Last Monday afternoon the Dutch Telecom authorities, Agentschap Telecom (AT), attempted to take Free Radio Patapoe (97.2 FM, Amsterdam) off the air. Unable to locate the studio or transmitter they left again, saying they would be back in force to search the building which they believe hosts the radio from top to bottom. Free Radio Patapoe is a non-commercial radio station, run by volunteers and serving free broadcasts to the Amsterdam community 24/7 for the past 17 years.

On Monday February 9th three gentlemen (a local neighborhood policeman accompanied by a colleague and a representative of the AT) showed up saying they had reason to believe there was an illegal radio station in the building. The place being fairly large and the person they spoke to not knowing what they were looking for they left again after searching several rooms, and promising they would be back with a warrant to search each and every room on the premises and possibly arresting those present. After the disappearance off the ether of our sister stations Radio 100 and Radio de Vrije Keyser (one now a web caster, the other temporarily off air) it now seems they want to pull the plug on Radio Patapoe (97.2 FM) as well. Over the past year hundreds of pirate stations and ether enthusiasts have already been taken out throughout the Netherlands in the name of the auctioning off and the redistribution of the existing airwaves. The public is left with a situation where if no one takes any action only dreary commercial broadcasting will remain.

Radio Patapoe has been around since 1987 and has been threatened many times before in its existence. Having been forced out of such illustrious squats as the Graansilo (now a yuppie bastion) and the Kalenderpanden (ditto) in the past, the end now seems at hand once more. For 17 years Radio Patapoe has been the goofiest, most chaotic, most dangerous, dearest and cuddliest radio station in Amsterdam and surroundings. Without any subsidies, advertising or any budget whatsoever its volunteers provide you with broadcasts 24/7.

The Agentschap Telecom and their representative mr. Amena have been trying to rid the Dutch ether of radio amateurs and pirate stations for years now. In March last year this culminated in their "Action Ether Raid (Etherflits)": "If before our emphasis was on preventing interference caused by the illegal use of frequencies, this action focuses on the prevention of illegal broadcasting as such." [Etherflits press release 15/04/02] Besides ideological issues, the desired redistribution of broadcasting licenses is now a major factor. The existing policy has been to auction off broadcasting licenses and thus make room for new legal and commercial broadcasters. To this end it is claimed the airwaves should be "clean." But the reasons are far from clear. Professional, commercial broadcasters are much more powerful than radio pirates and suffer little or no interference by them. Most pirates will readily and voluntarily move to a free frequency at the least sign of possible interference. But then of course the mere idea that people might use the airwaves for free is an abomination in itself. "Free" becomes practically synonymous with criminal.

Radio makers who cannot or will not work for commercial broadcasters and who feel ill at ease with the often stricter regimes at local non-profit stations (such as Amsterdam's SALTO) are being left in the cold, at the loss of a wide variety of different forms of music, information and experimental radio formats. The public has to pay the cost, being left with unexciting and commercially dictated radio formats, while potential new radio makers are left without a platform. Our only crime is that we use the airwaves. But the ether is not a cable network, it is not someone's real estate: the ether is just so much air. FM broadcasting is incredibly easy and anyone can tune in using a simple transistor radio.

Recently our minister of Economic Affairs, mr. Brinkhorst, has been ordered in parliament to investigate possible ways of allowing pirate radio its own space on air, prompted by the many complaints and protests by both listeners and radio amateurs at the loss of their stations. The fact that pending this investigation the Agentschap Telecom keeps on raiding radio pirates as if nothing happened is an outrage and a total waste. But Radio Patapoe will not give up just like that; not now, not then, not ever.

We very much welcome your international letters of support at patapoe@freeteam.nl , your spreading the word through your own channels, and your putting pressure of the playful variety on your local Dutch political representatives.