Freedom of speech suffers in tense Ethiopia
By Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor
December 14, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That a gentle soul like Tesfaye would be fired from his job illustrates just how ugly Ethiopian politics has become since the May
2005 elections, with a mixture of mob vengeance on one side and authoritarian rule on the other. Photo courtesy of
AddisVoice.com
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - For more than 40 years, Ababa Tesfaye has been Ethiopia's answer to Mister Rogers, entertaining
children on state-run television with magic tricks, fairy tales, and gentle words of advice.
But on June 2006, the grandfatherly Mr. Tesfaye was fired, after a young child on his program uttered a derogatory word for one
of Ethiopia's main ethnic groups.
"After serving 41 years, it's a heartbreaking thing," recalls the 84-year-old Tesfaye. "I have told tales during the imperial
government, with their censorship, during the military government's censorship, and during the present government. I keep
wondering whether there is anything more I should have done [to reprimand the child]."
That a gentle soul like Tesfaye would be fired from his job illustrates just how ugly Ethiopian politics has become since the May
2005 elections, with a mixture of mob vengeance on one side and authoritarian rule on the other. In the past year, following
contentious national elections and their violent aftermath, 111 journalists and opposition leaders have been thrown in jail for
treason, inciting violence, and genocide; dozens of newspapers have been closed; and a new press law has put fresh restrictions
on what can be printed. Government officials say the strong measures are necessary to prevent racial hatred from escalating into
a Rwanda-style genocide. Critics say the government is exaggerating the threat to stay in power.
Press Freedom Index
But what is certain is that the Horn of Africa region has become one of the most restricted places on the planet. Reporters Without
Borders this year put Ethiopia and its neighboring rival, Eritrea, near the bottom of the list of its 2006 annual Worldwide Press
Freedom Index. Few countries, such as traditional police states North Korea and Turkmenistan, were considered less free. But for
their part, Ethiopian officials are unrepentant, saying such measures are necessary for the public good.
"Opposition leaders were provoking one nationality against another and inciting violence among different ethnic groups in the
country," says Berhan Hailu, Ethiopia's minister of information. "Democracy is not lawlessness; it is a rule of law. Opposition
politicians who stand against the law should be asked by the court why they are against the control, and the law, and the interests
of the people."
During the elections, local newspapers allied with the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) party regularly carried
headlines urging readers to boycott certain pro-government businessmen. Pro-opposition activists also sent hate-filled text
messages on mobile phones, urging supporters to attack ethnic Tigreans. (The ruling party is led primarily by former rebels from
the Ethiopian province of Tigre.) These words did prompt action. After the May 2005 elections, nearly 193 people were killed in
street violence, including seven policemen.
For critics, the mass arrest of the journalists, opposition leaders, and social activists, and their ongoing trials are seen more as a
vendetta against an opposition movement that was finally starting to chip away at the ruling party's 14-year reign of power.
Temesgen Zewdie, one of 70 CUD members to take a seat in parliament, says that the opposition voice is needed at this time, with
a Somali war approaching, but he adds that the government continues to treat CUD members as enemies. "They can charge us
with treason, saying that we are aligned with criminal groups, but we are not allowed to go onto public [state-owned] media to
defend ourselves," says Mr. Zewdie.
Journalists also complain about government interference and harassment, and dozens of working journalists in Addis Ababa told
the Monitor about being beaten or detained on charges of inciting opposition mobs to violence. But newspaper editor Amare
Aregawi says that the violence comes from both sides, from shadowy elements within the opposition movement as well as within the
government.
"You have the government restricting you, and you have the opposition parties threatening you, and not just that, but we in the
press were part of the racism, creating an atmosphere of intolerance," says Mr. Aregawi, editor-in-chief of The Reporter
newspaper in Addis Ababa. "Yes, we are not going to forget what happened in Rwanda, but can you solve it in a better way,
without throwing journalists and politicians in jail?"
A 'with us or against us' mentality
Some observers say that today's intolerance is rooted in a know-it-all culture of Ethiopia's student youth movement in the 1970s,
with both opposition leaders and the ruling party seeing things in black and white, good and evil terms.
"It's always that 'you're either with us or you're against us' mentality in Ethiopian politics, on both sides," says a local newspaper
editor, speaking on condition of anonymity.
With both the opposition and the government issuing threats against perceived enemies, Addis Ababa has become a no-politics
zone. Even comedians say they have had to change their material.
Hibest Asseifa, Ethiopia's only woman standup comedian, was one of a dozen comedians who performed on a best selling video
CD that played in sold-out halls during the election time. Colleagues who told political jokes - almost entirely pro-CUD - have now
fled the country. Even Ms. Asseifa, who sticks to relatively safe jokes about children and issues of class, has been physically
assaulted for her humor.
Now, Asseifa is trying to come up with jokes for a new show this December at the Hilton Hotel. The hotel management has told her
to avoid jokes about race and politics. "Generally, I don't do ethnic humor," says Hibest. "But now that they say to avoid it, I can't
think of any other kinds of jokes."
By Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor
December 14, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That a gentle soul like Tesfaye would be fired from his job illustrates just how ugly Ethiopian politics has become since the May
2005 elections, with a mixture of mob vengeance on one side and authoritarian rule on the other. Photo courtesy of
AddisVoice.com
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - For more than 40 years, Ababa Tesfaye has been Ethiopia's answer to Mister Rogers, entertaining
children on state-run television with magic tricks, fairy tales, and gentle words of advice.
But on June 2006, the grandfatherly Mr. Tesfaye was fired, after a young child on his program uttered a derogatory word for one
of Ethiopia's main ethnic groups.
"After serving 41 years, it's a heartbreaking thing," recalls the 84-year-old Tesfaye. "I have told tales during the imperial
government, with their censorship, during the military government's censorship, and during the present government. I keep
wondering whether there is anything more I should have done [to reprimand the child]."
That a gentle soul like Tesfaye would be fired from his job illustrates just how ugly Ethiopian politics has become since the May
2005 elections, with a mixture of mob vengeance on one side and authoritarian rule on the other. In the past year, following
contentious national elections and their violent aftermath, 111 journalists and opposition leaders have been thrown in jail for
treason, inciting violence, and genocide; dozens of newspapers have been closed; and a new press law has put fresh restrictions
on what can be printed. Government officials say the strong measures are necessary to prevent racial hatred from escalating into
a Rwanda-style genocide. Critics say the government is exaggerating the threat to stay in power.
Press Freedom Index
But what is certain is that the Horn of Africa region has become one of the most restricted places on the planet. Reporters Without
Borders this year put Ethiopia and its neighboring rival, Eritrea, near the bottom of the list of its 2006 annual Worldwide Press
Freedom Index. Few countries, such as traditional police states North Korea and Turkmenistan, were considered less free. But for
their part, Ethiopian officials are unrepentant, saying such measures are necessary for the public good.
"Opposition leaders were provoking one nationality against another and inciting violence among different ethnic groups in the
country," says Berhan Hailu, Ethiopia's minister of information. "Democracy is not lawlessness; it is a rule of law. Opposition
politicians who stand against the law should be asked by the court why they are against the control, and the law, and the interests
of the people."
During the elections, local newspapers allied with the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) party regularly carried
headlines urging readers to boycott certain pro-government businessmen. Pro-opposition activists also sent hate-filled text
messages on mobile phones, urging supporters to attack ethnic Tigreans. (The ruling party is led primarily by former rebels from
the Ethiopian province of Tigre.) These words did prompt action. After the May 2005 elections, nearly 193 people were killed in
street violence, including seven policemen.
For critics, the mass arrest of the journalists, opposition leaders, and social activists, and their ongoing trials are seen more as a
vendetta against an opposition movement that was finally starting to chip away at the ruling party's 14-year reign of power.
Temesgen Zewdie, one of 70 CUD members to take a seat in parliament, says that the opposition voice is needed at this time, with
a Somali war approaching, but he adds that the government continues to treat CUD members as enemies. "They can charge us
with treason, saying that we are aligned with criminal groups, but we are not allowed to go onto public [state-owned] media to
defend ourselves," says Mr. Zewdie.
Journalists also complain about government interference and harassment, and dozens of working journalists in Addis Ababa told
the Monitor about being beaten or detained on charges of inciting opposition mobs to violence. But newspaper editor Amare
Aregawi says that the violence comes from both sides, from shadowy elements within the opposition movement as well as within the
government.
"You have the government restricting you, and you have the opposition parties threatening you, and not just that, but we in the
press were part of the racism, creating an atmosphere of intolerance," says Mr. Aregawi, editor-in-chief of The Reporter
newspaper in Addis Ababa. "Yes, we are not going to forget what happened in Rwanda, but can you solve it in a better way,
without throwing journalists and politicians in jail?"
A 'with us or against us' mentality
Some observers say that today's intolerance is rooted in a know-it-all culture of Ethiopia's student youth movement in the 1970s,
with both opposition leaders and the ruling party seeing things in black and white, good and evil terms.
"It's always that 'you're either with us or you're against us' mentality in Ethiopian politics, on both sides," says a local newspaper
editor, speaking on condition of anonymity.
With both the opposition and the government issuing threats against perceived enemies, Addis Ababa has become a no-politics
zone. Even comedians say they have had to change their material.
Hibest Asseifa, Ethiopia's only woman standup comedian, was one of a dozen comedians who performed on a best selling video
CD that played in sold-out halls during the election time. Colleagues who told political jokes - almost entirely pro-CUD - have now
fled the country. Even Ms. Asseifa, who sticks to relatively safe jokes about children and issues of class, has been physically
assaulted for her humor.
Now, Asseifa is trying to come up with jokes for a new show this December at the Hilton Hotel. The hotel management has told her
to avoid jokes about race and politics. "Generally, I don't do ethnic humor," says Hibest. "But now that they say to avoid it, I can't
think of any other kinds of jokes."
| Kinijit Minnesota Support Chapter |
That a gentle soul like Tesfaye would be fired from his job illustrates
just how ugly Ethiopian politics has become since the May 2005
elections, with a mixture of mob vengeance on one side and
authoritarian rule on the other. Photo courtesy of AddisVoice.com
just how ugly Ethiopian politics has become since the May 2005
elections, with a mixture of mob vengeance on one side and
authoritarian rule on the other. Photo courtesy of AddisVoice.com
Copyright ©2006 Kinijit Minnesota. All rights reserved |
በሎስ Aንጀለስ የቅንጅት የርዳታና ልማት ድርጅት
Kinijit’s Los Angeles Support and Development
Association for Democracy (KINIJIT)
EPRDF’s Attempt to Disseminate It’s Propaganda Failed Miserably
The Consular General’s attempt to hold a meeting of selected EPRDF sympathizers in the middle of Little Ethiopia failed a miserable failure.
Employees of the office were shocked when hundreds of dedicated voices of democracy awaited them right at the entrance. The meeting
hall was surrounded by security officials from the LAPD. There were more police officers than attendees. The parking lot stood empty, and
the few
that showed up to attend drove past the venue when they realized they were going to be confronted. The vocal protesters were highly
motivated and creative. In many instances the police officers approached the protesters often to ask on the meaning of “hodam.”
The protesters stayed until the end of the meeting to face all 12 attendees. Their embarrassment was clearly visible. It was an unforgettable
disaster for them. Today’s protest was organized by concerned Ethiopian residents of the Los Angeles area. Kinijit LA members
participated in great numbers. Participants asserted their commitment to continue with this effort until the unjustly jailed leaders,
journalists, and civic organization leaders are released from prisons all over Ethiopia, and until the voices of the Ethiopian people are
heard. [Full Text]
Kinijit’s Los Angeles Support and Development
Association for Democracy (KINIJIT)
EPRDF’s Attempt to Disseminate It’s Propaganda Failed Miserably
The Consular General’s attempt to hold a meeting of selected EPRDF sympathizers in the middle of Little Ethiopia failed a miserable failure.
Employees of the office were shocked when hundreds of dedicated voices of democracy awaited them right at the entrance. The meeting
hall was surrounded by security officials from the LAPD. There were more police officers than attendees. The parking lot stood empty, and
the few
that showed up to attend drove past the venue when they realized they were going to be confronted. The vocal protesters were highly
motivated and creative. In many instances the police officers approached the protesters often to ask on the meaning of “hodam.”
The protesters stayed until the end of the meeting to face all 12 attendees. Their embarrassment was clearly visible. It was an unforgettable
disaster for them. Today’s protest was organized by concerned Ethiopian residents of the Los Angeles area. Kinijit LA members
participated in great numbers. Participants asserted their commitment to continue with this effort until the unjustly jailed leaders,
journalists, and civic organization leaders are released from prisons all over Ethiopia, and until the voices of the Ethiopian people are
heard. [Full Text]
Rumor spreads about possible release of the jailed Kinijit leaders
Alem Asrat
Ethiopian Review Correspondent
Jan 26, 2007
Addis Ababa - Rumor is spreading in Addis Ababa that the jailed leaders of the Coalition for Unity & Democracy Party (Kinijit) will be
released before the day of the court verdict that is scheduled for February 19. What lends credence to the rumor is the fact that a mediation
effort by three prominent individuals--Professor Ephrem Yishak, Athlete Haile Gebreselassie, and Pastor Daniel--has been going on for a
while.
According to ER sources close to the mediators, Meles had agreed to release the Kinijit leaders if they apologize and retire from politics.
That demand was rejected by the Kinijit leaders. The latest demand by Meles is for both his regime and the Kinijit leaders to admit guilt for
the loss of lives in the post-elections violence. The Kinijit leaders have not outright rejected this demand by Meles, but they fear that it may
free Meles and his ruling party from being held accountable for the mass murder they committed in June and November 2005.
According to observers, few people in Addis Ababa believe that Meles will release the jailed leaders, particularly at this time when it is
receiving enormous financial and military support from the U.S. Government. Many believe that it is a ploy by Meles to buy time while
intensifying his witch hunt against Kinijit supporters through out the country. Woyanne death squads have been targeting young people. But
recently, female relatives of Kinijit officials and members have also become a target of arrest and torture. In the past few days alone, six
women have been arrested. The women have been taking food for their loved ones in Kaliti jail.
To increase pressure on the Meles regime to release the political prisoners, Kinijit chapters around the world are planning to hold
demonstrations and intense lobbying efforts in the days leading up to the day of the verdict. It's believed that the worldwide activities can
succeed only if they are done in coordination with mass mobilization of opposition activities inside the country. Full Text
Alem Asrat
Ethiopian Review Correspondent
Jan 26, 2007
Addis Ababa - Rumor is spreading in Addis Ababa that the jailed leaders of the Coalition for Unity & Democracy Party (Kinijit) will be
released before the day of the court verdict that is scheduled for February 19. What lends credence to the rumor is the fact that a mediation
effort by three prominent individuals--Professor Ephrem Yishak, Athlete Haile Gebreselassie, and Pastor Daniel--has been going on for a
while.
According to ER sources close to the mediators, Meles had agreed to release the Kinijit leaders if they apologize and retire from politics.
That demand was rejected by the Kinijit leaders. The latest demand by Meles is for both his regime and the Kinijit leaders to admit guilt for
the loss of lives in the post-elections violence. The Kinijit leaders have not outright rejected this demand by Meles, but they fear that it may
free Meles and his ruling party from being held accountable for the mass murder they committed in June and November 2005.
According to observers, few people in Addis Ababa believe that Meles will release the jailed leaders, particularly at this time when it is
receiving enormous financial and military support from the U.S. Government. Many believe that it is a ploy by Meles to buy time while
intensifying his witch hunt against Kinijit supporters through out the country. Woyanne death squads have been targeting young people. But
recently, female relatives of Kinijit officials and members have also become a target of arrest and torture. In the past few days alone, six
women have been arrested. The women have been taking food for their loved ones in Kaliti jail.
To increase pressure on the Meles regime to release the political prisoners, Kinijit chapters around the world are planning to hold
demonstrations and intense lobbying efforts in the days leading up to the day of the verdict. It's believed that the worldwide activities can
succeed only if they are done in coordination with mass mobilization of opposition activities inside the country. Full Text
Ethiopia - Annual Report 2007
The international community might have believed that legislative elections in May 2005 would mark the end of “authoritarian democracy” and
the beginning of a genuine openness. But the polling fiasco and the riots which followed them dashed this hope. Around 15 journalists have
been in prison since November 2005 after being picked up in a crackdown on the opposition coalition.
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.
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 international community might have believed that legislative elections in May 2005 would mark the end of “authoritarian democracy” and
the beginning of a genuine openness. But the polling fiasco and the riots which followed them dashed this hope. Around 15 journalists have
been in prison since November 2005 after being picked up in a crackdown on the opposition coalition.
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.
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.