CQ to Limit Contest Participation by Stations in Russia, Belarus and Donbass Region Due to Russian Invasion of Ukraine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 17, 2022
Contact: Rich Moseson, W2VU, Editor
w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com
STATEMENT OF CQ COMMUNICATIONS, INC., REGARDING CQ CONTESTS AND THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE
(Northport, NY 17 March, 2022) – CQ Communications, Inc., publishers of CQ Amateur Radio magazine and sponsor of the CQ World Wide DX and WPX Contests, announced today that in light of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and Belarus, it will not accept competitive entries in any of its sponsored contests by amateur radio stations in Russia, Belarus or the separatist Donbas region of Ukraine (unofficial D1 prefix). Logs submitted by these stations will be accepted only as check logs. In addition, contacts with these stations by other participants will have zero point value and will not count as multipliers.
This is in line with a similar action taken by the Radio Society of Great Britain, following the lead of other international sports federations around the world.
“We regret the need to take this action,” said CQ Publisher Richard Ross, K2MGA, “and recognize that the vast majority of our fellow amateurs who are affected by it are innocent bystanders who had no role in their government’s decision to invade another sovereign country. However, in light of the great suffering being inflicted without cause on the people of Ukraine by Russia’s leaders, we cannot in good conscience stand by and do nothing.”
The CQ policy will take effect with the 2021 CQ WPX SSB Contest on March 26 and 27. Future events will be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the situation at that time.
Peaceful corridors: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/8/ukraine-accuses-russia-shelling-mariupol-evacuation-corridor
Keep quiet?!
Sure, you’ve just managed to get this post locked. Well done.
Dear DX World !
>Are you basically saying allowing 300,000 people in the city of Mariupol to starve to death should not be condemned. Really?
Have you ever heard about peaceful corridors and human shields? And where the neo-Nazis are hiding and where they are installing their guns in residential neighborhoods and residential areas sleeping quaters and schools and hospitals and who they are hiding behind. And what are they doing with the civilian population who have expressed a desire to use these very peaceful corridors that were agreed with them at the last negotiations? So if I were you, I’d better keep quiet.
Folks! I have oly conclusion from hystery and mandess, the real shit flooded russian peolple out of ‘world of democracy and justice’/
Why? The cjnclusion is – all of You and everyone of You are rasists. Three weeks ago it was forbidden to express your rasism.
It was said “every russian are guilty” and You believed a priori. You got a command and began to bark all as one and same words.
Looks like USA at XIX century. Why only XiX? Till now. It’s scay to hate africans, like You usually do, but Russia is far away and we can bark without consequences/
Have just one of You read ‘1984’? I had. It’s became clearly that G. Orwell discribed your society, your mind, your behavior…
It’s scary horror. To play the ‘1984” scenario.
People why are You so mean, so mad?
DX-World editor, I find it very nice of you to allow discussion to go on this topic. Thank you.
However, I believe that the moderation needs to be strengthened to keep the discussion ON TOPIC, i.e. anything that is off the topic needs to be deleted.
In this particular thread we’re discussing the decision by the CQ Magazine and its impact on ham radio. While the situation on Ukraine is tragic, I believe it should to be kept off these pages. This place is about the radio and should stay that way. If you want to discuss war, there is the whole internet for it, Facebook and Twitter and other similar looney houses to do so.
If we allow discussion to be sidetracked into “you did this, and we didn’t do this, it’s all about you and see this or that about the war” we’re pretty quickly end up … nowhere. One doesn’t want to go down that rabbit hole.
I’m not telling you what to do, it’s merely a suggestion.
Peace to all people of Ukraine and the world as a whole!
Folks, patience is running thin on numerous levels.
1/ Some of the crap written is just that – crap. Think before you type, or don’t type at all.
2/ Sick and tired of people NOT LEAVING A CALLSIGN with their name. It’s not difficult and out of common decency please do it. If you are not going to provide a callsign because you are “hiding” behind some crazy email address, IP or just being difficult, then DO NOT BOTHER leaving a comment
3/ Comments on this post (and the others) are still running, but we’re watching very carefully on what is written. Some already have been binned.
DX-World.
To Dima, UA3AGW
Stop telling us your fairy tales about “8 years genocide in Donbass” . United Nations tried 11 times to send peacekeepers to Donbass to separate this region from provocations of your own solders. Do you know who blocked all these 11 attempts? RUSSIA. Because you don’t need peace in Donbass, you don’t need peace in Ukraine, you need a war. So shut up and go to participate in your “TULA SAMOVAR” cup, you do not deserve better.
Dima, UA3AGW
Are you basically saying allowing 300,000 people in the city of Mariupol to starve to death should not be condemned. Really?
Vladimir (UA9KAA), Vladimir (UW7UA) did not talk about “photos”, but about using one’s own eyes to witness the situation. So, if you are really curious about what is going on there, feel free to travel. This was his message. If you don’t believe, travel. He doesn’t have to send you photos.
As for me, I completely agree with the rest of the subscribers who expressed their negative attitude to the decisions of CQ and RSGB to ban the participation of RA/EW Ham in their contests. In the meantime, you can see other examples of hamradio’s Goodwill. We have worked everybody who called us in the RusDX contest this passed weekend. Futhermore – current Russian Arctic IOTA DXpedition activating a very rare and very much needed AS-104 island group works with everyone who calls them without any restrictions for radio amateurs in the USA or the UK and for any radio amateurs in the world despite the economic sanctions adopted by the governments of their states against Russia. I think this fact speaks for itself.
Nevertheless, most of the comments that I have read here in Ham Radio’s “free of politics” defense – indirectly or directly condemn the operation conducted by Russia, calling it a war, and Putin – a dictator, aggressor and criminal. I will allow myself to disagree with this without any detailed comments. Everyone can read the chronology of the events preceding February 24 in the Internet. Maybe someone will finally understand who is fighting with whom and for what, and who turned the country of our brothers in Ukraine into a bargaining chip to achieve their political ambitions and domination around the world. And who was forced to agree with the Master, being in the same military block – i.e under pressure thus having no other choices. And to present the horrors of war only from the positions of one of the parties to the conflict. And to turn a blind eye to the war that has been waged all these 8 years in the Donbass with the genocide of the Russian-speaking population and outright neo-Nazism and fascism. And do not think that we are all brainwashed by propaganda here and do not have access to so-called sources of free, independent and democratic information. The best comment is the statement of ex-President Trump dated Feb 23, 2022, which I fully trust, unlike the fakes that your free press is full of.
https://youtu.be/AkQvnFjS4bU
https://youtu.be/loG0bZjj_d8
And this one is also worth of watching and you will learn from Oliver Stone on how the US misunderstands Putin
https://youtu.be/eiuplgzbCC4
Or John Mearsheimer’s analysis of the political situation before the start of the Russian mission in Ukraine
https://youtu.be/2_WrqOMbpLU
https://youtu.be/ppD_bhWODDc
https://youtu.be/_TB32nIEccw
From most of the media you are watching or listeninig or reading in the West
you wouldl learn only what is beneficial to the Ukrainian side and its overseas leaders, while any truth about what is happening in the Donbass and Ukrain in general is carefully hidden from you. I would recommend you to watch MPN Livestream: The Ukraine Crisis with Dan Cohen and Scott Ritter.
https://youtu.be/_SqdSVmJQLA
or another one as below
https://youtu.be/wNtxriq0O0A
Maybe at least this videos will take you out of the state of mass hypnosis.
Best 73’s ! Dima, UA3AGW
Jiri, I asked a specific question to UW7UA. The question was not for you.
There is no ham spirit in hamradio
To Vladimir ua9kaa:
Are you serious? If so, it’s proof of how Putin’s propaganda and firewall works. Shit the whole world, all the news sites in the free world, all the TV and newspapers are full of pictures of the shot up Ukrainian cities. Over two million people, mostly women and children, have already fled the war to neighboring countries.
Do you want to see Russian soldiers shooting civilians protesting against the occupation in Kherson today? Do you have the balls to see that? We can also send you pictures of dead Russian soldiers who were lied to by Putin that they were just going on a training exercise. Thousands of them. Just tell me where you can get it through the filters of your Internet parody (and you won’t be in danger of being arrested for it in Russia). Feel free to email me at ok2wy@ok2wy.com
UW7UA wrote:
“And you will see the ruined Kyiv! You will see dead women, children and old people!”
Hi Vladimir.
Could you send me a photo of the destroyed Kyiv with dead children and women?
Dear radio amateurs, you write here that HAM radio is out of politics. You’re lying. The Russians have made long time ago their radio a political toy. Starting from the “Crimean Spring” and other events. Right now they have on air special callsigns with the new Nazi abbreviation /z. You can visit their amateur radio forums – they are happy that they started a new war and are killing civilians in another country. A nationalistic spirit hovers in their country, and only completely naive foreigners believe that the Russians do not want the war. They support Putin in all his deeds, and it’s too bad that the world has just only now finally woken up. They need to be isolated from civilization, let them sit like in P5.
I 100% agree with Norbert. Nothing to add.
There is necessary to think about who is real victim at first. Otherwise it’s throwing of Ukarinian HAMs overboard.
Sorry guys, but if you agree or not, wars of such dimensions was always since far history about collective guilt and always will be.
Nobody asked Moldovans, Romanians, Hungarians, Slovaks, Polishs, Czechs etc., if they want to pay enormous costs regarding the largest refugees crisis since WWII. All we are paying it. No exception.
When I refueled my car last week, cashier didn’t ask me, if I feel responsible for the Ukrainian invasion or not. I paid 1,70 € instead of 1,35 € like 1 month before. All we are paying it. No exception.
So what is this, if not collective impact? Could this collective impact generate strictly personal responsibility?
We are HAMs and if we are able to say to Russian HAMs: “UA OMs, UR OMs are silent not because they are lazy to switch on their radios…”, we have to do it. In the name of HAMspirit.
The point isn’t enjoy this contest is keep out the political from the hamradio because some of us know well the political is the source of many bad things like hate, terror, discrimination etc. We don’t need exclude people we need stay together keeping clean our ham radio spirit full of friendship and helping people always. I am a contester but no one can say me don’t speak with Russian or other people in the world. Sorry for my bad English Vy 73 Noe
“Bring together the hams worldwide.” Well said. I would like to add: Bring the Ukrainian hams back again on the bands by helping cease this war, if you can, and then have fun again, together with the Ukrainian hams, if they have survived. I cannot understand in light of the biggest tragedy in Europe after WW II that people can enjoy such a contest from which Ukrainian hams are so forcibly excluded. When Amateur Radio is a means of international friendship, then it requires global solidarity. I would not demand from any individual ham a critical statement against the main aggressor, but simply a sign of even silent solidarity. It would be an act of humbleness towards the dreadful reality. And a sign of real ham spirit.
Vladimir no one ham radio can fix this political problem we can help people victim of this disaster but is not a good idea fight against other ham’s so this idea of the CQ magazine is very stupid the ham radios don’t can change nothing we are here only to spread friendship we are not a special force to be used to change the Russian or Ukrainian government’s or to be used by USA like intervention force so hope who had this brilliant idea say “sorry was a mistake” and never more try to use the political in the ham radio ambient. While I am decided not work this contest or any other independent of the country if use the same discrimination against any people of the world. Vy 73
This decision regretfully shows how an amateur radio top event fails to honour its own purpose; bring together the hams worldwide. Discriminating entrants is not part of radio sport.
I see no interest to participate to such events and invite others to not do so. Instead, those of us sensitive to the situation in Ukraine, our fellow hams hardship and some already having lost their life, let’s spent the CQWPX2022 time not in front of the radio but committing to some humanitarian support to them.
73’s Nel
Indeed. If people can’t be bothered to put a callsign after their name, then don’t bother leaving a comment in the first place. Sure, there’s no option to leave your call, but it’s a basic common decency to do so.
to Ferdinand who did not dare to show his call sign
I am russian , we spoke russian, my daughter finished russian school and of course we speak ukrainian – and you are not the person to tell me about my rights
Begin the conversation by telling your call sign mister X
the topic is about contesting not Poroshenko
To Ferdinand. Come to me in Kyiv and tell me what I can’t talk!
To UR5WA and UW7UA: When Poroshenko and Zelenskyi banned education in the minority languages of Russian, Romanian, Hungarian, Polish, Tatar, where have you been? Did you protest in any way? However, the refugees from Ukraine were well received and protected by Romanians, Poles, Hungarians, Slovaks. You have no right to criticize others.
Richard, it’s just that the election was very likely not decided by what people put in the ballot box, in Belarus it was even more glaring.
What bothers me is the application of collective guilt, and it would annoy me in any combination anywhere in the world. You can’t divide people into good and bad just by some line on a map where they were born… Hitler did this, so why the fuck do we radio amateurs want to repeat it?!
In no way do I want to defend Russia as such, on the contrary!!! Even we here in OK help as much as we can, even our government fully supports Ukraine. It is absolutely natural, many Ukrainians have been living and working in the Czech Republic long before Putin’s invasion, I have friends among them, they live in our village too. We totally sympathize with them, just as our nation has a sad experience with Russia from the time of communist totalitarianism.
But someone already mentioned it here or on FB, there are some 12 armed conflicts going on in the world at the moment. There have been hundreds of them around the world since WW2, with innocent people dying in them, just like in Ukraine now. But it has never led to dividing the amateur radio community into good and bad according to their country of origin. It never led to some radio amateurs wanting to stop other radio amateurs from doing their hobby. What the fuck has changed that we are now supposed to be enemies too? What the fuck has changed that we are supposed to forget the ideas that have been the foundation of our hobby for over a century. Why should equality between hams suddenly end? That’s the road to hell. It doesn’t help anyone, it only hurts everyone, it leaves unnecessary hatred and feelings of unfair play, of injustice.
If that bastard Putin sees how even the ham radio world is arguing and dividing because of him, he’ll be rolling on the floor laughing at how he’s succeeding in destroying the normal world. Helping him by squabbling amongst ourselves is pure stupidity.
Richard, I’m not talking about the situation in Ukraine. It is great that you are helping Ukrainian refugees and I thank you for that as a fellow human who has experienced the war in my native Bosnia in 1990s.
I’m talking about your suggestion how to deal with the regime in Russia. What you are suggesting it just doesn’t work like that. I’m not sure if you lived in ČSSR between 1968 and 1991, but if you did you would have known what it means to stand up against the regime. The situation in Russia in not much better today and doing something like that would mean a one-way ticket to Siberia.
I hope the peace comes soon for all people of Ukraine. 73!
A lot of ham radio operators say about ham spirit and that our hobby is apolitical. I used to agree with this before this war started. What I am seeing constantly is that some of the russian hams support this war and bring this issue to amateur radio activities.
Where is their ham spirit?
Below are links to ham radio sites – in Volgograd and Moscow to these “non ham spirit” activities
https://cqr4a.ru/news_impuls/za-nashih/?fbclid=IwAR2DNIwVx5uadoRMa3KvMc65HChapkD4aDlMz8icBG9odDBNczIYtoYPpqg
http://cqmrk.ru/news/2183.html
To Richard
Whether Mike is right or wrong, it’s great to see you are helping people in dire need. SO much more helpful than sitting behind a keyboard pontificating. Good for you.
GL de DX-World
Mike, maybe you right.
I’m from OM, so those gap width is thick as OM/UR border line is.
We meet Ukrainians refugees daily. 2 refugee families are located just 200 m from my QTH. We have arranged very very modest accommodation (we are a small village with very limited options). We were afraid, if they will be satisfied with it. They were happy as a lottery winner. One of the first thing they did after beeing on safe place is to have 2 days of sleeping. No words are necessary to realise, what is going on in UR.
I don’t know, if this is reality which are you talking about, but this is my personal experience for sure. Maybe distance between VK and UR allow you to have less biased attitude. Maybe.
It is very convenient to talk about what Russian radio amateurs can or cannot do when you are in the comfort of your own home. I invite any defenders of the statement “Radio amateurs out of politics” to my home in Kyiv. We will sit together and listen to Russian bombs and rockets falling all around. After that, we will go outside to the city. And you will see the ruined Kyiv! You will see dead women, children and old people! You will see the faces of children and women who are hiding in bomb shelters.
There is a war going on in Ukraine. Russian troops are destroying our homes, our cities. Russian troops are killing our people, innocent women, children, and the elderly. Russian troops are killing our servicemen who are defending their native land from invaders. Who kills the Ukrainians? We are being killed by Putin, Russian generals, Russian officers and soldiers. Who chose Putin as president? The Russian people chose him. Generals, officers and soldiers are all Russian people.
New sanctions against Russia. Solutions CQ Communications, Inc. and the RSGB decision in relation to Russian radio amateurs. All this is done so that the Russian people wake up and think about what they are doing.
The notion that radio amateurs are out of politics is not viable. The problems will not disappear if we RADIO AMATEURS put our heads in the sand.
All people on Earth, including Russians, and all radio amateurs, including Russian radio amateurs, must say – NO TO WAR! NO TO MURDERS IN UKRAINE!
Richard (callsign?), no disrespect, but you have no slightest idea of what you are talking about. There is hollywood, there is US/western media and then there is reality. The gap between the former two and the latter is as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.
This is a racist and shameful decision which will further divide and antagonise international amateur radio community. A sad day for ham radio.
Nick VK9DX- VK1AA
Jiri, you remember, that there was just one ballot paper in CSSR. There were 8 candidates in Russia in 2018. Not just one, as in CSSR.
So who is responsible for Putin’s election, when Russians are not?
Generating indirect pressure to Russians is the only one tool of outside world to stop Putin. Much much softer than Putin’s pressure to Ukraine…
I’ll be happy with your decision as soon as you ban all of us in the UK for supporting the bombing in Yemen (well actually our govt does but not our population – do see a link there?), all Saudi’s for the bombing in Yemen, all Emirati’s for the bombings in Yemen and whilst we’re at it all US stations as the US govt is also assisting there…
Oh, what about Israeli’s for occupation of the Palestinians, or Palestinians for the shitty little rockets they fire back.
There’s also a guy down my street who is a bit off an arse at weekends, can we ban him too?
Of course that’s all just semantics isn’t it but where do you draw the line? Regionally? Religiously? Purely on skin colour?
Or you could just go on with the current virtue signally bandwagon, oh yeah, you have already.
Stupid idea, shame on you CQ
Richard that’s an awfully naive idea from someone who hasn’t lived under totalitarianism. It’s hard to be heroic and to express opposition when you’re arrested for it, when you’re in danger not only to yourself but especially to your family and loved ones for opening your mouth. The regime may well throw your wife out of her job, your child out of university, you may disappear without a trace in a prison camp somewhere in Siberia.Putin has issued a law that you can be jailed for 15 years just for using the term “war” instead of “special peacekeeping operation”…
No regime in the world fell just because a few people “made a revolution”. There was always something that preceded it, some crisis, some war, something that weakened the regime and allowed ordinary people to take power. Otherwise they have no chance, with their bare hands against someone who has police, army, special forces. If the Soviet Union had not begun to disintegrate in the late 1980s and its satellite communist countries had not lost their support, nothing would have changed in Eastern Europe until now, even if local ordinary people had demonstrated themselves to death in the town squares.
your comment about the election is also naive. There are no free elections in totality, the result does not reflect the actual support among the population. I remember the elections in the then communist Czechoslovakia. Participation was compulsory, otherwise there were problems at work and in schools. There was only one ballot, you couldn’t not throw it in the ballot box… A farce for the TV cameras, that’s all.
Strongly appreciate this decision.
I see strong support for the suffering nation in statements of RSGB, PZK, CQ magazine and others.
To all, who are juggling with expressions like “politics”, “apolotics” in relation to our hobby:
Killing people, wiping out whole cities and villages or 2 millions refugees in 3 weeks, are no politics at all. It’s pure crime of extraordinary dimensions. None politics. Please, realise it.
I regret Russian people, including UA HAMs. But they are the only ones, who voted him (77% in 2018) and who can say him: “Hey, Vladimir Vladimirovich, your war destroying us!”.
Shame on the CQ team.
This decision is against the ham radio spirit: they are punishing the wrong people!
The ban to Russian (et al) just hurts the normal people, even people that is against the war, not the political/government decision’s makers who leads and promote the war. And by boomerang hurts everybody on the contest as result (by spoiling the competition imposing a handicap to some hams)
Just think for a second: every German living person during the WWII was on Hitler’s side… no, hell no!
One last argument, being honest: do they really think that ham population on Russia (et al) can provide leverage with the end of the war? nonsense, really a nonsense.
I hope they think it over and take back that nonsense.
You have divided HAMs by nationality – when will you start dividing them according to other criteria? Such as the circumference of the skull, etc.?
My answer to CQ editor.
This is not in the Ham Spirit and russian hams has nothing to do with what their government is doing.
I will not partecipate in any CQ contest until this new rule will be valid.
Marco
IU0APU
The most shameful decision that could have been made. Do you Americans even have such a thing as conscience, justice? Why didn’t you suspend yourself from the competition when you killed civilians of Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Vietnam, Korea and a dozen other countries?
Eternal and indelible shame on you.
BYE BYE HAM SPIRIT
Sent to W2VU earlier today:
I am extremely disappointed that you have made a policy disqualifying competitors from certain countries from the CQ World Wide DX and WPX contests.
The basis and purpose of Amateur Radio as defined by the USA is the “Continuation and extension of the amateur’s unique ability to enhance international goodwill”. Excluding hams from specific countries goes directly against that goal, and does nothing to advance geopolitical goals. It is laughable to imagine that Russian and Belorussian hams will see your decision and then convince their fellow countrymen to rise up and depose their leadership. More likely your decision will provide just a little bit more evidence that the West is indeed out to get them and actually enhance support for their leadership. The infinitesimal effects of your decision on geopolitics is vastly outweighed by the damage you are incurring upon these wonderful contests as tools for peace and understanding.
Please rescind your decision and let us all get back to spreading goodwill.
Joe Fitzgerald KM1P
Boston MA
Finally! Great decision, CQ, TNX!
Here is my email to the publisher of CQ
If you were looking to drive the final nail into the coffin of the obviously struggling CQ business you may have done it with your decision to disallow Russian (etc,) amateurs from competing in the upcoming CQ WPX SSB contest except as check logs. I speak only for myself but following many DX and contest related sites on the Internet if you are not aware of it your decision is not being well received at all.
Knowing how many Russian AROs reacted to the fall of the Soviet Union (a very positive reaction) I find it difficult to believe that they support Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine. However threatened with severe punishment they are constrained from speaking out against Putin. To essentially punish Russian contest operators for something they likely do not support and certainly cannot do anything to prevent accomplishes nothing positive. Your position, like that of the RSGB, is being viewed as nothing more than politically correct grandstanding. Many comments I have read since your press release indicate amateurs are done with CQ Publishing and CQ sponsored contests. I am one of them. Bad move. Bad for your business and bad for amateur radio contesting. Finally, it is NOT consistent with one of the purposes of amateur radio which is the building of international good will among amateurs.
de N7WR
To DX-World
All Russians, Ukrainians, and Belorussians are opposed to any war. You know what happened in Donbas for 8 years. We want peace in Donbas and Ukraine. We want peace in the world.
Ah, Luigu. Another one who cannot be bothered to put a callsign to their name or reply..
Ps: DX-World hasn’t been hacked 😁
Has the DX-World been hacked or did it come under the pressure by powers-to-be to extract some guilt from the Russian amateurs?
You are asking them to risk a lot in an environment that you can’t even begin to understand.
To Alexey
Regardless of the WW Contest decision (we don’t really care tbh), do you condemn what’s happening in Ukraine? Thanks for your answer.
DX-World
CQ mag comes like an elephant in a china shop. It’s a dangerous precedent. You are destroying all that is good in ham spirit. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye but does not notice the beam that is in your own?
To RY7Y
Regardless of the WW Contest decision (we don’t really care tbh), do you condemn what’s happening in Ukraine? Thanks for your answer.
DX-World
Shame on U! Stupid decision of CQ ! I have to strike out WW & WPX contests from my calendar. Will do Russian DX this weekend with team! Call us without politic/religion/race. Only hamradio with fair play!
Well done. Russians are living in parallel universe, so it is a time to show them right direction.
Don’t call it ham radio WW contest then. Maybe start one on instagram, not on air.
AF2F
Response to my e-mail to CQ:
Dear Jiri,
All comments on this issue should be sent to W2VU, w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com.
Thank you.
73,
Bud Trench, AA3B
Director, CQ WPX Contest
Let’s go guys, write him your complaints too.
Jiri OK2WY AKA Jura Ynža on FB
Well a nucear threat as issued by the Russian leader comes too close to the bone for me as an EU citizen . How on earth can you expect things to remain ‘normal’ in this context? This is out of control and unlike any past situation. Before this can go back to non-political jolly good ham radioamateurs I feel it is wise to take a time out, reflect on the abnormality of this situation. At a later stage talking should resume.
message for Cq communication inc,
if you have other stupid ideas like this please do not hesitate to notify me even in the middle of the night.
Hrane, YT1AD via Facebook
Stupid decision…..This is my mail to CQ Journal:CQ Contest Committee,
Hello Rich,
I just received your mail about CQ Contesting. I am surprised by political and stupid decision. With your decision, you have destroyed the basic
principles of our hobby, amateur radio. Why didn’t you make the same decision when USA BOMBED Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Panama and many other countries without any reason and permit from OUN!!!???
This War in Ukraine is not a war between the amateur radio Union from Russia and Belarus and the same organization in Ukraine….THIS war is a war between NATO, inc. USA and Russia on Ukraine territory …… I kindly ask you to offer all political and other interesting groups for your decisions and to respect the basic principles of our hobby and try all possible to stop this War where is victims my Ukraine and Russian friends.
I will work with my team RDXC, CQ WPX and support all amateur radio activity.
It will be nice to ask your political leader to make all possible and STOP this stupid WAR in Europe…and every War around world.
Best 73
Hrane YT1AD/N9YU/UT1UD/RV7AD
An important step by the global amateur radio community would be to just cancel all international contests as long as our Ukrainian friends are banned from the bands because of this war. We should care a lot more about our Ukrainian friends who have no choice.
CQ-Magazine management, you should stop your call signs. You are no longer radio amateurs. Free amateur radio is not for you. The HAM spirit is not for you. I am sorry. I am ashamed of your actions. See you this weekend in Russian DX Contest and in May in CQ-M Contest. Peace to the world. Amateur radio is out of politics.
73! Wasil RW0AR
For some reason the email addresses did not show in my previous post, but you can find them all here:
https://cq-amateur-radio.com/cq_contact.html
Please contact all of them and let them know how you feel.
My God! I never thought that CQ Magazine would fall this low. The cancel culture in the north American and western Europe seems to be reaching the pathological levels.
Below is the excerpt from my email sent this afternoon to about a dozen of leading people in the CQ Magazine and their contesting section. Small parts were removed to exclude details that are just not for public viewing.
You can use the email addresses below to voice your disgust with their actions.
To , , , , , , , , , , , ,
To say that I am deeply disappointed in your organisation, and anyone associated with this action is a massive understatement. Nobody in my 35 years of ham radio has let me down like this and frankly I feel insulted as a member of the amateur radio community.
What were you thinking? Are you just following the RSGB who did the same thing, are you under the direction of the US government to throw rocks on anything that is remotely Russian, or have you completely lost the plot and decided yourselves that ripping apart the fundamental principle of amateur radio is the way to go?
You said it yourself “We regret the need to take this action and recognize that the vast majority of our fellow amateurs who are affected by it are innocent bystanders who had no role in their government’s decision to invade another sovereign country. However, in light of the great suffering being inflicted without cause on the people of Ukraine by Russia’s leaders, we cannot in good conscience stand by and do nothing.”
You cannot stand by and do nothing???
You are doing the only one thing that you can do wrong in this case – you are bringing hatred and division to amateur radio.
How dare you? We did not isolate American hams when your troops were butchering Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yugoslavia, and many other places. We worked you in contests, we counted your points, we gave you the points. We were friends even while your country was committing horrific crimes but we did not call the US amateurs to responsibility for that. Never forget that!
You have a line on your website that states “The Authority on Amateur Radio for more than 65 years” – you just lost any authority. All of it, none is left. You just spat at the amateur radio community as a whole.
Have you not heard of what happened with QRZ com when they decided to remove Russian and Belarus callsigns, the entire world bombarded them with the disagreement and within 24 hours they had backtracked and apologised.
Gentlemen, I IMPLORE you to sit down and rethink, you are not doing any good to the ham radio by this, you are bigger than this.
Think, withdraw your decision, publicly apologise to the ham radio community and let’s play radio.
Doing this, even for one contest will damage your brand, your own reputation, the amateur radio will not forget and forgive you this. Think how history will remember you, and it will, we will.
If you want to show your support no matter what is happening take part in the Russian DX Contest this weekend.
No politics on Ham Radio ! Stop your WPX Contest ! We are all HAMś !!
Stupid CQ-WPX guys .
It seems the amateur radio community is the only one which just wants to do business as usual, no matter what happens on this planet. Still, I support Bruno´s statement.
There is a difference between what a countries leaders want, and what the people want. Russian propaganda obviously shows you pictures of people supporting the war, which makes you think every Russian supports the war. But the thousands who were brave enough to protest and risk years of prison, show the opposite.
Do us a favour, don’t blame the Russian and Bellarussian hams for what their governments do. Just cancel the whole contest, like the UBA and the Polish-contest. This is a protest from the ham community against war.
Wrong wrong wrong!!!
Russian OM don’t pay Putin arrogance!
As with QRZ guys, who takes the same decision as this one I hope they will consider change their minds too.
Non of us are for war. None of us are OK with what happened but it is not fer to punish only one part. First of all we are humanitarian organization. Or we may not be that anymore. If you push out only Russians (+UA2) you better consider Cancle the whole contest until there will be peace again. Just like Polish DX Contest do. I pray for peace.
73, Aleksnader, S57S
Wrong way, CQ, wrong way.
Trink about that.
We oppose any form of war, but what were you doing when the United States and NATO bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the United States invaded Iraq and Afghanistan?
You are hypocritical justice.
I will spread the news. I would just tell them to “refuse to participate in some events like CQ WPX events”
Because CQ WPX has also become a tool of war, disgusting clown!
I think CQ WPX might as well just buy some weapons and go straight to the war zone, don’t forget to fly the CQ WPX logo flag, that must be cool.
By the way, it seems that CQ WPX is a gentleman, you should give generously to help people in the war zone, not here to show off!
It seems that CQ WPX also hates war. I wonder what you have done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Libya, CQ WPX! Where has your gentleman’s demeanor gone?
Mixing Ham radio with politics has always been a NO NO as far as I was taught.
I do not agree with punishing Russian Ham radio operators, who have no influence and no voice in the WAR with the country of UKRAINE.
If that is the message and conditions you bring with your sponsorship then you are not good ambassadors of the ham radio hobby.
My suggestion is to boycot this contest that is sponsored by such political dictatorship in a hobby that requires no borders
“…great suffering being inflicted without cause…”???
I’m really getting sick of people that only see their own narrow minded thruth.
Because NATO kept pushing east for the last 30 years, ignoring Russian concerns, the question was not IF this would lead to a war but WHEN.
And now it’s all the fault of the Russians? That’s a bit too easy.
So sad that the Ukrainian people have to suffer for the stubborness and powerplay of two superpowers.
So sad we’re talking politics on a HAM website but “CQ” started it!
Frankly I think the RSGB and CQ Magazine are racist organisations.
The theory here seems to be that military action in a neighbouring state is barbaric and the most effective retaliatory action is to impose sanctions and cancellations. Fair enough.
But why the selective application of this theory to Ukraine only? The war in Yemen started as a civil war in 2014 but since then Saudi Arabia and the UAE has been actively involved in the conflict and Iran certainly has financial involvement. Why are there no trade embargoes against these countries? Why are we not “cancelling” hams from these countries?
Obviously the reason is that Yemeni people are not white, Christian, European and do not live in a sufficiently important strategic location.
Some may argue that the Saudis / UAE are not looking to invade or occupy Yemen. But this is also untrue, as UAE forces have occupied the Yemeni island of Socotra and also strategic locations along the Yemeni coast.
What of Afghanistan? The US government actually negotiated with the Taliban to exit and effectively allow the Taliban to take control. Since then the US government has frozen assets belonging to Afghanistan and is effectively starving the Afghan population. Once again, the populace is not white or Christian so nobody gives a sh**.
I plan to be active in the forthcoming wpx contest but I will ONLY work Russian stations should any be active. I am also giving consideration to a Pacific Island dxpedition in 2023 and will most likely blacklist any RSGB members when conducting this operation (sorry Col – should you be an RSGB member). If all Russian hams are guilty of war crimes simply because they are Russian then clearly all RSGB members are guilty of racism simply because they choose to support a seemingly racist organisation.
Paul – vk4ma
Paul – vk4ma
So many wars during all My ham life and never happens nothing like this… HAM spirit should be away from those so lower mixtures… In My opinión it is so wrong!!!
Since Amateur Radio activity born more than a Century ago, the Ham Spirit and the friendship among Ham operators, has been one of the greatest quality that has always distinguished our hobby.
The decision of CQ Magazine and the Director of CQ WPX Contest is absolutely SHAMEFUL.
Amateur Radio operators cannot be involved in political games.
I will NOT participate in the WPX Contest because ALL amateur radio colleagues are my friends and they are all equals.
73 de IV3TAN-VR2XAN
hobby in not politics!
More example of “cancel culture”. I would say I will no longer subscribe to CQ Magazine but since they haven’t shipped a printed magazine in half a year – even though we all paid for it, they kind of destroyed themselves on that. I think its time for the really sponsors of the WW and WPX contests to disconnect themselves from the fake sponsor – CQ Magazine.
Ed N1UR
http://arrl.org/news/view/ukraine-maintains-ham-radio-silence-in-state-of-emergency
Read 3rd paragraph.
Don’t blame our fellow russian hams for the sins of their goverment.
Just an opinion. And truly against russian invasion. And all the wars organized by people who will never go to the front line to die.
This is a re-posted comment from a DX-World Facebook reader called Jura Ynža , but it fits well within this page too:
“RSGB and CQ are mixing up two categories – sportsmen and national sports teams , who represent Russia and are backed by the Russian government and carry the logos of sponsors who do business and pay taxes in Russia (money that Putin will use to wage war), and ordinary people pursuing their hobbies from which they have no profit, no benefit for the aggressor.
I am far from advocating in any way the war and the war crimes that Putin is committing in Ukraine. Nor could I, as a member of nation living in a country that has direct experience of the Russian occupation. I have lived under this totalitarian regime for almost half my life. But it is not ordinary people or radio amateurs who are leading the attack. From the point of view of people who have experienced nothing but democracy in their lifetime, it may look very simple, but these ordinary people have no real power to influence anything at the moment. These people live in a country where totalitarianism is becoming more and more entrenched, where any speaking out against the regime threatens imprisonment and oppression not only for themselves but also for their loved ones and families, where you can be thrown in prison for simply taking part in a demonstration against the war, where there is no real media that is not controlled by the government, where people hardly know the truth about the atrocities their dictator is committing against the people of Ukraine.
What I am trying to do here is to protect our hobby from political influence and help keep it clean, to continue the idea of being tolerant and supporting each other that has existed for over 100 years.
There have been many wars in our lifetime, many of us were alive or even active in radio during the Vietnam invasion, twice in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Bosnia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Yemen, Ukraine in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea…. In all cases we stood together as an amateur radio community and helped our colleagues no matter where they were. We never isolated the attackers’ countries, on the contrary we supported them in difficult moments.
It is no different in Ukraine now. Let us sympathize with the Ukrainian people, let us all do what we can to help, but to ostracize Russian and Belarusian amateurs for something that their government is doing and in which they have no part or fault is wrong.
Donate, organise a fundraising campaign to help Ukraine, go there to fight Russian invaders for instance, but for God’s sake don’t drag politics, collective guilt and hatred into what I hope is a pure hobby so far.
These restrictions that radio amateurs are inventing against other radio amateurs annoy me more and more. I’m really starting to feel ashamed to be a member of a community where there are people capable of thinking along such stupid lines. I am seriously considering giving up this hobby.
Just one question ! I am on air since 1978 … i have seen about 30 directs and proxy wars . What is different this time ? As i know, i could be wrong ; are we at war with RUSSIA , YES OR NO ? if its NO , why are you acting like that ?