Washington, DC, December 30, 2008 - The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) deplores today's decision by the Azeri National TV-Radio Council to ban all international broadcasters, including RFE/RL, VOA, and BBC, from the domestic airwaves effective January 1. 

"The people of Azerbaijan are the real losers," said D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversees VOA and RFE/RL. "The decision appears to be part of a concerted official effort to limit access to unbiased information. We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to reverse this decision and to continue to work to resolve this situation, as they had indicated they would. Meanwhile, we will pursue all available alternatives for broadcasting the popular programs of RFE/RL and VOA to Azerbaijan."

The U.S. State Department says the decision will represent a "serious setback to freedom of speech and retard democratic reform in Azerbaijan."

About U.S. international broadcasts:

VOA's Azerbaijani Service had broadcast two 5-minute newscasts and a 30-minute program daily on 101.7 FM in Baku.  The Service also produces television programs, including a weekday, 7-minute Newsflash segment featuring the day's top news stories and a weekly 15-minute American Review program, which aired on Azeri TeleVision (AzTV).

For fifty years, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, Radio Azadliq has served as a dependable source of professional, independent, and up-to-the minute information and news. RFE/RL had broadcast 10 hours each day on 101.7 FM in Baku.

RFE/RL and VOA broadcasts are available on shortwave, on satellite and online at www.azadliq.org  and www.voanews.com/azerbaijani.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, non-military international broadcasting, whose mission is to promote freedom and democracy and to enhance understanding through multi-media communication of accurate, objective, and balanced news, information, and other programming about America and the world to audiences overseas. BBG broadcasting organizations include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Martí).  BBG broadcasts reach over 175 million people worldwide on a weekly basis.