Kaouenn FM: The CSA's verdict The CSA made its decision regarding the attribution of new FM frequencies, and the result is rather disappointing; For the Tregor Goelo, no new frequency will be allocated to any breton speaking radio. The Kaouenn FM application was strong though, with support from elected representatives, associations and member we all thanks, as well as consistent budget, technical infrastructure or program grid. The dark period of our history where children were punished at school when speaking Breton is not so far away. It seems closer today, while the CSA and the CTR (the regional CSA representative in Rennes, which pre-instructs the applications) inform the Tregor Goelo inhabitants that they are forbidden to speak Breton on the waves, and above all that the most breton speaking part of Brittany is forbidden to hear Breton, if the crumbs from France Bleu Breiz Izel, decreasing year by year, are excepted. In Lannion where Kaouenn FM applied, very few frequencies had been freed by the CSA to be proposed to applicants. The CSA explains that there's no room on the FM band, but you can listen to France Inter, France Culture et France Musique on 2, even 3 frequencies. Who did not experienced the unpleasant feeling to always catch the same stations when running an automatic search in his car? These figures are self-explaining: With 14h of Breton programs over 168h per week, the breton language share in 8,3% on France Bleu. The total share of the breton language for every FM station in the Lannion area (2856 hours) is 0,5%. Would the Kaouenn FM project had been accepted, the total share of breton language would have growed to 5,7 %, for 42 % of the population understanding Breton. Instead, the percentage will go down to 0,4 %. How many time will the Bretons still suffer from their language to be treated with contemps? What's a democracy where a few people are allowed to prevent access to the breton language to a population wishing at 90 % to live with it? Once again, the State of Right is at variable geometry. What's good for Corsican people isn't for Bretons, for who the parisian program of Patrick Sabatier is imposed on a local schedule on France Bleu Breizh Izel. Corsican people managed to keep their programs because they where able to strongly refuse. The solution is known: the Region has to impose the reservation of a frequency for every non-covered area, to give everybody the choice, whatever the time is, to hear either Breton or French. Kaouenn FM asks the elected represenatives to publicly express themselve on the CSA decision. We ask people, individual as well as associations, to keep supporting Kaouenn FM which will soon gather for general assembly to prepare the future. Everything will be done to give the local population a mean to access programs in breton language. An neb a venn hennezh a c'hell. Kaouenn FM 28-10-2006
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