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24-hour VOA broadcasts to Pakistan

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: The Voice of America (VOA) is going to bombard Pakistan from January next year with 24-hour broadcasts made up mostly of pop American and Pakistani music, news, interviews and commentary.

What is more, VOA is even going to change its name in an obvious effort to de-emphasise the fact that it is owned and operated by the US government. The new name for the jazzed up 24-hour service is going to be ‘Radio Aap Ki Dunya.’

Why Pakistan has been chosen for this special saturation-style coverage, no one at Voice of America is prepared to say. Joseph O’Connell, VOA spokesman told this correspondent in answer to his inquiry Friday as to the what had prompted such a major change, “We are developing additional Urdu programmes for Pakistan which has always been a priority area. Beyond that, I am not in a position to say anything.” Brian Silver, head of the VOA Urdu service, was equally reticent, saying that a number of things remained to be worked out but did confirm that an extension in broadcasts to Pakistan was under implementation.

Meanwhile, AFGE, Local 1812, the union representing many of the VOA employees has lodged a strong protest at what is considers the dismantling of a service set up in 1942 as part of American public diplomacy. In a statement, the union points out that the Arabic service of the VOA has already been abolished and is now known as Radio Sawa, broadcasting music and light entertainment, and the Persian service goes out as Radio Farda. It also accuses VOA of shedding its universally known and recognised brand name. A five-hour cut in English broadcasts has been lamented by even a former VOA former chief through an article in Washington Post this week.

AFGE fears that the next round of cuts may be “around the corner.” A union member said the Bush Administration does not believe in public diplomacy. It prefers to force its views on the world through the barrel of a gun. It fears the words ‘America’ and ‘Voice of America’ which have lately become a “turn off” in the VOA listening areas, so they are being hidden in local, assumed names. Another member said the White House has sent its “well-paid undertakers” to gradually kill VOA and bury it forever. Money saved will be spent on fuelling the war machine. In a newsletter, the union called upon its members to tell their representative in Congress that the Bush administration is flouting US Law PL94-350 which enshrines the Code of ethics for VOA operations. Funded by Congress, VOA, “since 1942 has built a global reputation as a consistently reliable source of news and information.” From December 01, Urdu will be on air from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on short wave. Twenty-four hour broadcasting is expected to start from 1st January on medium wave with the aid of a new medium wave transmitter the US has been able to establish in Tajikistan. The target audience of the pop-oriented programming is the age group 19-39.

Preparations are well in hand because VOA has already hired seven relatively young people, all Pakistanis or of Pakistani origin, to convert the projected Urdu broadcasts into FM style musicals for round-the-clock broadcasting. Among those hired are Ms Nafisa Hoodbhoy, sister of Pakistani physicist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, as well as a former Radio Pakistan broadcaster Asad Nazir.

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