The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters of Latin America and the Caribbean, AMARC ALC, rejects the arbitrary closure of our Nicaraguan partner Radio Vos, a community radio station with 18 years of work alongside the communities of Matagalpa, in the north-center of Nicaragua.
On Tuesday, August 2, the station received a closure notification from the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Mail, Telcor, under the argument of alleged technical problems that in practice do not exist.
Radio Vos has been relevant for the promotion of Human Rights, especially of women, youth and children, but the closure not only affects the rights of those who work at the station, but also limits the right to communication of the people.
We also join the condemnations of the recent closures of religious radio stations belonging to the Diocese of Matagalpa and we stand in solidarity with their audiences, who will no longer have these spaces to inform themselves.
From AMARC ALC we urge the Nicaraguan authorities to reverse these administrative closures that violate Freedom of Expression, Freedom of the Press and the Right to Communication.
In our world organization we are fully convinced that a democracy can only be built on the basis of respect for the rights of citizens, among which the right to communication is fundamental.