The Voice of America, which the government of Donald Trump He began to break up in mid -March, will be able to reopen next week, the justice ministry and journalists said.
“Lawyers of US Journalists Without Borders (RSF) and the Coalition of America (VOA) learned this Saturday, May 3, by email from the Ministry of Justice that the teams in this iconic American broadcaster Donald Trump abolish.
In this message to the RSF lawyers, the ministry noted that “earlier today, the accounts of 1,406 USAGM employees and contractors (USA Service for World Media) and Voice of America were reactivated. All employees should now have access to the system. ” “USAGM is awaiting the return of the Voice of America program next week.”
Two Voice of America employees told the French Agency that their e -mail accounts, which had been blocked for weeks, were re -opened, although they had not yet received a formal notice that they could return to work.
In mid -March, the Trump government has launched a holiday on Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other organizations funded by US resources, unexpectedly freezing the activities that are considered democratic counterbalances in countries such as Russia and China.
However, the US judicial system opposed these measures: At the end of March, a federal judge based in New York was the first to suspend the decision to close the activities of these public media, followed by a federal judge in Washington.
“We welcome this progress, but the Trump government’s alienation requires attention: It is now necessary to provide guarantees on the viability of funding made by the US Congress in all USAGM media,” said Timo Broute. “The right to reliable information to tens of millions of listeners cannot depend on arbitrary political initiatives.”
Voice of America, created during World War II, the Radio Free Europe, formed during the Cold War and the Radio Free Asia, created in 1996, aim to convey “the voice of America” around the world and especially in countries with authoritarian regime.
In mid -March, Trump signed an executive decree that characterized the USAGM government agency, which employed 3,384 employees in 2023 as a “useless element of federal bureaucracy”.