‘Ethiopia’s media crackdown is bad news for Africa’
Without a free press in Addis Ababa, Africans are being locked
out of the important decisions being made in their de facto capital,
writes Simon Allison
“Ethiopia’s media should be playing a crucial role in the May elections,
but instead many journalists fear that their next article could get
them thrown in jail.”
January 23, 2015 (The Guardian) — It’s not easy being a journalist in
Ethiopia. In fact, it’s nearly impossible, according to a new 76-page
Human Rights Watch report that documents the scale of the state’s
censorship apparatus. As a journalist, it makes for highly disturbing
reading.
“Ethiopia’s government has systematically assaulted the country’s
independent voices, treating the media as a threat rather than a valued
source of information and analysis,” says Leslie Lefkow, the
organisation’s deputy Africa director.
“Ethiopia’s media should be playing a crucial role in the May elections,
but instead many journalists fear that their next article could get
them thrown in jail.”
The authors of the report spoke to 70 Ethiopian journalists, many in
exile, who painted a dismal picture of the state of Ethiopian media. The
government exerts control in many different ways – some subtle, some
quite the opposite.
No comments:
Post a Comment