Field missions make waves

Field missions make waves

The UN was on the air around the world in 1997-- from Vukovar to Monrovia, and Sarajevo to Luanda, listeners tuned in to UN radio and TV programmes, prepared as part of the effort to move peace processes forward. Beginning in 1989 in Namibia, a growing number of field missions have produced their own radio and TV programmes to get the UN message out to the public. In addition to the missions in the former Yugoslavia, Haiti, Liberia and Angola, peace operations in El Salvador, Mozambique and Somalia all produced programmes for broadcast on local radio or TV. In Cambodia and Rwanda, the UN, against all odds, even set up its own radio station. Radio, even more than TV, is considered an ideal medium to explain a peacekeeping mandate to the population in the mission area and to counter misinformation and disinformation. In many countries with low literacy levels and limited access to television, the role of radio has been recognized as critical to the success of the mission.

Every mission should have one
"You need three things to set up a peacekeeping mission," says Phil Arnold, Spokesman for the UN Transitional Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) "an office, some cars and a radio station. Everything else can follow later on." In fact, UNTAES Radio was on the air with a 15-minute programme a few weeks after the mission was established in eastern Croatia in early 1996.

Having entered into an agreement with Radio Vukovar, by September 1996, UNTAES was not just sharing their frequency but some technicians and announcers. By being vigilant, UNTAES Radio overcame potential issues of bias and had the effect of "mellowing" Radio Vukovar. During the electoral process, UNTAES Radio was an information "life-line" giving practical advice, and a credible and accurate account of the polling. Meanwhile, UNTAES TV had taken to the air waves by February 1997 and could reinforce this effort.

"106.5 -- keepin' you alive, eFM radio"
Next door, the Radio component of the UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH), acting as midwife, teamed up with the Students Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina to establish eFM. The aim, according to Henry Beresford-Peirse, head of Radio UNMIBH and editor-in-chief at eFM, was "to create something good, something positive in this city, something homegrown." With loaned equipment and $20,000 from UNMIBH, studios were reconstructed in a totally devastated former barracks on "Snipers' Alley" with help from NATO' s Implementation Force and funds from Norway, Canada and the European Union. By May 1997, eFM was on the air 24 hours a day with a mix of news, music, current affairs, student programmes and education programmes.

UNMIBH Radio's daily 15-minute newscast is used by eFM and by Radio Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although the latter previews each programme and charges a broadcast fee, the integrity of UNMIBH's programmes has, without exception, been respected. "We report the good and the not so good, as this is the only way to gain any credibility," explains Beresford-Peirse. " The fact that it draws criticism from all sides is another measure of its success."

Just the two of us
In 1997, support from the Department of Public Information (DPI) for broadcasting in field missions continues to grow. There is general agreement that reconnaissance teams for future missions should normally include DPI experts. On the support side, a Headquarters (HQ) producer was seconded to both UNTAES and the UN Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) in 1997. Other radio and TV producers from HQ travelled to mission areas for on-the-spot reports.

Far from the media-soaked environment of Europe, Gerry Adams and her taperecorder arrived in Monrovia, Liberia, in April 1997, dispatched from DPI's Radio Service in New York following a DPI survey of the country's radio broadcasting needs and conditions. "It's a good thing I took that machine," says Adams as she set off to produce UNOMIL Magazine, with coproducer and well-known Liberian journalist Steve Makundu. In 20 programmes produced over several months, Adams recalls, "I think I spoke to everyone--the Head of the Council of State, the Head of Mission, the Head of the Elections Commission, to refugees, footballers, soldiers, abused women. Everyone who would talk to me."

A cartoon character called "Peaceman", projected as a savvy villager always ready to pass on news, was the brainchild of Spokesman Brian Kelly and Liberian artist Wantue Major; it eventually became the mission's unofficial "spoketoon" and was featured in the radio broadcasts. Helping to ensure that UNOMIL's message reached Liberian ears, UNDP and Search for Common Ground distributed some 5,500 radio wind-up sets around the country, good for some 6,600 hours of self-generated power. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Liberia, Tuliameni Kalomoh, commented that Liberians went to the polls "reassured that the UN had confidence in the process."

I do the blues
"MICIVIH does the soaps, and I do the blues," recounts Patricia Tome, Spokeswoman for the UN Transition Mission in Haiti (UNTMIH). Tome is referring to "Espace Bleu", UNTMIH's TV series, which she produces. Tome replaced the French programme with Creole. The programme is broadcast over 13 stations, 10 of which are outside Port-au-Prince. UNTMIH Civilian Police teams take cassettes, monitors and VCRs with them on their rounds to the remotest villages. "I don't know how the equipment survives the bumps and potholes," says Thierry Kazmierczak, a French civilian police officer. "It's a great way for us to get to know the country, and for the country to know UNTMIH," he concludes.

The International Civilian Mission to Haiti (MICIVIH) uses radio to get the word out on the whole spectrum of the mission's work in human rights. MICIVIH's 15-minute radio documentary "Ann cherche konan" (roughly translated from Creole as "Trying to understand") and its TV spots are produced by a local studio and used by more than 55 stations in Port-au-Prince, at their discretion. More often than not, they are broadcast at prime time, sparking public debate on such weighty topics as summary justice and treatment of prisoners.

A question of trust
The Secretary General's Special Representative in Angola, Alioune Blondin Beye, believes that "in the end truth, even though it is much slower to take root, always wins." According to Maître Beye, the mission's ability to reply to hostile propaganda through its own radio and television programmes has been invaluable. Os Caminhos da Paz--The Path to Peace--was a modest 5 minutes broadcast twice a week in Portuguese when it debuted in July 1995. Today UN radio in Angola broadcasts three hours a day, and a further expansion is being negotiated. The mission's TV service produces three half-hour features per week and is now actively exploring how it can contribute to efforts at national reconciliation. "We could really use a little more help," says Yacouba Kebe, Chief of the Public Information Office in the UN Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA). "Angola is a big country to cover." Since February 1996 MONUA has its own production studio giving it complete editorial control of all programmes, which are aired without Government interference.

Os Caminhos da Paz airs over the facilities of National Radio of Angola. "The independent UN station which we sought, and which the Security Council had approved, never received the blessing of the State authorities," says David Wimhurst, MONUA Spokesman. "But people have come to know and trust Os Caminhos da Paz".

Planting the UN antenna -- "not if but how"
In 1997, the discussion no longer focuses on whether radio and TV broadcasting have a place in public information in the field. At issue now is the best way to go about it.

Some at the UN argue that a mission should have its own completely independent production and broadcasting facility. Some prefer local production of programming by mission personnel, who then arrange for broadcast on local stations. Still others favour a central broadcasting facility at UN Headquarters in New York. And some prefer to concentrate on training, working with local broadcasters in an effort to improve programming and enhance journalistic standards. The answer seems to be: "It all depends." On the mission, on the resources, on local conditions. "Ultimately what really matters is building an audience," says Kevin Kennedy, Peace and Security Section Chief in DPI.

As for capacity and technology, UN Radio is soon to post live news programming and sound files on the INTERNET, thus providing access in English, French and Spanish to anyone in the world with the proper equipment and software. And in early 1998, a direct HQ radio broadcasting capacity is to be launched in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom, to listeners in Africa, Asia and Europe. DPI plans to make reports from UN peace operations an important part of what Samir Sanbar, Assistant Secretary-General for Public Information, calls an "ambitious programme", which DPI is determined to attempt, using the most cost-effective means.