Swiss-backed radio aims to build Congolese peace

In conflict situations, survival often depends on getting independent, reliable information Keystone

A Swiss non-governmental organisation is helping to build peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo by setting up a UN radio station there.

The Hirondelle Foundation helps to establish independent media in countries emerging from conflict. In the past, it has set up similar radio stations for the United Nations in Rwanda, East Timor, Liberia and Kosovo.

Radio Okapi will be the largest and most sophisticated radio project to be created as part of the UN peacekeeping mission. Although based in the capital, Kinshasa, it will have transmitters and studios throughout this vast country, formerly called Zaire.

The project will cost some SFr 2.75 million, the bulk of which will be met by the Swiss and British governments.

Nation building

“This is a crucial part of the peace process – part of the rebuilding of a nation,” says Jean-Marie Etter, president of the Lausanne-based Hirondelle Foundation.

“People really need accurate, impartial information. It’s a way of restoring their dignity, by showing that they’re still respected,” he told swissinfo.

In conflict situations, survival often depends as much on getting independent, reliable information as it does on getting food, water and medicine. In large, impoverished countries where there is a high rate of illiteracy, radio is the most effective means of disseminating that information.

“In conflict situations, the population is at the mercy of rumour and hostile propaganda and doesn’t know what to believe. If we can give accurate, truthful information, it is a net benefit for the peace process,” says David Wimhurst of the UN’s peacekeeping operations department.

Symbol of peace

The station is named after the okapi, a rare African forest animal, related to the giraffe. Significantly it has the same name in all of Congo’s languages. Like the swallow (hirondelle in French), the okapi is considered to be a symbol of peace.

Radio Okapi will begin broadcasting at the beginning of next month, just before the scheduled start of an Inter-Congolese Dialogue, involving the parties to the conflict.

The station, which will have around 100 – mostly Congolese – staff, will broadcast news about the conference, as well as informing people about human rights, health programmes and the activities of the UN Observer Mission in Congo (MONUC).

Radio Blue Sky

A similar Hirondelle Foundation project in Kosovo, Radio Blue Sky, is credited with making an important contribution to sparking democratic debate in the Serbian province.

Initially, Radio Okapi will broadcast in five main languages: French, Swahili, Lingala, Chiluba and English. But the intention is to also broadcast in other local dialects to ensure that the whole population is reached.

Around 70 per cent of the Congolese population live outside urban areas, and many of them are unaware what MONUC is. As well as national broadcasts, there will also be a significant amount of regional programming.

“In Africa, everyone listens to the radio. The Congolese love good music, and we’re incorporating that to make our station appealing to the Congolese ear,” Wimhurst says. “It’s not a propaganda station. We will be putting out extremely useful information, but in an attractive way.”

The conflict in the DRC has its roots in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the subsequent fall of the Zairean dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. Since war erupted in 1998, at least 1.5 million people have died. Some two million people are refugees or internally displaced, while three million rely on international food aid.

The war in the mineral-rich country has dragged in a host of African states, including Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola.

Ideally, there will come a day when Radio Okapi is no longer necessary, but the hope is that it will leave an important journalistic legacy.

“How long it broadcasts depends on the United Nations mission. But the technical and human elements of the radio should be able to serve the Congolese people afterwards,” Etter says.

by Roy Probert