September, 24, 2009 - 07:37 pm Wides, Laura - (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
MIAMI - During his historic concert in Havana, Colombian pop star Juanes was all smiles.
But hours before, he threatened to call off the event, angered over constant monitoring by Cuban handlers and rumours police were blocking people from the concert.
In an exchange recorded by journalists at the Hotel Nacional in Havana on Sunday morning, Juanes pointed to an individual apparently from Cuban state security.
"I just realized a little while ago that since yesterday, the guy who's bringing me breakfast, the guy who is accompanying me, then I see him in the concert, and now I see him sending messages," Juanes shouted.
Moments later, Juanes raised concerns that police were letting only certain individuals into the concert area and prohibiting those not wearing white shirts symbolizing peace.
"We can't permit that normal people aren't allowed in the show, that a person who has not brought a white shirt isn't allowed in," he told fellow performers Miguel Bose of Spain and Olga Tanon of Puerto Rico.
Eventually, Bose, his voice breaking, consoled a weeping Juanes, while Tanon tried to convince both men to go on with the concert for the sake of the Cuban people.
Leticia Del Monte, a producer by Spanish Broadcasting System's radio station WXDJ-95.7 FM El Zol in Miami, was among those who recorded the incident with her cellphone.
Del Monte said she didn't attend the concert as a journalist but felt compelled to tape the exchange when Juanes began calling reporters to his side.
She said the argument started when Juanes approached an individual who appeared to be with Cuban state security and pulled him out of the restaurant where the musicians were having breakfast.
"We are very upset, very upset," he Juanes yelled. "We are here for the youth of Cuba ... for the future of Cuba."
At one point Juanes also refused to return to his hotel room. It was not clear why.
Video of the incident was posted on Youtube.com and could be seen by those with access to the Internet in Cuba on Thursday. According to a spokesman for Juanes, concertgoers were permitted to enter the event without problems.
Tensions ran high on both sides of the Florida Straits in the days before the concert. Juanes received death threats in Miami and considerable criticism from the Cuban-American community, many of whom viewed him as a naive idealist playing into the hands of the island's communist government.
But Juanes pressed forward, and an estimated more than 1 million people attended the 5 1/2 hour concert.
Since then, he has won over many skeptics in Miami.
Late Sunday night, dozens of young Cuban-Americans and their supporters banged pots and pans and chanted Juanes' name, drowning out a small group of mostly older exiles protesting the event.
Others in the exile community have gone so far as to apologize publicly for their initial opposition.
SBS' Mega TV network host Maria Elvira Salazar, a Cuban-American strongly critical of Fidel Castro, burst into tears as she publicly thanked Tanon on her live show for mentioning Miami exiles during her performance. She also lauded Juanes for his efforts, including his shout of "Cuba Libre," or "Free Cuba," at the end of the concert.
Immediately after the show, the station received several calls threatening Salazar and her two young daughters. Authorities were investigating the incidents.
But Salazar said she was undeterred.
"He said a lot more than I thought he was going to say," Salazar said, adding now the question is what happens next.
"We need to use this concert to do something," Salazar said. "You can't ask a singer to do what the country hasn't be able to do in 50 years."
Source:
http://www.660news.com/news/entertainment/more.jsp?content=e244537028
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Amir Zamanifar and Rosa Ajiri
Repost by Noticias de la Radio
September 30, 2009
Two young broadcasters for RFE/RL's Radio Farda -- Rosa Ajiri and Amir Zaamanifar --
have died in a car crash outside the Czech capital, Prague. Broadcaster Mahin Gorji
remained in critical condition at a Prague hospital. RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz
Esfandiari offers this look at the tragic loss of two much-loved colleagues.
Rosa Ajiri and Amir Zamanifar had short lives, but they lived them to the fullest.
Rosa was 27 years old, and Amir 29 when they died in an early morning automobile accident on September 29.
The preliminary investigation indicated that their car was stopped in the emergency lane of a highway north of
Prague when it was struck from behind by a tractor trailer.
A journalist friend of Mahin Gorji -- who was herself gravely injured and remained in critical condition -- was
suffering from shock after the tragedy.
Those who knew Rosa and Amir remember, first and foremost, their smiles and laughter.
Radio Farda colleague Hannah Kaviani said with the deaths of Rosa and Amir, Prague has lost two of its most
beautiful smiles.
Rosa was cheerful and always eager to learn more and improve her journalistic skills. She used to tell her friends
and relatives that one day she would become a well-known international reporter.
Rosa had been deeply affected by the crackdown in Iran following the presidential election in June. When the
death in custody of student Amir Javadifar was made public, it was Rosa who secured an exclusive interview with
a friend of Javadifar's who had seen his body and who charged that he had died as a result of torture.
Rosa once said that she couldn't stop crying after watching video images of the death of Neda Agha Soltan, the
27-year-old woman shot dead during a postelection protest in Tehran.
Amir was a respected moderator with a baritone voice. He was perhaps best-known among colleagues and listeners for his signature close to Radio Farda's evening-magazine program: "I wish you a peaceful night," he would say in his calm, steady voice.
Amir liked poetry, literature, photography, and Iranian food. He claimed that even pizzas made in Iran are the
best in the world.
Like Rosa, Amir was struck hard by recent events in Iran.
One of the last reports he'd filed was based on interviews with relatives of journalists jailed in the crackdown,
who are said to be under pressure.
When juvenile offender Delara Darabi was executed in Iran in May, Amir switched his profile picture on Facebook to an image of Darabi.
Despite agonizing over events in Iran, Rosa and Amir remained committed to the principles of professional
journalism.
They felt they were making a difference by covering events in Iran fairly and providing a platform for those
who otherwise had none in the country.
They both hoped that one day they would be able to go back to their country.
Rosa and Amir loved their work and they loved life. Their tragic deaths came on the way home from a trip to Berlin for a meal of "chelo kabab," the traditional Iranian rice-and-kebab dish.
Rosa's sister, Denise Ajiri, who spoke to them a few hours before the accident, said it sounded as if they were having the time of their lives.
"Rosa's life ended too soon," said her sister, "but she had a great life. She had lots of fun."
Rosa and Amir died before they could realize their plans and dreams. Rosa was preparing for a visit from her parents, and Amir was planning a trip with his best friend to a place they had never been before.
They're gone. But their memories will remain alive in the hearts of their families, friends, colleagues, and
Radio Farda listeners, who had come to count on and trust their reports and voices.
Radio Farda was quickly flooded with messages of condolences for friends and family of Rosa Ajiri and Amir Zamanifar, and with prayers for Mahin Gorji, who remains in a coma.
Mahin was one of Iran's best-known sports reporters before joining Radio Farda. There, she switched to politics and excelled at securing exclusive interviews with Iranian political figures that were quoted from by Iranian and international news websites.
Many of those who had become used to her reports have called Radio Farda to say they pray she will recover soon.
"I pray for Mahin Gorji's health, just like you," said a caller from Arak. "I hope she will be able to get up
from bed very soon and continue her political reporting."
Another Farda listener expressed a desire shared by many whose lives have been touched by Rosa,Amir, or Mahin.
"I wish this report would turn out to be untrue," the listener wrote. "But unfortunately there's nothing
we can do. Destiny cannot be denied."
Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty website
http://www.rferl.org/content/In_Memoriam_Radio_Farda_Loses_Respected_Colleagues_To_Auto_Mishap/1840260.html
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ANDICOM Congress is an ideal meeting point for the telecommunications sector representatives:
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Saturday 19 Sep 2009
The US-run Radio Free Afghanistan, locally known as Radio Azani, is to launch a new six-hour radio programme in Pashto later this year for listeners in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.
Radio Azadi, which is part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) already reaches a significant number of Dari and Pashto speakers with its nationwide programmes, with a reported weekly audience of 7.9 million adults.
At the launch, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said: "We need to go beyond traditional diplomacy. In the tribal areas along the border, radio is the primary means of receiving information, so I'm pleased that RFE is expanding its broadcasts into the Pashtun areas of Pakistan."
He said RFE/RL's mission of "surrogate broadcasting" was vital to helping solve the problem of "the world's greatest communications nation being out-communicated by people who stand for repressive activities".
RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin said Radio Azadi was the most popular radio station in Afghanistan.
"This new initiative to the volatile tribal areas is smart power at its best," he said.
"Our additional programming will feature a wide range of news, politics, and culture that will reach deep into the Pashtun heartland via radio, SMS text messaging, video, and the Internet."
Source: ABU Malaysia
http://www.abu.org.my/abu/index.cfm/elementid/55083/US-to-launch-new-Pashto-radio-programme
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