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Last week the community radio movement won a partial victory in the fight for democratic access to radio frequencies in Guatemala, with the congress's failure to vote approval on the bill 4404, which would have extended the current radio frequencies allocated to the mass media for another 25 years.  

By rejecting the bill in it's first round of debate, the bill will be delayed until it can be re-entered in the next calendar year when the newly-elected Congress takes office.  

The community radio movement publicly denounced bill 4404, as it disregards Indigenous Peoples' right to access media and is celebrating this measured victory.  "The news comes as such a relief," explained movement leader Alberto Recinos. "We feel that the actions we have taken to prevent bill 4404 from passing at this stage have really had an impact.  The decision to delay further debate gives us time to strategize our next steps."

In a recent editorial in Guatemala's major newspaper La Prensa Libre, UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and ally of the community radio movement, Dr. Frank La Rue, also expressed his disapproval of the legislation.  His opinion piece, entitled "Behind the People's Backs" is summarized in English below. Read his full article in Spanish, here.

 

Noé Ismalej (Achi Maya) has worked at his community radio station in San Miguel Chicaj, Baja Verapaz, for ten years.  He runs an hour-long weekly program on contemporary issues and current events called "We Chose our Future."  The program reviews local and national news and includes interviews and commentary on topics such as violence against women, gender equality, the environment, youth, children, and Indigenous Peoples.

Cultural Survival’s Endangered Languages Program annually collaborates on the local fundraising and advocacy priorities set by our grassroots language program advisors: The Euchee Language Project in Sapulpa, OK; the Northern Arapaho Language Lodges in Arapaho and Ethete, WY; the Sauk Language Department of the Sac and Fox Nation in Stroud, OK; the Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project in Mashpee, MA; and the Alutiiq Museum Language Program in Kodiak, Alaska.

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