The Alternative Voice online Radio for Gambians (AVG)
Radio Alternative Voice for Gambians (AVG) is a new creation by Gambians and NGOs interested in Human Rights as a whole and freedom of expression in particular. Its main objective is to provide the Gambian people an alternative means of accessing information that is impartial and independent. Access to such information will enable citizens to make informed choices regarding the political, economic, social and cultural development of their country.
Specifically the objectives of the Radio AVG project are to:
• Establish an online radio station that has its programmes relayed by local radio stations in Senegal whose signals reach the Gambia; • Report on the human rights situation in the Gambia; • Ensure that people have the necessary information to make informed choices on issues affecting their lives and the governance situation in the Gambia and in the sub-region as a whole; • Promote dialogue and respect for the right to information and the free exchange of knowledge in the Gambia; • Reinforce and compliment civil society activities in areas of information dissemination and sharing.
The media situation in the Gambia continues to deteriorate. Some independent radio stations and newspapers have been arbitrarily closed down. Presently, there is no private radio station that broadcast its own news, while some newspapers have adopted self-censorship due to fear of reprisal from the government. This has created a situation where the citizenry lack an alternative access to the news, as their only choice is what is fed to them by the state media.
As a result of threats, arrests and detention of journalists and the arbitrary closure of their media houses, most Gambian journalists have either quit, left the country or are engaged in self-censorship. Indeed, with the arbitrary closure of both Citizen FM and Sud FM radio stations, apparently for carrying critical news about the government, all remaining private radio stations have virtually steered away from politics or anything that would put them on a collision course with the government.
