ARLA/CLUSTER: Cancelada DXpedition a Djibouti (J20DX)

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

J20DX DXpedition cancelled

It was reported on the J20DX Web page that operators Col/MM0NDX and
Jonathan/MM0OKG had all of their radio equipment impounded by customs at
Djibouti Ambouli International Airport on arrival despite Christian/EA3NT
clearing customs smoothly 2 days before!!

This remains the case today despite their official radio licenses being
issued by Djibouti Telecom permitting them to operate radio without any
conditions.

On April 17th, they reported, "We have still not been able to retrieve
our bags and equipment from the airport customs as the national security
letter has not yet been signed. Sadly, now due to time constraints, this
means our plans to activate AF-059 are cancelled. Nobody is more dis-
appointed about that than us. At present we aim to be active from Moucha or
Maskali Island (AF-053) starting tomorrow and staying there until Friday
evening or Saturday morning. Of course, this depends on the afore-mentioned
bags being released by custom officials. J20DX callsign will be used from
there. Should plans again change we will update. Thanks for your
understanding and recent messages of support."

On April 18th, they reported, "This expedition would test the patience
of most people. This morning at 0700 local we departed the mainland for
the 40 minute crossing to Moucha Island. We identified an excellent loca-
tion for radio upon arrival and immediately assembled a 15m VDA and 17m &
20m vertical dipoles. Our intention was to add more antennas as the day
progressed.

Literally 5 minutes before the first CQ from AF-053 we received a
phone-call from National Security saying signatures were needed for the
authorization letter to permit us to collect our impounded gear. This same
letter would also allow us to depart Djibouti without anymore issues at
airport customs. However, we had to return to the mainland to get the
letter. The weekend is Friday and Saturday here in Djibouti meaning this
would likely be our final chance of obtaining the important authorization
letter prior to heading home. Before we had even started, teardown begun.
Yes, we left the island 2 hours after arriving. AF-053 is now also
cancelled.

Upon returning to the mainland we headed straight to the National
Security offices. Yes, you guessed it ­ no authorized letter to be seen.
We had basically been told fake news. We've now had enough of this country
and look forward to heading home. All recent spots for J20DX on the cluster
are also fake.

The following was posted this past weekend on their Web page:
"FULL UPDATE / STORY ON WHY THIS EXPEDITION DID NOT HAPPEN COMING SOON."
For more details and updates, watch their Web page at: https://j20dx.com

Fonte: OPDX
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