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Radio PMR expands int'l broadcast schedule
Propaganda-station "Radio PMR" has expanded its international broadcast schedule. It now broadcasts in six languages for sixteen hours a day. The signal is reached in Africa, Australia, Asia, USA and South America. 
The humble headquarters of Radio PMR, "the voice of the rebel republic" that broadcasts worldwideGRIGORIOPOL (Tiraspol Times) - A shortwave and mediumwave radio station which broadcasts worldwide from the unrecognized republic of Pridnestrovie has expanded its international schedule to sixteen hours a day. The move comes as the country prepares to celebrate its 17th anniversary of independence, which was declared on 2 September 1990.
Pridnestrovie, which is also known under names such as Transnistria and Transdniester, is a 'de facto' independent country which meets the requirements for statehood under international law.
Its state-owned international radio station, Radio PMR, uses radio infrastructure which was inherited from a propaganda radio which was established by the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. Crude in the extreme, the broadcasts at the time were unable to convince foreign listeners of the benefits of living in the "Workers' Paradise" and the Soviet Union ultimately lost its struggle with the West for the hearts and minds of listeners. Its American funded counterpart, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, is still operating.
- Information blockade
Today, Pridnestrovie is seeking its place in the world as a country on equal terms with other states that were created out of the rubble of the dissolved Soviet Union.
As an unrecognized state, it faces an information blockade and is a victim of biased information from Moldova, which seeks to crush the quest of Pridnestrovie's inhabitants for independence and self-determination. By stepping up the information about Pridnestrovie which is broadcast by Radio PMR, locals hope to break through the information blockade and get their own point of view become known to the rest of the world.
The information initiative have been redoubled on several fronts. On FM, throughout the length of the national territory of Pridnestrovie, the amount of broadcasting has been doubled. Radio PMR transmits locally in the republic's three official languages, Moldovan, Ukrainian and Russian. Programs like "Info Breakthrough" and "Youth Radio Club" are interactive, with listener participation through the phone and via the Internet.
On the international front, Radio PMR has also stepped up its information offensive. Today, a total of seven and a half hours of programs are being broadcast internationally; primarily reaching Russia, Western Europe and the United States.
Antonina Voronkova, the head of Radio PMR which broadcasts worldwide on the shortwave band.
For international listeners, Radio PMR broadcasts in English, German and French. According to Antonina Voronkova, the head of Radio PMR, the station receives frequent feedback from listeners in Europe, Australia and even Japan. A plan for information exchanges is underway with foreign radio stations.
- 16 hours on MW
Effective immediately, Radio PMR (the Trans-Dniestrian Radio from Tiraspol) has expanded its broadcasting time from 1 to 16 hours on the mediumwave frequency of 549 kHz. The transmitter of 150 kW is located in Grigoriopol, and the broadcasting schedule consists of local programmes mainly in the Russian language, a few short programmes during the day in the Romanian and Ukrainian languages, and also consists of the relaying of the Russian radio station “Mayak”. Transmissions are on the air from 05:00 to 21:00.
Now, when the Ukrainian network of transmitters of “Radio Promin” does not work on the frequency of 549 kHz, Radio PMR is heard in Kyiv even at daytime.
Website Pridnestrovie.net has this to say about Radio PMR: Depending on your point of view, official state-run "Radio PMR" is either a blast from the past which reminds you of Cold War propaganda ... or else it is a way for emigrants and their descendants to stay in touch with news from back home. Whatever your preferred label, tune in with an open mind and decide for yourself.
Radio PMR from Tiraspol is transmitted on shortwave to listeners in Europe and North America, with daily news and updates in a variety of languages including English. They broadcast live every day at 4 pm GMT on frequency 6,235 kHz shortwave, 49 meter band. The station transmits daily news and information about Pridnestrovie from a powerful transmitter located within the national borders of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica.
The English-language segment lasts 20 minutes and starts at 1700 UTC on 6,235 kHz in North America at this time.
Leader of the opposition party Renewal, Yevgeny Shevchuk, has previously complained of a lack of access to the airwaves from state-owned media such as TV PMR and Radio PMR. Renewal is the largest opposition party in Pridnestrovie and is currently in control of the majority of seats in parliamnet.
See also:
» Opposition demands equal time in state-owned media in Pridnestrovie
On the web:
» TV and Radio: freedom of speech?
A conference held at the European Parliament in Brussels concluded that unrecognized states like Pridnestrovie need a way to be heard by the world. "It is necessary to create and sustain permanent mechanisms of involvement and consultation of unrecognized state entities in the international community". This will benefit everyone, says the event's official statement. . . 
