FM Radio transmission facility for LTTE:Statement by the Government

Following is the statement by the Government regarding the issue of a license to the LTTE Peace Secretariat to operate an FM Radio transmission facility.

This statement seeks to clarify certain concerns expressed in the media about the circumstances in which a license was issued to the LTTE Peace Secretariat to operate a private FM Radio transmission in the Vanni.

These concerns mainly covered four aspects;

1. whether the LTTE Peace Secretariat was duly authorised to operate an FM radio transmission facility and the conditions attached thereto.

2. whether the security implications for the country were safeguarded by the authorities in the importation of the equipment.

3. the implications security-wise of the VSAT communication equipment acquired by the LTTE.

4. clearance of the consignment and the role of the Norwegian Embassy.

Whether the LTTE Peace Secretariat has been duly authorised to operate an FM Radio transmission facility and the conditions attached thereto.

A License to operate and maintain a private Broadcasting station was issued by the Government to the Secretary General LTTE Peace Secretariat on 11 November 2002 in terms of Section 44 of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Act No. 37 of 1966 under the following terms and conditions (see Annexe 1 for full text of the Licence). As will be seen the main features of the Licence are:

* the broadcasting programmes should be in accordance with the norms, standards and code of ethics followed by the SLBC

* high quality shall be maintained both as regards to transmission and the matter transmitted>

* broadcasting programmes shall be confined to educational, sports, entertainment (with desirable family content) and foreign news.

* a specific frequency shall be used - 98 MHz has been assigned to the Peace Secretariat, subject to the following:

Location - to be fixed at Kilinochchi

Output Power - 5 kw

Coverage area - 20 km radius

Altitude - 75 metres high

* in addition the Licence empowers the Minister of Mass Communication to impose any other condition from time to time, as he may consider necessary, for the purpose of carrying on the service of broadcasting in Sri Lanka.

The Licence was issued in response to a specific request by the LTTE on the 18th October 2002 for a licence to operate a FM Radio station at Kilinochchi.

This letter is reproduced below for public information.

Quote:

Hon. Imthiaz Bakeer Markar

Minister of Mass Communication

Dear Sir,

This request is made, in order to obtain a licence, to operate a FM Radio Station at Kilinochchi. As you know, a large population living in the North and East province, are deprived of Education, News and Entertainment, due to lack of FM Radio Station, and also due to the poor signals from the broadcasting station, that are located in Colombo.

If I may say correctly, in certain parts of the North Eastern Region, broadcasting reception is virtually non-existence. The need for broadcasting services has become all the more important today, to strengthen the peace initiatives, currently undertaken by both by Sri Lanka government and the LTTE.

You would undoubtedly agree with me, a well-informed public is a pre-condition for the consolidation of peace efforts by all of us. Therefore we should explore all possible means of reaching the public, to keep them informed. Moreover, in the absence of any widely circulated newspaper in the area, you would agree with me that, radio broadcasting is the only way in which we can reach the people in a cost-effective manner.

Considering the importance and urgency of the need, the Tamil Peace Secretariat has decided to commence a radio station, under the proper licence from the Sri Lanka Government, for the benefit of the people of the North and East.

Therefore, we shall be grateful if you could issue a licence and allocate a suitable frequency, in order for us to establish and operate a FM Radio station, for the benefit of the people of the North and East. Your early responses to the request of ours will be greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed)

S. Puleedevan
Secretary General
LTTE Peace Secretariat

c.c.
1. Secretary to the Hon. Prime Minister
2. Secretary to the Minister of Defence
3. Secretary to the Peace Secretariat in Colombo

It will be clear that the grant of the licence to the LTTE Peace Secretariat brings, for the first time, such radio transmissions by the LTTE under the Laws of Sri Lanka. It subjects the holder of the licence, the LTTE, to specific conditions regarding the content and manner of their broadcasting in future. Indeed these are the self-same conditions which apply to all other private FM licence holders operating in the rest of the country such as MTV, Sirasa, Shakti etc.

This request of the LTTE for a radio channel has to be seen in the context of the positive developments towards a permanent peace in the country, which commenced with the signing of the MOU between the Government and the LTTE on the 22nd of February 2002. It represents an important step in the transformation of the LTTE into a political grouping within the mainstream of the Sri Lankan political system.

The public will appreciate that the willingness of the LTTE to submit themselves to the authority of the Government in this manner is a 180 degree change from that which prevailed in the earlier period when the LTTE ran an unauthorised and illegal radio operation termed the Voice of Tigers.

It is also well-known that the LTTE have had radio and even TV transmission facilities of their own in some countries abroad.

The equipment for the setting up of the radio broadcasting facility was purchased by the LTTE in Singapore and a list of the items to be imported by sea on the vessel MV Kota Tegop due in Colombo on 17th October was also made known to the Government. The equipment purchased, and to be imported, was reported as follows;

FM Transmitter US$

1. FM Transmitter plus backup transmitter - 52,600.00

2. FM Antenna (4 boxes) 2 - 18,000.00

3. RDS Audio 1 - 800.00

4. MPS Clipper/Generator 1 - 3,850.00

5. VMC 1 - 4,000.00

6. Antenna Cable 1 - 2,600.00

Edit Room

1. Mixing console 1 - 750.00

2. CD Player 1 - 560.00

3. MD Recorder 1 - 906.00

4. Microphone 1 - 595.00

5. Microphone Holder 1 - 95.00

6. Microphone Processor 1 - 2,275.00

7. Patch Panel 2 - 880.00

8. Loud Speaker 2 - 920.00

9. Headphones 2 - 300.00

10.Technology furniture 1 - 1,800.00

11.Cabling 1 - 1,500.00

93,265.00

12.VSAT communication unit 1 - 25,000.00

The consignment on arrival at the Customs was inspected by a technical team appointed by the Ministry of Defence, consisting of the following government experts:

Upali Arambewela (Additional Director General Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation)

A. Gunawardena (Group Captain - Director Electronics & Telecommunications - Sri Lanka Air Force)

Brig. Y. S. A. de Silva (Director Signals - Sri Lanka Army)

R. D. Somasiri (Advisor, Ministry of Mass Communications)

The Technical team has confirmed that the FM transmitter equipment in the consignment can be used for FM broadcasting and radio data transmission. A few technical observations made by the Team are being conveyed to the LTTE Peace Secretariat for compliance.

Following the Technical Evaluation, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had no technical or security objection in agreeing to the issue of a licence, provided the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission allocated a frequency that did not in anyway interfere with the communication frequencies currently used by the Security Forces.

On the 27th of November, Ministry of Mass Communication informed the Secretary Defence that the operation of the broadcasting transmitter which has been cleared by the inspection committee would not cause any interference to the existing radio transmission network of the security forces.

It was said that the Transmitter has been designed to operate within the frequency band of 87 MHz to 109 MHz in the FM band and that the output power is 1 Kw. It was also mentioned by the Ministry of Mass Communication that the Transmitter output power of other licensed broadcasting agencies/companies was well above 1 Kw.

On 9th December, the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission made its determination about the fees payable for the frequency assigned to the LTTE Peace Secretariat. The details of this are as follows:

1. Frequency assignment fee for 12 months - Rs. 22,500

2. Licence fee and power charges - Rs. 45,000 to be paid after the test transmissions are in order.

3. Yearly licence and power charges - Rs. 45,000 payable yearly to the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission - (TRCSL)

The TRCSL has made the suggestion that while it notes that the transmissions are to be in the Tamil language, the people are to get an all round exposure it would be appropriate to introduce programmes in the English and Sinhala languages too since this would enhance the end result of the peace efforts.

2.Whether the security implications for the country were safeguarded by the authorities in the importation of the equipment.

The procedures described above after the consignment was received in the country and in particular, the detailed inspection of the items by the Technical Evaluation team consisting of high ranking military officials, while they were under the custody of the Customs , would indicate that the consignment contained only equipment for the FM Transmitter and no lethal material of any kind which could be harmful to the security of the country. The consignment as noted above, also contained VSAT telecommunication equipment which had been cleared earlier under licence by the TRCSL. Details regarding the VSAT equipment are given in the answer to question 3 below.

As a further precaution that no material other than the FM Transmitter accessories would be delivered to the Peace Secretariat at Kilinochchi, the Ministry of Defence arranged for the consignment to be packed and sealed and dispatched to Kilinochchi under Police escort.

3. The implications security-wise of the VSAT communication equipment acquired by the LTTE The VSAT equipment in the consignment received by the LTTE Secretariat in Singapore is unconnected to the FM Transmission equipment and relates to LTTE's expressed need for data and voice communication abroad. This is apparently necessitated due to the Peace Talks being mostly conducted abroad. A public switch telephone network was only made available in the Vanni recently.

As a matter of interest it should be mentioned that VSAT approval had been granted by the TRCSL to the following operators: SLT, Lanka Bell, Suntel Lanka Internet Services, Eureka Online Pvt Ltd., Lanka Global (Access Towers), World Bank, Sir Arthur C. Clarke and the SLIDA Distance Learning centre, in all 16 authorised VSAT operators. In addition, it is well known that there are several unauthorised VSAT terminals being operated in various locations.

There is therefore no reason for speculation that the VSAT terminal which has now been licensed by the TRCSL will pose any particular security threat to Sri Lanka.

4. Clearance of the consignment and the role of the Norwegian Embassy

Following the original application by the Secretary General LTTE Peace Secretariat for a licence to operate a FM radio station, a request was received from the LTTE for the consignment to be cleared duty free.

Exemption from taxation of any kind, including VAT, was sought since the LTTE urged it was for a purpose associated with the peace process. After consideration by the Ministry of Finance, the LTTE Peace Secretariat was informed that this request could not be granted since no exemptions on duty or VAT were being permitted by the Government in any instance.

It was in these circumstances that the facilitator of the peace process - the Embassy of Norway in Sri Lanka - was approached by the Government (SCOPP) to attempt to resolve the issue. It must be emphasised that the LTTE had no part in the matter and that Norway was consulted at this point regarding a resolution of the impasse, solely by the Government. Norway acting as the consignee was also important in terms of the security verification of the consignment. If the Defence Ministry evaluation was adverse, the consignment was to be sent back to the port of origin. If the clearance was granted, the consignment was to be handed over to SCOPP who in turn were to hand it over to the LTTE Peace Secretariat.

The Norwegian Government, in terms of its Agreement with the Sri Lankan Government has agreed to finance the setting up of institutional mechanisms to take forward the peace process. Norwegian assistance of over Rs. 12 million as an initial contribution to the setting up of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) has been one such initiative.

Given the interest of the Government, the Norwegian Embassy agreed to act as the consignee for the equipment. This was done on the understanding that the goods would immediately be taken over by SCOPP. This was done in accordance with the existing agreement between the two governments on such projects as SCOPP.

The Embassy also agreed that the Agreement relating to the Norwegian contribution to SCOPP would permit such funds to be utilized for reimbursement to the Ministry of Finance of any loss of revenue, if required.

Finally it need to be underlined that the equipment was consigned to the Embassy not as diplomatic cargo.

The Embassy assistance in the importation was as a contribution to the peace process.

This facilitated the above mentioned technical evaluation and clearing of the goods by SCOPP, who in turn handed over the goods to a representative of the LTTE Peace Secretariat who accompanied the goods under Police escort to the Vanni.

Source - (Daily News - 2002-12-28)