The Crimean Human Rights Group held the next monitoring of the FM radio station broadcasting in the north of peninsula in June 2020. The situation with receiving the Ukrainian FM signal became worse, comparing to the previous monitoring of March 2020.
In June Ukrainian radio station signal was heard only in 5 of 19 settlements.
The monitoring held this March showed that the Ukrainian radio broadcasting through towers located in Chongar and Chaplynka was heard in 9 settlements.
This being said, the number of Ukrainian radio stations to be heard in Crimea has substantially reduced, too.
Only one Ukrainian radio station can be heard in Voinka.
2 Ukrainian FM radio stations may be heard in Krasnoarmeyskoye, and Istochnoye, and 3 in Predmostnoye and Novoaleksandrovka.
Five Ukrainian FM radio stations can be heard on the occupied territory of the peninsula at CHONGAR checkpoint, and four Ukrainian radio stations can be heard at the Crimean side of CHAPLYNKA checkpoint.
In 14 settlements (Vishnevka, Martynovka, Zavet Leninskiy, Solionoye Ozero, Yermakovo, Pridorozhnoye, Zarechnoye, Dzhankoy, Ovoschnoye, Lobanovo, Zelenaya Niva, Krasnoperekopsk, Armiansk, Ishun’) Russian FM stations broadcast on the Ukrainian radio frequencies.
In March 2020 a signal of one Ukrainian radio station could be heard in Yermakovo, Vishnevka, Pridorozhnoye, and Zelenaya Niva. But in June an attempt to get the signal failed.
And the same time in 16 settlements of 19 a simultaneous broadcasting of two stations: Ukrainian and Russian at some frequencies was recorded that is an evidence of a purposeful blocking of the Ukrainian FM broadcasting by the Russian radio stations.
KULTURA, PROMIN’, ARMIYA FM and NOVA KAKHOVKA radios can be heard in two settlements of the entire list, NV – in three, UKRAINSKOYE RADIO and KRYM.REALII in one of 19 checked.
Thus, comparing to March 2020, the KRYM.REALII FM broadcasting coverage that had been heard in six settlements of the list reduced substantially. The broadcasting of the ARMIYA FM radio signal reduced from four settlements to two.
Broadcasting of the Ukrainian FMs via the Broadcasting Tower located in Chaplynka in the Northern Crimea is jammed by such Russian stations:
KRYM – 95.3 frequency of KULTURA Radio
MORE – 96.4 frequency of PERETS FM
SPUTNIK – 102.3 frequency of MEYDAN
MAYAK – 103.5 frequency of KHAYAT
VATAN SEDASY – 106.4 frequency of PROMIN’
Broadcasting of the Ukrainian FMs via the Broadcasting Tower located in Chongar in the Northern Crimea is jammed by such Russian stations:
SPUTNIK – 100.7 frequency of UKRAINSKOYE RADIO
VESTI – 102.6 frequency of PROMIN’
KRYM – 103 frequency of ARMIYA FM
MORE – 104.1 frequency of RADIO NV
VESTI – 105.9 frequency of KRYM.REALII
VATAN SEDASY – 107.8 frequency of KHERSON FM
The CHRG monitors checked, with car radios, what Ukrainian FM radio stations might be heard in 19 settlements of the northern Crimea: towns of Armiansk, Krasnoperekopsk, and Dzhankoy, and settlements located along the main roads – Ishun’, Zelenaya Niva, Vishnevka, Krasnoarmeyskoye, Istochnoye, Novoaleksandrovka, Martynovka, Solionoye Ozero, Zavet Leninskiy, Yermakovo, Pridorozhnoye, Predmostnoye, Zarechnoye, Ovoschnoye, Lobanovo, and Voinka.
The Crimean Human Rights Group holds regularly missions for monitoring the broadcasting in northern Crimea. The Russian authorities have seized unlawfully the Ukrainian radio frequencies in the peninsula and have been blocking the Ukrainian FM broadcasting.
Thus, the Crimea occupying authorities have deprived the Ukrainian nationals of access to the information of independent Ukrainian radio stations. Doing this, the RF authorities neglect completely the fact that jamming radio signals is forbidden by the International Telecommunication Convention of 1947 and the UN General Assembly in 1950.
The actions of the Russian authorities in Crimea lead to abolishing the pluralism of opinions and replacing in fact the independent media with the sources of state Russian propaganda. With these discriminatory practices, it becomes in principle impossible for the Crimeans to receive information about Ukraine and human rights violations that are common in Crimea. Kremlin-controlled Russian media are hiding most of these facts from residents of the peninsula.
Information isolation of the occupied peninsula is intensifying, that constitutes a severe violation of free speech standards as well as provides the occupying power additional opportunities to disrespect further the human rights and freedoms in Crimea.
To stop this it is necessary for democratic countries to intensify the pressure on the Russian Federation authorities, demanding them to stop the censorship, unjustified blocking and other forms of freedom restrictions of independent media on the territory of Crimea.
The law enforcement bodies of Ukraine should investigate in depth the facts of unlawful blocking the media and seizure of radio frequencies in Crimea in the context of international armed conflict, and to bring the guilty to justice.
