HEARINGS

From Armenia, the transmissions of Afghanistan International TV, which is testing the 7590 kHz frequency via the relay center in Yerevan, are on the air. On this frequency the station was picked up between 0630-1400 UTC on the already mentioned 7590 kHz frequency with 100 kW in Pashto language, targeting West Asia.

The recently appeared Radio NUG, also known as Voice of National Unity Government of Myanmar transmits from 1330-1359 UTC on the new frequency of 12000 khz with 250 kW in Burmese.

Another new underground station using the facilities of the NEXUS IRRS relay center is Kashmir Civitas, also called Radio Free Kashmir, which broadcasts from 1500-1530 UTC on the frequency of 15170 khz with 300 kW for Southwest Asia, in Urdu language on Thursdays every week.

Colleague Ivo Ivanov publishes in his excellent reports on the SWL Bulgaria site that a station called Sae Nala transmits to the Korean peninsula between 1600 and 1630 UTC on 9585 khz, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with 100 kW in Korean. It is a new station that broadcasts on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Radio Tigray Media House TMH broadcasts on a daily basis from 1600-1700 UTC on 17750 khz from Issoudun, France, with 250 kW for East Africa in Tigrinya language.

BRB Denge Welat broadcasts daily in Kurdish language between 1600 and 1800 UTC on 11530 khz, from Issoundun, France with 250 kW for West Asia and the Middle East.

Another new clandestine radio station targeting Africa is Raadiyyoni Dirree Shaggar which broadcasts programs apparently daily from 1600-1630 UTC on 15415 khz with 250 kW in Oromo language.

JY Radio is an underground radio station that is off the air these days but it is convenient to schedule as we don't know at what time it resumes regular broadcasts which should go out on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The scheduled time is from 1600-1645 UTC on the frequency of 17890 khz from Issoudun, France from where it goes out with 250 kW in Tigrinya language.

Since we are talking about broadcasts destined to the conflictive Tigre or Tigray region in Ethiopia, we state that Dimtse Radio Erena is a clandestine station that transmits according to the following schedule:

1730-1800 UTC on 9720 khz from Secretbroad with 50 kW in Arabic on Wednesdays, and Fridays and from 1730-1800 UTC on 9720 khz, always from Secretbroad with 50 kW in Tigrinya language on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and from 1730-1800 UTC on 9720 khz, always from Secretbroad with 50 kW in Tigrinya language on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Dandal Kura Radio International broadcasts from 1800-1830 UTC on 11830 khz, from France, more precisely in Issoudun with 100 kW in Kanuri language towards the center of the African continent.

And we close these overview of hearings with another new clandestine radio station that at the present time is circumstantially inactive. It is Radio Ominira Yoruba, whose name could be translated into English as Radio Freedom Yoruba. This radio has a broadcasting schedule for Fridays and Sundays from 1900-2300 UTC on 9890 khz from Wooferton, in Great Britain with 250 kW of power with transmissions in Yoruba, a language spoken in Nigeria and a wide region of West Africa.

RADIO NEWS

When one thinks of a European principality, the first thing that usually comes to mind are city states such as Monaco, Andorra or Liechtenstein -which stand out for their luxury, wealth and social stability-, but there is a microstate with this same form of government that breaks with the notions on how these independent regions work: the Principality of Sealand.

Unlike the spectacular principalities, this "country" in the south of the United Kingdom occupies less than 100 square meters in total, but only 55 of them are inhabitable. At the same time, the entire site looks abandoned and only five people live there.

Despite this, the principality of Sealand has the necessary characteristics to be considered an independent country, which is why it is ranked as the smallest on the planet. But how did a nation that occupies such a small space become independent?

Sealand is so close that it can be seen from the coast of Essex in the United Kingdom, but Sealand is just far enough away not to count as part of the United Kingdom.

While the struggle for the independence of regions is usually long and difficult -as happened for many years between Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom-, in the case of Sealand it was only necessary to comply with a simple concept: to be located in international waters where the British would not interfere.

The birth of this principality took place in 1967, when broadcaster Patrick Roy Bates occupied the abandoned fort of Rough Sands -built in 1942 13 kilometers off the coast of the United Kingdom- to set up his pirate radio and then proclaim the independence of the State, declaring himself the monarch.

Let's go further back in time: In 1942, during World War II, the United Kingdom built HM Fort Roughs as part of the Maunsell Sea Fortresses to prevent mine-laying by German ships.

The fort is composed of a floating platform equipped with a superstructure of two towers joined by a deck on which other structures could be added. The platform was towed to Rough Sands, a sandbank located approximately ten kilometers off the coast of Suffolk and thirteen kilometers off the coast of Essex, England, where the hull of the vessel was intentionally flooded to fix its position on the bottom of the sandbank. The chosen location was in international waters, beyond the five kilometers of territorial waters claimed by the United Kingdom at the time.

The installation (known as Roughs Tower) was manned by up to 300 Royal Navy sailors until the place was decommissioned in 1956.

In 1965 the fort was occupied by Paddy Roy Bates, a British national and pirate radio presenter, who expelled a rival group of pirate broadcasters and claimed sovereignty based on his personal interpretation of international law.

Patrick "Paddy" Roy Bates (born August 29, 1921 and died October 9, 2012) is considered the founder of the micronation of the Principality of Sealand .

Using military radio equipment left on the platform, Bates took advantage of an old U.S. Air Force radio beacon for his station, called Radio Essex to begin transmissions.

From Knock John Tower, he ran Radio Essex from 1965 to 1966 and succeeded in becoming the first pirate radio station to offer 24-hour service.

The station changed its name in October 1966 to Britain's Better Music Station (BBMS) after Bates was convicted of violating Section One of the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949. Bates was then fined £100 for his continued illegal transmissions. Due to insufficient funds, BBMS went off the air in 1966.

Bates moved its operation to nearby Roughs Tower in 1967, another fort located beyond the boundary of UK territorial waters, but, despite having the necessary equipment, never resumed broadcasting.

On August 14, 1967, the Maritime Broadcasting Offences Act came into force, which prohibited broadcasting from certain marine structures, e.g., platforms such as Bates’s. 19 days later, on September 2, 1967, Bates declared the independence of Roughs Tower and named it the Principality of Sealand.

Ronan O'Rahilly of another pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, along with a small group of men, attempted to storm the platform claimed by Bates. Bates and company used petrol bombs and guns to repel the assault. As a result of the conflict, the Royal Navy headed for Roughs Tower, but they were shot at by Bates' son Michael as they entered what Bates claimed to be Sealand territorial waters.

Bates and his son were arrested and taken to a British arms court. The court dismissed the case, ruling that the British court had no jurisdiction over international affairs since Roughs Tower was beyond Britain's territorial waters.

Bates took this as a de facto recognition of his country’s sovereignty and seven years later issued a constitution, flag and national anthem, among other things, for the Principality of Sealand .

In spite of all this, today the principality is going through the worst moment in its history -mainly due to the fact that the platform is almost 80 years old and is very run-down.

In addition to this, the Bates family has not lived there for several years, and is now merely a curiosity for tourists to visit. The only permanent residents are five caretakers.

It is believed that the so-called "Kings of Sealand" still retain their British citizenship despite having their own "internationally recognized" country.

Despite its tiny size, Sealand even has internal political struggles: since 1978 there is a "Sealand government in exile" that operates from Germany and claims to be the real owner of the platform -even issuing 150,000 "fake" passports from that country-.