Taranga FM to Be Back on Air

www.dailynews.gm A temporarily banned community radio station, Taranga FM will soon hit the air wave, Mr Ismaila Sisay, the manager of the radio assured.
Mr Sisay said negotiations with the state authorities to permit the radio to re-open are at an stage advanced and will be completed soon.
Despite looking upbeat about this positive development, Mr Sisay could not however ascertain whether his radio will continue reviewing local independent newspapers, a programme that endeared the radio to the public.
Taranga FM was closed-down on January 13, 2011, following an alleged order by the National Intelligence Agency.
Its closure is widely attributed to the daily review of independent local newspapers in local languages. This programme is more especially beneficial to the country’s majority poor, illiterate and hard-to-reach communities who cannot buy, read or access information except that of the state-owned TV and radio.
Taranga FM’s closure attracted growing condemnation both at local and international fronts. It was seen as another move by Gambian authorities to suppress the expression of divergent views as about four other independent media outlets have been shut-down within the last six years by the state authorities.
“Hopefully, the radio station will come back on air soon,” Mr Sisay told The Daily News during an interview at his residence in Sinchu Alagie.
 He however declined to say when, exactly. “They (the authorities) told me the time it will come back on air and when that time comes, whether it is re-opened or not I will let you know,” he said. ‘’Be rest assured that the radio station is going to re-open, but I don’t know whether I will be allowed to review private news papers anymore.”