Palestinian National Authority
Gaza radio station back on the airPosted Sep 16 2008
The Palestinian radio station Sawt al-Shaab (Voice of the People) was reopened Aug. 5 after being shut down for three days by the Hamas government of the Palestinian National Authority. The radio station is based out of Gaza and was charged with causing sedition by broadcasting lies and rumors and stepping outside the bounds of national and professional responsibilities.
The current Hamas government has a history of silencing and restricting journalists and media associated with rival political parties. Menassat.com, an online Lebanese news journal, reported that the closure of Voice of the People radio had come as a surprise from journalists because of the station's alignment with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a pro-Hamas organization.
Insiders speculated to MENASSAT that crackdown on Sawt al-Shaab arose after the station became too critical of Hamas after the party won parliamentary elections in 2006 and took control of the Gaza Strip by force in 2007.
The chairmen of Sawt al-Shaab, Thou al-Fakkar al-Sawirjo, spoke to MENASSAT and recounted how Hamas' security forces forced themselves into the station's Gaza office, cut off its electricity and forced its employees out of the building.
“The closure of the radio stations is part of Hamas' policy of muzzling people critical of their recent actions,” Al-Sawirjo said. “It is also a means of creating one voice on the airwaves.”
Khaled al-Batesh, a leading member of the rival Al-Jihad Al-Islami (Islamic Jihad) party, also told MENASSAT that the government's decision to close the station was misguided.
“Sawt Al-Shaab is actually one of the national voices of Palestine, and has always defended its people by broadcasting balanced news,” he said.