Radio Timor Kmanek
Community radio played a major role in Timor-Leste’s efforts to gain independence from Indonesia in 2002, and it continues to play an important role in the development of this young nation.
The 25-year occupation, still vivid in the minds of most people, caused the death of over 100,000 people, or 10 percent of the tiny country’s population. In the hope of starting a healing and reconciliation process, the Catholic Church created Radio Timor Kmanek, a radio station in the capital, Dili. The radio station was launched in 1994 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Carlos Belo, a longtime collaborator of Development and Peace.
With continued financial support from Development and Peace, the station can broadcast various news and civic education programs led by diverse members of the Timorese community. Youth, women, men, and rural and urban communities are all working together to promote understanding and to build a strong culture of democracy and peace in the country.