After a disastrous year, 2006 in Ethiopia was a static
one. Some 20 journalists spent it in cells in
Addis Ababa, part of a group of at least 76 members
of the opposition, civil society and the private
press prosecuted for “treason”, “conspiracy” to
overthrow the government and “genocide”. Their
trials before the federal high court opened on 2
May. The general disapproval, including from
Ethiopia’s traditional allies, failed to get Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi to budge. For him, there
was no doubt that the opposition wanted to engineer
a coup and to take revenge on ethnic
Tigreans like himself.
Fourteen newspaper editors or publishers were
rounded up in the space of one month in November
2005. From December onwards, other journalists
were arrested and sentenced in defamation cases.All
were still detained as of 1st January 2007.
Since 1st January 2006, two other journalists were
added to the list of the “November prisoners”.
Solomon Aregawi, of Hadar, arrested in November
2005, was charged on 21 March 2006 with “insulting
the Constitution” and “genocide”, along with
32 other prisoners, members or supposed members
of the CUD, Goshu Moges, of the weekly
Lisane Hezeb, arrested on 19 February was charged
with “treason” on 19 April.A number of other
journalists and opposition figures or organisations,
were charged while out of the country and tried
in absentia.
It is against this tense background, aggravated by
the war with Somalia and the standoff at the Eritrean border, that several privately-owned
newspapers are continuing to appear in Addis
Ababa. Self-censorship is commonplace, particularly
on military issues. Ethiopian journalists are
held to an imposed patriotism and foreign correspondents
closely watched.Anthony Mitchell, working
for the Associated Press (AP), was forced to
leave the country on 22 January for having allegedly
“tarnished the image of the country”.
Foreign media have great difficult in obtaining
accreditation from the Information Ministry, which
is essential to be allowed to work legally in
Ethiopia.
RSF: Press Freedom 2007 Survey
Reporters Without Borders has been worried
since 2004, about the plight of two journalists
working for the Oromo service of public television
ETV. They were arrested in April of that
year, along with other ETV staff, since released,
following a violent crackdown on an Oromo
student demonstration on the Addis Ababa
University campus, on 4 January 2004. The two
journalists were accused of being informers for
the separatist Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
For the first time in its history, the Ethiopian
government appears to have launched itself into
web censorship. From May to June 2006, most
blogs and opposition websites were inaccessible
in the country. The government denied
being behind it. However, at the end of
November, these online publications against
mysteriously disappeared, which makes the
hypothesis of political censorship appear more
plausible.
RSF: Press Freedom 2007 Survey
“A disturbingly record number of journalists and media workers were killed or thrown in prison around the world in 2006 and we are already concerned about 2007, as six journalists and four media assistants have been killed in January alone,” the report’s introduction says.
“But beyond these figures is the alarming lack of interest (and sometimes even failure) by democratic countries in defending the values they are supposed to incarnate.”
“Almost everyone believes in human rights these days but amid the silences and behaviour on all sides, we wonder who now has the necessary moral authority to make a principled stand in favour of these freedoms.”
The publication by a Danish newspaper of cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed focused the world’s attention in 2006 on the issue of freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs. Democratic countries did not defend Denmark, whose embassies were attacked, or the journalists who were threatened and arrested. Europe especially seemed to choose silence for fear of offending Arab or Muslims regimes.
Media workers in the Middle East were once again the victims of the region’s chronic instability. 65 journalists and media assistants were killed in Iraq and kidnappings were more frequent there and in the Palestinian Territories. Despite repeated promises, the region’s governments have not introduced significantly greater democracy.
In Latin America, the murder of nearly a dozen journalists in Mexico with virtual impunity, the continued imprisonment of more than a score in Cuba and the deteriorating situation in Bolivia (nevertheless the best-ranked country of the South in the Reporters Without Borders annual press freedom index) are all signals to the international community to be very vigilant.
Press freedom violations in Asia peaked with 16 media workers killed, at least 328 arrested, 517 physically attacked or threatened and 478 media outlets censored in 2006. Censorship is very widespread and complete freedom to speak and write is rare in Asia.
Many African governments, especially those in the Horn of Africa, distrust media workers. The killers of journalists are also not being punished and are still being protected by governments and all-powerful politicians in Gambia and Burkina Faso.
Dictatorships also seem to be tightening their grip on the Internet and at least 60 people are in prison for posting criticism of the government online. China, the leading offender, is being copied by Vietnam, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Iran and more and more bloggers and cyber-dissidents are in jail.
CONTACT
Leonard VINCENT
Bureau Afrique / Africa desk
Reporters sans frontières / Reporters Without Borders
5, rue Geoffroy-Marie 75009 Paris, France
Tel : (33) 1 44 83 84 76
Fax : (33) 1 45 23 11 51
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.rsf.org
