I read
your open letter to Ethiomedia with a great deal of
interest. I appreciate some of the points you have made referring to the nature
and conduct of the regime in Ethiopia that has severely curtailed freedom of
expression in contravention of the letters of its own constitution and
international conventions.
That said,
you told us that you were disillusioned, dumfounded, flabbergasted, outraged
and suffered harassment and mudslinging just
because legitimate concerns have been on the way you manage Deutsche Welle (DW) Amharic. Your letter, splashed with unnecessary
adjectives, gives the impression that you are beyond reproach and people who
have credible allegations were only interested in defaming you and DW.
I do not
personally believe that DW has been a mouthpiece of the current
“government” of Ethiopia. As someone who has grown up listening to
DW and VOA Amharic services, I have never known these broadcasts to serve as a
propaganda output for Ethiopia’s oppressive regimes, during the time of
the military junta as well as the current repressive regime. But that does not
mean that DW is immune from pressure by the Meles regime that is obsessively
campaigning to shut down any critical views. Whether DW budges to the pressures
or not as an institution is another matter, but the declining quality and the
dwindling coverage on Ethiopia is quite evident.
As I do
not know anyone who has alleged that DW is a mouthpiece of the Meles regime, I
prefer not to dwell on this matter as much as you did. I am sure this is a side
issue that might be selected to sidetrack us from the major concerns being
raised. But I can point out the fact that DW is not an independent media outlet
set up to serve the interests of the Ethiopian people. Far from it, its primary
objective, as clearly stated in its statutory mission, is rather to
“promote understanding of Germany as an independent nation with its roots
in European culture and as a liberal, democratic, constitutional state based on
the rule of law.”
While you
tried to assert that DW Amharic is an independent media outlet serving the
people of Ethiopia for half a century, you have also availed yourself of the
opportunity to make a few misleading insinuations. I was surprised to see that
you mixed facts with fiction and resorted to conspiracy theory rather than
dealing with the allegations made against you as the director and
editor-in-chief of DW Amharic service.
You
stated:
“There is, of course,
another possible explanation: that the wool is being pulled over our eyes by a
group of media wits who are busy promoting their own business agenda under the
guise of investigative journalism. Can I really be the only one to find it strange
that the publication of a series of mud-slinging articles about Voice of
America (VoA) and Deutsche Welle (DW), timed to appear almost simultaneously, was
driven by an executive of an ambitious media company currently eyeing the
Ethiopian radio market?”
Yes, I am sure you are the only one to see
through this grand conspiracy.
As you
have failed to name this unruly media wits that pull over wool over your eyes, the
“media executive” and the company eying for the Ethiopian radio
market, I cannot defend these unnamed individuals and media company that wants
to bankrupt competitors. In all
honesty, these colorful descriptions appear to come out more from the figment
of your imagination than the reality that you and me
know quite well.
The
serious allegations made against you had nothing to do with your fanciful
conspiracy theory. Without repeating the case that has been widely reported,
let me remind you a story that you might have forgotten. There was this young
journalist who came all the way to Germany as an intern at DW, who was later
retained as to work under you. This journalist only found a situation that was
worse than the predicament that Ethiopian maids have to face in the Middle
East. His hope turned into despair. I still have the many emails you have exchanged
with him. You never heeded his poignant appeals and appeared to care little to
the ordeals he was facing in the middle of Bonn. This is a fact you chose not
to address in your open letter.
The
journalist is called MesayMekonnen,
currently manager of ESAT radio. I am very proud of this colleague of mine as
he has proved himself to be a competent broadcaster. Mesay
does not need a translator to do his job. He knows what he does. The media
executive who let down this fellow Ethiopian is called Ludger Shadomsky, currently editor-in-chief of DW Amharic service
but who never speaks the Amharic broadcasts he is assigned to
“edit” and manage. This was the truth that I reported based on hard
to refute facts.
Before I
wrote the story that has clearly upset you, I contacted you on at least six
occasions by phone and email. I can publish the details of our discussions, if
you wish. On one occasion, you even hang up on me when I asked you to answer a
few questions based on the allegations leveled against you and the evidence
that I had gathered. I do not understand how this is linked to the Ethiopian
“radio market”. VOA has at least tried to address the issues raised.
The assurances that Mr. Steve Redisch, the then
acting director, gave was a much better approach than taking a long time off to
concoct wild conspiracy theories.
As far as
DW Amharic is concerned, it is no longer my kind of broadcaster that I crave to
listen to daily. While I acknowledge the fact that it has a great deal of
resources at its disposal, its broadcasting quality is steadily declining and
the coverage on Ethiopia is dwindling. I believe this is a reality that anyone
can easily check.
Let me
point out a glaring contradiction in what you teach and practice. In your open
letter, you claimed:
“I would like
to go on record as saying that we at DW Amharic neither bow to pressure from
the government of Ethiopia, nor give in to the increasingly outrageous demands
made by radicalized opposition figures and organizations.”
This flies
in the face of an email you circulated to DW Amharic staffers last year.
“You will be well aware of the
close monitoring of the Ethiopian government of any activities by our staff
members perceived to be ‘opposition activities’. I have a number of
names thrown at me by Berekt Simon every time I am in
Addis. To spell it out very clearly: Ethiomedia
– and similar sites by extension – is NOT a site where I want to see our
correspondents displayed with opinion articles!
The amount of hatred splashed
across that particular medium is a disgrace to any politically sober mind.”
You had insisted that there were no outside influence on you and DW. But Bereket Simon was in your mind when you issued such an
amazing decree that undermines freedom of expression that you were supposed to
espouse and defend.
If writing
opinion pieces for Ethiomedia and other similar sites
is a cardinal sin, why then have you chosen this time to publish your patronizing
view on the very media you have declared to be untouchable? Isn’t that a
case of double standard?
You have
also gone to the extent of telling us that referring to the regime in Ethiopia
as “the fascist Weyane regime” is a
horrible hate speech. People hate tyranny in every shape and form. Ethiopians
can call their government whatever they think is appropriate. They know better
whether the people ruling them are fascistic or humanistic. No judgment please,
Mr. Schadomsky!
Finally,
Ethiopians deserve to have media outlets that have no vested interests other
than serving them with utmost passion and integrity. As far as I know, there is
no threatening competition in Ethiopia’s media landscape which is still dominated
by the regime’s propaganda. I am certain that Deutsche Welle and other foreign media outlets will continue to
remain relevant despite the evident internal and external pressures they face.
For the
record, I firmly believe that ESAT is a media outlet that provides news and information
24/7 by Ethiopians and for Ethiopians. The time to wait for others to report
our stories truthfully has already elapsed. We report what we like. ESAT is the
Voice of Ethiopia. I am certain about that.
Please
write again soon. I guarantee you a quick reply.
