Mastodawn

LAB-66 | Science & Tech

🚨 MAYDAY from Belarus 🚨

I am EU1AEY, and this is an SOS to the global amateur radio community. My heart is breaking. Today, in Belarus, a harmless technical hobby is being treated as high treason.

Help me amplify this signal before our keys are silenced forever. Show this to a journalist, relay it to your national radio associations, and don’t let this intellectual genocide happen in total silence.

https://medium.com/@steanlab/mayday-389f5713fee4

#hamradio #AmateurRadio #radio #DXing #hamr #swl #pota #sota

@lab66 Anyone who sees this in my feed, PLEASE read the attached article.

https://medium.com/@steanlab/mayday-389f5713fee4

HUGEBIRD9000 Jan 19

@lab66 Thats pretty scary.

Future Sprog Jan 20

Belarus imprisoning amateur radio operators is the dumbest thing.

The only secrets we tell anyone are, “I am getting too much noise on my new antenna” or “I need to buy a new radio for that” or “say again your last”.

International messages send secret codes such as “5&9 with only 5 watts!” (which means the signal was free of noise).

Completely mad.

73

Coming soon to the trump reich

Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him Jan 20

@darc : Do you have persecution of Belarus #hamRadio operators 🧵 on your radar? Any idea how to find out whether this is true or a hoax? If this is real, how can we help? Will an outcry in liberal Western (= "enemy") media like Fediverse be perceived helpful or make matters worse? Maybe we should ask amnesty international, they have experience with such matters? Or maybe the Russian IARU member society can help?

LAB-66 | Science & Tech Jan 20

Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality of the second quarter of the 21st century. The "ham radio operators case" has been covered by tons of independent Belarusian media outlets, and there's even a Reddit thread about it

WB2EEE - Matthew Jan 20

@dj3ei @darc @lab66 Many African nations are extremely suspicious of people with radios. The opposition forces would use Baofengs to communicate, and use radio chatter of hams to disguise their military traffic. When caught, they would claim innocence and display fake ham licenses.
It's not the hams, its the paramilitary forces pretending they are hams, and the stupid authoritarians can't tell the difference. In the Vietnam war the CIA used press credentials so the north executed all press.

WB2EEE - Matthew Jan 20

@dj3ei @darc @lab66 a Ukrainian soldier using a Baofeng ham radio walkie talkie.
Also notice he is not in uniform.

Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him Jan 20

One might think that EW1AEH and EW1ABT are official call signs issued by Belarus authorities to the people now accused. Does anybody know whether that is true or not, and would be willing to share that knowledge?

Is there any official rule that Belarus hams may not transmit right now? (Some do.)

@WB2EEE @darc @lab66
@DL7TNY

@dj3ei @WB2EEE @darc @lab66 @DL7TNY I see stations from Belarus active on RBN. https://bfrr.net/ is active - how does this fit together?

БФРР | Общественное объединение "Белорусская федерация радиолюбителей и радиоспортсменов"

WB2EEE - Matthew Jan 20

@df9hc @dj3ei @darc @lab66 @DL7TNY "Behind the absurdity of charging Baofeng users with ‘High Treason‘ lies a terrifying intellectual genocide and an urgent call for international solidarity"

Seems like they are only going after Baofeng users? The Belarus state apparently cannot tell the difference between legitimate ham radio users and Ukranian sappers/soldiers because they use the same radio equipment.

Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him Jan 21

Could still be just a propaganda lie.

Why would they persecute hams for contacts and not simply disallow the ham radio hobby that makes such contacts possible in the first place?

I grant that politicians are often not very clear-thinking. But this is so absurd...

@df9hc @WB2EEE @darc @lab66

DARC e. V. | PR und ÖA Jan 21

We have forwarded this information internally to the DARC International Affairs Committee. There is a direct exchange with the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union).

Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him Jan 21

Thanks! Keep us informed once you at least have a evidence-based opinion whether this is mere propaganda or real.

@lab66 Q: You got out/hidden?

If not, NOW WOULD BE A VERY GOOD TIME TO DO SO!

Jacqueline Jan 20

@lab66 I'm a baofeng user.

Am I next?

David Culley Jan 24

@lab66 Is this something for you, @markusreuter?

Karel 'Clock' K.Feb 5

@lab66 I feel

e x t r e m e l y s t r o n g c o n t e m p t

towards the Belarussian regime when I am seeing this.