2004年10月18日 21
11
hello michael
i think i can best answer your request in the following way:
1. the iota committee regrets its programme being drawn into
controversial issues regarding the political status of iota
qualifying islands. resolving issues of sovereignty is a matter
for the governments concerned, not for the iota committee,
amateur radio organisations or amateurs themselves.
2. unfortunately the iota committee cannot ignore 'disputed
sovereignty' islands as though they did not exist in the same
way that other award sponsors cannot ignore disputed territories on
continental mainland. they exist and people will go there
including amateurs wishing to operate. if the amateurs are
specifically licensed to operate from such an island and are not
prevented from doing so by eg military intervention, the iota
committee normally has to accept the position unless it has
extraordinarily good reasons for not doing so.
3. the iota committee has generally listed disputed sovereignty
islands in the iota directory under the country that is believed,
or known, to have 'de facto' control, ie the country that is
believed, or known, to physically control entry and landing on the
island. this is not a definitive reference. it is willing to amend
the listing in the directory if information is produced to show that
'de facto' control is exercised on a more or less permanent basis
by another government from the one listed in the directory.
4. in the very few cases of remote islands where no government
exercises physical control, the iota committee may well be guided in
its decision on whether to accept an operation by the sight of an
amateur radio licence from one of the claimant countries authorising
such operation. such cases are fortunately very few since most islands
have come under 'de facto' control of one or another country. we have
in the past advised against an operation if, from information available
to us, there could be physical danger in the operators proceeding.
5. now senkaku islands. these islands have been shown as counting for an
unnumbered japanese iota in successive issues of the iota directory for
more than 20 years. this was because, according to all available
information, the japanese government has exercised and continues to
exercise 'de facto' control on entry to the islands. i understand how
unacceptable this may be to you. of course, if the situation changes,
we will be happy to make an alteration in the directory. to amend it
without such a change would breach our policy which has worldwide
application. similar arguments could be applied to a lot of other
islands in the pacific rim area as well as in other areas of the world.
i could provide a list of 30 places without thinking very hard, hi!
each has ardent supporters on both sides of the argument.
6. the introduction of politics into amateur radio is undesirable and
against the spirit of the hobby. unfortunatley, so long as territorial
disputes exist, international award programmes such as iota and dxcc will
be seen to take positions that are uncomfortable to people somewhere. they
can only do what they think is the best in a difficult situation. let's
hope that in this case the two governments can resolve the matter in the
near future. in the meantime we have to follow the general guidelines
mentioned above which apply to all such cases.
73 roger
roger balister, g3kma
rsgb iota manager
e-mail:
g3kma@dsl.pipex.comwww:
http://www.g3kma.dsl.pipex.com***** visit the website for the latest iota information *****
