of 1575 kHz. The transmissions
originate from a 50-kilowatt transmitter in Kuwait,
located at the Voice of America transmission site
but administered by the CIA. The station can be
contacted by email.
For a comprehensive report and future plans of the
station, check out a profile article of the station
titled Radio
for the Future of Iraq.
![Leaflet giving frequencies for Information Radio](../logos/logo_iraq_information_2003_3_A_FQ.jpg)
Leaflets have been dropped
to Iraq since mid-December 2002, detailing broadcast
times and frequencies of Information Radio. |
Twin Rivers
Radio (
), Idha'at Wadi al-Rafidayn in Arabic, is
located just one step down the dial at 1566 kHz.
Twin Rivers Radio is not run directly by the the
INA, but according to information obtained by DXing.info,
its operation is "politically coordinated"
with the INA. Twin Rivers Radio broadcasts at 0300
UTC in the mornings and at 1600-1830 UTC in the
evenings, sharing the same transmitter as The
Future and Radio Tikrit. Previous information
has suggested that the station is on the air until
1900 UTC, but observations in March 2003 show that
the transmission normally ends at 1830 UTC. Although
sharing transmitter time with two other stations,
Twin Rivers Radio has a different profile, and it
broadcasts mainly popular Arabic music with short
announcements, without giving any hint of its affiliation.
The station is not featured on the INA website.
Twin Rivers Radio was first heard in July 2001.
![Leaflet giving frequencies for Information Radio](../logos/logo_iraq_information_2003_3_E_vert.jpg)
Another version of the leaflets dropped in Iraq
(English translation) |
Radio
Tikrit (
) is the latest addition in the arsenal of US-sponsored
clandestine stations in the upper end of the mediumwave
dial. Broadcasting on 1584 kHz, Radio Tikrit
has been named after the town of Tikrit (located
some 170 kilometers north of Baghdad), where Iraqi
president Saddam Hussein was born and where a large
part of the ruling elite hails from. Although logged
only on 1584 kHz, Radio Tikrit was first heard announcing
the frequency of 1557 kHz, which has later been
corrected. The station uses a slogan "Radio
for the whole of Iraq and all Iraqis". Radio
Tikrit broadcasts at 1900-2100 UTC, presumably using
a 50-kilowatt transmitter in Kuwait, courtesy of
the CIA. Radio Tikrit is a rare case of a "black
clandestine" station, initially pretending
to be a pro-Saddam station, but in just two weeks
time, it radically changed the tone of its broadcasts,
now sharply criticizing the Saddam regime and urging
Iraqi soldiers to defect. The appearance and sudden
turnabout of Radio Tikrit aroused much interest
in the mainstream press worldwide, see the end of
this article for a couple of links. More about the
station can be found in the DXing.info News
and Asia
forum.
Information
Radio (
), Radiyo al-Maulumat, is a US propaganda
operation broadcasting anti-Saddam Hussein messages,
which Pentagon officials say are aimed at weakening
his support among the Iraqi people and military.
Part of the broadcasts originate from EC-130E Commando
Solo aircraft of the the 193rd
Special Operations Wing of the Pennsylvania
Air National Guard.
![Commando Solo March 2003](../photos/usa_solo_iraq2003c.jpg)
A member of 193rd Special
Operations Wing (SOW) prepares his EC-130E aircraft
for take off at the Doha Airport in March 2003.
(Photo by US Navy) |
Broadcasts began on December
12, 2002, and according to leaflets dropped in Iraq,
the station can be heard at 18.00-23.00 Iraq time
(equal to 1500-2000 UTC until March 31, and 1400-1900
UTC from April 1, 2003) on 693 and 756
kHz mediumwave, 9715 and 11292 kHz
shortwave and 100.4 MHz FM. DXers outside
the Middle East have reported hearing only the two
shortwave frequencies. From the start, 693 kHz,
9715 kHz and 100.4 MHz were broadcast from one Commando
Solo aircraft, while another plane deployed in late
March began using 693 kHz, 4500 kHz shortwave
and 101.4 MHz FM. The planes are based in
Doha, Qatar.
Mobile transmitters on
the ground have been used from mid-December 2002,
broadcasting 24 hours a day on 756 kHz and 11292
kHz. Transmitters operate on Humvee vehicles, originally
from Kuwait and later inside Iraq. On February 17,
transmissions were extended using naval vessels
and help from other Coalition partners. 9715 kHz
is broadcast from naval vessels from 23.00 to 18.00
Iraq time. A more
detailed account of the different platforms used
by Information Radio can be found in a profile article
US
steps up propaganda war.
Information Radio is a key part
of the US Psychological Operations (PSYOP), with
programming prepared by the 4th Psychological Operations
Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The US Central
Command has provided transcripts
of the first broadcasts. Correspondence can be sent
by email to Public Affairs Officer Edward
Shank of the 193rd Special Operations Wing.
Radio Nahrain, identifying
as Huna Radio Nahrain in Arabic, a PSYOP
radio station similar to the US Information Radio,
was launched in late March 2003 by British forces
in southern Iraq. According
to US Brigadier General Vincent Brooks at the CENTCOM
briefing on March 28, British troops had launched
an AM radio station out of Umm Qasr. The station
was said to be broadcasting to the residents of
Basra, under siege by British troops. Earlier, the
coalition had knocked out the Iraqi radio station
in Basra. The new station is broadcasting a mix
of messages and music. The messages are aimed at
the Iraqi troops urging them to surrender as well
as at civilians in the city of Basra, giving them
safety instructions to avoid getting hurt during
the fighting, and trying to convince that "this
time we will not let you down" - in reference
to a Shiite uprising after the Gulf War which ended
in bloodbath because the coalition didn't interfere.
The content is partly produced by the US and partly
by the British. The British troops have also dropped
leaflets in the city. The FM frequency has
been said to be 100.4 MHz and AM either 693 or 756
kHz, and another report listing just 94.6 and 100.4
FM, but the frequencies have not been confirmed
by independent monitors.
![Commando Solo, March 2003](../photos/usa_solo_iraq2003a.jpg)
A systems operator and
flight crewman mans his station on board a U.S.
Air Force EC-130E aircraft during a Commando
Solo mission in March 2003 (Photo by US Navy) |
Voice
of Iraqi Liberation (
), Sawt al-Tahrir
al-Iraq, one of the latest newcomers
conquering the airwaves of Iraq, discovered first
by DXing.info monitoring. Programming
consists of appeals and warnings to the military
to abandon the regime of Saddam Hussein and to join
the coalition forces in rebuilding a democratic
Iraq. The Voice of Iraqi Liberation is believed
to be using the transmitters of the Voice
of the People of Kurdistan, the mouthpiece of
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), located
in Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq. The Voice of Iraqi
Liberation begins its evening broadcast soon after
the Voice of the People of Kurdistan has closed
down at 1800 Universal time. Equal signal strength,
same frequencies and a similarly drifting frequency
suggest that the same transmitters are used by both
stations.
DXing.info
has obtained information that the Voice of Iraqi
Liberation is operated jointly by various Iraqi
opposition groups in Sulaymaniyah and that the station
has studios of its own. The
station has not announced any contact information
or given any direct indication of its political
affiliation. The Voice of Iraqi Liberation is urging
Iraqi soldiers to defect to the coalition forces
"who are coming to liberate Iraq and to get
rid of the Iraqi regime". It has also told
the Iraqi public that the coalition forces will
not harm civilians, but "are here to help you".
DXing.info has been able to establish that the station
broadcasts twice daily, at 0630- and 1830-2030 UTC
(1730-1930 UTC after April 1) on 1206 and
4025 kHz. The latter frequency has been observed
drifting between 4020 and 4030 kHz. The Voice of
Iraqi Liberation was first heard by Mika Mäkeläinen
in Finland on March 6 signing off at 2031 UTC. However,
an informed source tells DXing.info that broadcasts
began already around February 21st. Details of programming
have been obtained thanks to subsequent monitoring
by Tarek Zeidan in Egypt since March 7.
Ashur
Radio (
) is the Voice of the Assyrian Democratic Movement
(ZOWAA)
seeking self-determination for the Assyrian minority
in Northern Iraq. ZOWAA was established in April
1979, and Ashur Radio came on the air in April 2000.
The station broadcasts in Arabic and in Assyrian
from Arbil on 9155 kHz. In March 2003 the
station has been observed at 0900-1100 UTC and at
1600-1800 UTC, but it has not been on the air every
day. The station can be reached by email.
Voice of
Iraqi People (
), Sawt al-Sha'ab al-Iraqi, is the
mouthpiece of the Iraqi
Communist Party (ICP), presumably broadcasting
from the Iraqi Kurdistan. The station broadcasts
in Arabic in the mornings, closing down at 0530
UTC, and in the evenings at 1725/1730-1845/1855
UTC on 3900 kHz (occasionally drifting between
3899 and 3902 kHz) and 5883 kHz shortwave.
Extended transmissions have been heard during the
war. Voice of Iraqi People can be contacted through
the ICP information office in London at BM Al-Tariq,
London WCIN 3XX, United Kingdom, tel. +44-271-419-2552,
or by email.
Until April 2002, a station by the name of Radio
station Freedom was heard in Arabic and in Kurdish
on the same frequency. The station belonged to the
Kurdistan
Communist Party - Iraq (KCPI). Party affiliation
and frequency choice indicate the use of a shared
transmitter with Voice of Iraqi People.
Republic
of Iraq Radio, Voice of the Iraqi People (
), Idha'at al-Jumhuriyah al-Iraqiyah min Baghdad,
Sawt al-Sha'ab al-Iraqi is a clandestine radio
service sponsored by the Saudi intelligence. According
to intelligence reports, the station has studios
and offices in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but it may
be using transmission facilities also in other Arab
countries. Not to be confused with Voice of Iraqi
People run by the Communist Party (listed above),
this station broadcasts at 1300-0300 UTC on 9563,
9570/9750 and 11710/11715 kHz. In March
2003 the station has also been heard in the evening
on 1053 kHz mediumwave, a transmitter which
is presumably located in Saudi Arabia. Frequencies
are changed occasionally to avoid interference and
Iraqi jamming, for example in February 2003 the
station replaced 9570 kHz by 9750 kHz, only to return
to 9570 kHz on February 23. Voice of the Iraqi People
was launched on January 1, 1991.
Voice
of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (
) is a station of the Supreme
Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
SCIRI is a Shiite resistance group formed in Iran
in 1982, operating in Southern Iraq with support
from Iran. The station identifies as Sawt al-Thawrah
al-Islamiyah fi al-Iraq, and has broadcast from
1991 via Iranian shortwave facilities. The station
can be heard regularly with a stable signal, signing
on around 0330 UTC on 7100 and 9535 kHz.
SCIRI can be contacted by email
or by writing to 27a Old Gloucester St., London
WC1N 3XX, United Kingdom, or telephone +44-207-371-6815.
Voice
of Rebellious Iraq (
), Idha'at sawt al-Iraq al-Tha'r, is another
station operated by SCIRI. In November 2002 the
station was logged in the evening on the frequency
of 711 kHz, but in April 2003 the station
was briefly noted on 675 kHz before heard
again on 711 kHz. The station is presumably broadcasting
from a transmitter in Ahwaz, Iran, normally used
for the National (Sarasarye) program of the Islamic
Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Also a station
identifying as Radio Nejat from Iran has been reported
on 675 kHz at 1230-1430 UTC by the BBC Monitoring
Service. Voice of Rebellious Iraq began broadcasting
in March 1991. The station has been listed with
several postal addresses: P.O. Box 37155/146, Qom,
Islamic Republic of Iran, or: P.O. Box 11365/738,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran; or P.O.
Box 36802, Damascus, Syria, but also the SCIRI offices
in London, Damascus, Geneva and Vienna work as points
of contact.
Radio
Free Iraq
(
), Idha'at al-Iraq al-khar, is an Arabic-language
service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty beamed
to Iraq. The programs are produced in the RFE/RL
headquarters in Prague, and transmitted via IBB
shortwave facilities in several countries. The
service concentrates on news, information and commentary.
Since the start of the war, the station has said
to be broadcasting 12 hours day, but the program
schedule given (table below) shows only a total
of 10 hours a day at 0100-0600 and at 1400-1900
UTC.
UTC:
|
Frequency (kHz): |
0100-0300 |
12030 |
0100-0600 |
9730, 9865 |
0300-0400 |
1314, 11910 |
0400-0600 |
11930 |
1400-1500 |
13755 |
1400-1600 |
1314 |
1400-1700 |
9825, 15170, 17740 |
1500-1900 |
11805 |
1700-1800 |
9865 |
1700-1900 |
17690 |
1800-1900 |
9705 |
|
Radio
Free Iraq was established on October 30, 1998. The
Czech government and the residents of Prague were
reluctant to host Radio Free Iraq in Prague because
of fears of being targeted by a terrorist attack.
The RFE/RL headquarters, formerly the parliament house,
sits on a busy downtown street. Security is still
a major concern and RFE/RL is known to be looking
for a new headquarters. Radio Free Iraq can be contacted
by email or by
writing to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Vinohradska
1, 110 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic (tel. +420-2-2112-1111),
or to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut
Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036, U.S.A. (+1-202- 457-6900).
Many
international broadcasters also have an audience
in Iraq, including BBC (Arabic schedule on
the BBC
website) and U.S. Radio
Sawa, Together
in English (
). These stations are not particularly aimed
at Iraqis, but rather at the entire Arab population
in the Middle East. Radio Sawa has nevertheless
established a specific feed Radio Sawa Iraq. Radio
Sawa can be best heard in Iraq on 1548 kHz
AM (a 600-kW transmitter in Kuwait) and on several
shortwave frequencies. BBC is best heard on shortwave
and on 639, 702 and 720 kHz mediumwave.
Military
stations
Time
(UTC): |
Frequency
(kHz): |
0300-0400 |
7260, 15795 |
0400-0600 |
11975, 15795 |
0600-0700 |
15425, 15795 |
1400-1600 |
13860, 17895 |
1600-1700 |
13860, 15245 |
1700-1800 |
13860, 15150 |
1800-2000 |
6105, 13760 |
|
British
Forces Broadcasting Service, BFBS
(
), has extended its coverage for UK troops in the
Persian Gulf. In early February 2003 BFBS begun
shortwave transmissions (see table on the right,
these frequencies effective from March 30).
BFBS already broadcast on
FM in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait (102.0 and 107.0 MHz);
Al Kharj in Saudi Arabia (96.2 MHz) as well as in
Thumbrayt, Oman (102.4 and 105.2 MHz) in early 2003.
Since then, new transmitters have been set up in
areas where British troops are located, including
Southern Iraq (102.1 MHz) and the Coalition headquarters
at Camp as-Sayliyah in Doha, Qatar. All new transmitters
are said to be in the range of 102 to 107 MHz FM.
BFBS is operated by the Services
Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), which is a
registered charity set up to entertain and inform
Britain's Armed Forces around the world. SSVC has
supplied over 800 portable radios to British troops
to help keep them in touch with home. BFBS has two
radio networks, broadcasting pop music and speech
radio 24 hours a day.
BFBS went on air at the end
of 1943 when an experimental Forces Radio station
was opened in a harem in Algiers. Since then, it
has broadcast from 20 countries and 67 radio stations
around the world. DXing.info audio archive contains
BFBS station identifications both during the ongoing
Operation Telic
(referring to UK military contingency preparations
in relation to Iraq) and during Operation
Granby (the Gulf War) in 1990-1991. BFBS can
be contacted by email
or by writing to BFBS UK, Narcot Lane, Gerrards
Cross, Buckinghamshire SL9 8TN or BFPO 786, United
Kingdom.
Location: |
Daytime frequency (kHz): |
Nighttime
frequency (kHz): |
Diego Garcia |
12579 |
4319 |
Guam |
13362 |
5765 |
Key West FL |
12689.5 |
12689.5 |
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii |
10320 |
6350 |
Puerto Rico |
6458.5 |
6458.5 |
American
Forces Radio and Television Service,
AFRTS, has not been heard with any special
broadcasts aimed at US forces in the Persian Gulf
area. Of the AM stations that operate in US military
bases, closest to the theater lies AFN Incirlik
in southern Turkey, transmitting 24 hours a day
on 1593 kHz (not 1590 kHz as wrongly
listed on the AFN
website). The transmitter is very weak and can
hardly be heard in nearby Adana. In Kuwait AFN can
be heard on the FM band at 104.3 and 107.9 MHz.
Regular shortwave transmissions in USB mode from
around the world, Diego Garcia being the closest
one to the Persian Gulf, are listed in the table.
(
)
Kurdish
stations
Kurdish organizations operate
a number of stations, many of which target Kurdish
minorities not only in Iraq, but also in Turkey,
Syria and Iran. Here are the stations which are
currently known to be broadcasting to and
from the Iraqi Kurdistan. In addition to these,
up to a dozen other stations have been heard over
the past few years, but these are either currently
inactive or broadcast only on the FM band, and can't
be heard far away from the target area. There are
also several clandestine stations beamed to Iran
that are broadcast from the Iraqi Kurdistan and
can be heard on the shortwave band with programming
in the Farsi language.
Voice
of Iraqi Kurdistan (
Kurdish,
Arabic), Aira Dengi Kurdistana Iraq /
Sawt al-Kurdistan al-Iraq, is broadcasting from
Salah al-Deen in support of Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) headed by Massoud Barzani.
Programs are in Kurdish and Arabic. On March 31
BBC Monitoring Service even heard the station broadcasting
an English-language appeal to the Kurdish people.
The excerpt consisted of warnings to citizens to
stay away from Iraqi military installations and
US-led forces troops. The radio appealed for there
to be no reprisals against Iraqi POWs and said the
Geneva Convention must be observed. The broadcast
also said that Saddam Hussein stood in the way of
liberty and that US-led forces were there to help
the people of Iraq - a message fully in line with
US propaganda operations such as Information Radio.
Similar messages were aired also in Arabic. The
station has recently been observed on the air for
the entire evening on 4085 kHz, signing off
after 1930 UTC. During the war the station has sometimes
been heard with extended broadcasts up to 2200 UTC.
Morning broadcasts are heard starting around 0330-0400
UTC on 4090 kHz, but are not transmitted
every day. Other previously reported frequencies
include 5860 and 7375 kHz. The station has been
on the air intermittently since September 1965,
and on shortwave it is currently the strongest station
from Kurdistan. The station can be contacted via
KDP information officer Alex
Atroushi.
Voice
of the People of Kurdistan (Arabic
), Aira Dengi Gelli Kurdistana / Sawt
al-Sha'ab al-Kurdistan, broadcasts from Sulaymaniyah
in support of Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK). PUK, just like its rival KDP, struggles
to attain self-determination for Kurds. The station
can be heard on 1206 kHz mediumwave as well
as on 4025 kHz (drifting up to 4027 kHz)
shortwave. Also 4415 kHz (drifting up to 4417 kHz)
shortwave (ex-4000 and 6995 kHz) was observed in
February, but no longer in March 2003. 4060 kHz
has been their longtime frequency, but has not been
heard since April 2002. The most recent observations
in March 2003 suggest that the station begins morning
transmissions at 0235-0250 UTC, and ends evening
transmissions at 1800 UTC. Starting at 0630 and
1830 UTC the same transmitters are used to air programming
of the Voice of Iraqi Liberation.
Voice of the People of Kurdistan has been on the
air in Kurdish and in Arabic from October 1992,
recently heard also relaying Iraq Turkmen Sesi
Radyosu programming in Turkmen. Contact information
can be found on the PUK
website.
Radio
Kurdistan, Voice of the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic
Party (
Kurdish,
Arabic), Aira Dengi Kurdistana, Dengi Hizbi Socialisti
Demokrati Kurdistan / Huna idha'at Kurdistan, Sawt
al-Hizb al-Ishtiraki al-Dimuqrati al-Kurdistani,
is the mouthpiece of the Kurdistan
Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP), a political
ally of PUK. On the air since May 1997, the station
continues to be heard with a bilingual program,
heard switching from Kurdish to Arabic around 1630
UTC and signing off before 1700 UTC. Occasionally
another transmission has been heard later in the
evening, signing off around 2100 UTC. In March 2003
the station has also been observed in the morning,
signing on before 0330 UTC. The frequency is approximately
4141 kHz, but it is very unstable and has
varied between 4139 and 4142 kHz. Often the transmitter
drifts back and forth during the broadcast. The
station can be contacted by email.
Voice
of Kurdistan Toilers (
in Kurdish), Aira Dengi Zehmetkêsan-ê
Kurdistana, is a station of the Kurdistan
Toilers Party (KTP/PZK), an ally of the PUK.
The station began broadcasting in Kurdish and in
Arabic in November 1999 and can be heard in the
mornings, in March 2003 observed signing on around
0300-0330 UTC on 4245 kHz, though the frequency
can drift up to 4246 kHz.
The article
has been updated until mid-April 2003, when
Coalition forces took control of the whole country.
Further updates will be published separately.
See also comments and additional information
in the international press:
- New
Scientist (March 11, 2003)
- New
Scientist (Feb. 25, 2003)
- Guardian
(Feb. 25, 2003)
- BBC
(Feb. 27, 2003)
and more examples about DXing.info coverage
in the international press. |
(published on February
24, 2003, last update on April 15)
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