Radio Maetze

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Radio Maüben was a clandestine radio on 3805 kHz (later 5270 kHz). the East Timorese resistance organization FRETILIN , which reported from September 1975 to December 1978 about their fight against the Indonesian invaders.

Surname

" Maetze " is an old name for the East Timorese population, which is divided into several different ethnic groups.

history

The East Timorese had received the station in 1975 from members of the Communist Party of Australia . First of all, FRETILIN used it to spread its political goals in the country. After the coup of the UDT on 11 August 1975, sent by the FRETILIN headquarters in Taibesi later from the tower of the old airport Dilis (on the site is now the Presidential Palace, East Timor ) until on December 7, 1975 Indonesian troops landed in Dili.

After the occupation by Indonesia, Alarico Fernandes , the East Timorese information and security minister of the state, which was just nine days old at the start of the invasion, regularly read reports on the defensive battle against the occupiers on Radio Marine, although the truthfulness was not necessarily very high and FRETILIN was constantly successful were reported. There were also many coded messages for the fight against the Indonesians. It was broadcast in English , Portuguese and Tetum . It also kept in contact with East Timorese and Australian activists in Darwin , such as Brian Manning , Chris Elenor, Robert Wesley-Smith and others. From here, Radio Ma Brille broadcasts to all of Australia. The activists also recorded programs on cassette , so over 50 hours of broadcast material are documented. The reception of Radio Ma 2500 was allowed in Australia, but retransmission without a license was a criminal offense and was followed by the Australian police.

One problem was the power supply to the transmitter. They were solved with a dynamo and batteries. You had to pedal to charge.

Fernandes surrendered to the Indonesians in September 1978. The radio station was tracked down by the invaders on December 12 and the broadcasts stopped. There are allegations that Fernandes defected to the Indonesians and sent encrypted messages over the radio to the invaders before his capture in order to reveal positions of the resistance.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jerome S. Berg: Broadcasting on the short waves, 1945 to today
  2. ↑ a b National Film & Sound Archive Australia: Radio Mauchte ( Memento from April 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ a b ABC Canberra, February 17, 2011 Treasure Trove: Radio for the people of East Timor
  4. ↑ a b Jornal do Luxemburgo: 40 anos / Timor-Leste: A rádio que deu as primeiras informações da invasão indonésia , November 22, 2015 , accessed on November 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ a b "Part 3: The History of the Conflict" (PDF; 1.4 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
  6. ↑ Angelo Novo's Page: The struggle of the east-timorese