Addis Ababa University’s School of journalism against journalists?

There is barely any example found in the world that a school of journalism to take side against journalists and make them look awful and destructive in their attempt to seek excellence in journalism.

What an outrageous option did the dean of the School of Journalism- Addis Ababa University have opted at critical junctures that a “good” appearance of the School of Journalism, well at least for donors as the school was at first initiated with a huge pump of money from Swedish neighbors –Norwegians.

In his interview you can read it here .Amharic version with the state owned Amharic daily Addis Zemen; the Dean of the School of Journalism converted the “good “image of the school of journalism into a destructive and sinister outlook! This is so menacing at least for existing students because the school still heavily relays on expatriate voluntary teachers from all over the world

The Dean took a swipe at two Swedish journalists who are currently serving their 11 year sentence in prison. He censured them in a blatantly one-sided fashion on inside page rather than the front. He said that “the Swedish journalists were caught in a region where there is no fuss ,media spotlight or whatsoever and their trial has nothing to do with freedom of speech and freedom of expression … are all things we have been hearing on global media is rubbish ” Translated from Amharic . This seems a bit extreme for a school of journalism which prides itself as progressive with a high standard of academic freedom.

Never mind, because the dean of the school went further, arguing that “if our government had filed a complaint for an international court, urging an investigation into the actions of these two Swedish journalists and their employer media ,both would have been fined seriously” Do not ever dare to laugh to yourself because this is not a comic story.

“This country has law and order and they could have lodged their request through legal method” said the dean. At times that may well be true. But hang on – didn’t the dean know about investigative journalism. The dean’s remark seems to imply that these journalists never attempt to get information in an appropriate way. He seems to rush for the conclusion that the journalists committed egregious breaches of Ethiopia’s laws.
Just one final point no doubt there is more freedom in higher education than elsewhere, but there is no prospect of journalism departments in Ethiopia’s Universities turning into vibrant training centre for our future journalists with such kind of bashing sentiment for journalists.

An Incomplete guide to Ethiopian Blogs

It seems that since the social media motivated Arab uprisings Ethiopians turned their face to digital media for alternative voices as Ethiopia’s traditional media landscape is subjugated by pro-government and government media. Ethiopians’ hopes for relatively better freedom of expression have never been higher, at least since all exiled media can be accessed through internet.

Against this backdrop every time I logged in to my facebook or twitter account I observe new Ethiopian blog url’s shared by Ethiopian bloggers and social media aficionado. Then I decided to share the list with my readers but the challenge is where can I get a complete list of Ethiopian blogs? No problem it can be a partial list but my readers and fellow bloggers can recommend and make it inclusive. If I may start with news blogs ….

News blogs

The control of government grip on traditional media in the country is far above the ground, but it is being challenged, and sporadically supplanted, by an embryonic Ethiopian blogs and social media enthusiasts reversing time-honored notions of the contours of informational flows between diasporas and homelands. For your Ethiopian related contents that are blocked in Ethiopia are available in one of the following Ethiopian blogs. Have a look at one of the following blogs and of course these are not the only ones

http://ethioandinet.wordpress.com
http://jontambek.wordpress.com
http://danielberhane.wordpress.com
http://andthree.wordpress.com

Reflective Blogs

If you are looking for opinions be it on politics, religion, education, or homosexuality the following blogs will let you know or direct you at least to what is being said on the issues by Ethiopians. Please complete the list.

http://abelawinet.blogspot.com
http://afroaddis.wordpress.com
http://arefe.wordpress.com/
http://afterride.wordpress.com
http://www.debirhan.com
http://www.danielkibret.com
http://fasiledes.posterous.com
http://sukersays.com/
http://eweket.wordpress.com
http://antigaye.wordpress.com/
http://zeelittletes.wordpress.com/

Philosophy blogs
Here is a confession-“I was baptized and brought up in the Orthodox Christian faith. I was taught it in childhood and throughout my boyhood and youth. But when I abandoned the second course of the university at the age of eighteen I no longer believed any of the things I had been taught” This actually is Tolstoy’s confession of the late 19th century but if you are interested to read similar confessions by other bloggers or philosophers I bet Zelalem’s blog worth clicks. I wish many bloggers will join this list of bloggers here and Zelalem, you will “never walk alone”.

http://zelalemkibret.wordpress.com

Literary Blogs

You love literary touch pieces, the following blogs are a good staring place.

http://freemanpoets.wordpress.com
http://tgindex.blogspot.com Tesfaye Gebreab’s blog

Academic Blogs dominated by law blogs

http://www.abyssinialaw.com
http://www.ethiopian-law.com
http://abookmedhin.wordpress.com
http://chilot.me

Programming geek’s blog

http://livetocodedotnet.wordpress.com

As conclusion
These blogs are increasing in number and influencing those who have access to technology to recognize information in their own context. Delicious developmental information is no longer entirely determined by pro-government media. Besides these blogs are presenting information that is inaccessible in a traditional mainstream media .After all do we have a mainstream media in Ethiopia? Anyway try them all.Now, anyone with access to the Internet can consume whatever information individuals have put up in the form of blog posts, whether it is direct reporting of an experience, or a personal translation of the experience. Keep up the good work and bloggers!

One final point

Two of the following fast budding facebook groups of Ethiopian bloggers are commendable options to go through Ethiopian blogs both inside and outside Ethiopia. The links are here and here

Why SOPA will be a tragedy for Africa

By Frank Nyakairu

A colleague of mine from Kenya highlighted in highly contextualized fashion about SOPA’s impact on Africa.Enjoy reading it and join the struggle against Stop Online Piracy Act

It’s been said that example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other. Perhaps the truth of this saying is attested in the infamous Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and “The PROTECT IP Act” (PIPA) are proposed laws in the United States. But Uncle Sam’s bill meant to stop online copyright infringements is bitterly opposed in what is probably the most detested legislation process beyond the United States. Debate is rife. Its contenders argue that, SOPA/PIPA will protect trademarks, especially entertainment giants by stopping online piracy of content such as music books and movies. To stop that, it grants the US Attorney General the right to inflict penalty on websites accused of hosting copyright content. It is also intended to crack down on offending websites operating outside the US. But prescribing SOPA/PIPA as a remedy for online piracy is way too strong that it will kill the ‘patient’. Africa, the world’s poorest continent, stands to be affected most.

Killing Online Me

As an African journalism, whose lives life is up in to the cyberspace, I’m virulently opposed to SOPA/PIPA because of their far-reaching consequences directly threatening my online life. Here is how: if I posted a new blog on Rebelweb.me on any topic say censorship, and the post attracts a string of comments, one of which carries a single offending link, I will be directly liable for copyright infringement. Rebelweb.me, risks an immediate takedown without proof required, or due process, will seek a takedown penalty to compel my US-based domain register, Go Daddy, to deregister my domains. Go Daddy has shamelessly supported SOPA at some point. This is insanity. What does my blog, authored in East Africa, have anything to do with a US law? How can such a law be passed by United States? How can such an idea come from such a ‘democracy’ in the 21st century? Does the US have the slightest idea about the SOPA/PIPA ripple effects? Do they care anyway? Internet: Africa’s new ‘Enemy of the State’

Most Africa’s governments have been fast and creative at copying Uncle Sam’s bad manners. This is strategic. Reason? Because Uncle Sam will not raise a finger just like it occurred his ‘War on Terror’. Policies the made-up the global war on extremist terrorist groups instead led to spiral of atrocious and oppressive legislations especially in East Africa. Opposition groups and journalists, I inclusive suffer and risk arbitrary arrest and detention without trial, and even relocation to third countries in extraordinary renditions. An anti-terror policy instead armed autocratic states with perfect tools of oppression. All thanks to Uncle Sam and SOPA is another opportunity in the nip of time. Timely because it comes when the Internet is being relegated to a list of enemies the state after offering invincible social platforms for activities to overthrow three dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011. If passed into law, SOPA will trigger off a series of opportunistic, harsh and even more draconian legislations around in Africa. The will be mainly modeled to that target online dissent and journalists. It will then be lawful to switch off social forums if deemed a threat to “national security” by aiding circulation of any information. Some laws may even go beyond patents to include government secrets, which if published, websites will easily taken down. With SOPA, governments will no longer obscurely filter, block and arrest those behind the online activities. They will do this with deep impunity in broad daylight. All this, thanks to ‘Uncle Sam’ and he will not raise a finger. That is partly why the last decade has been characterized by alloyed skepticism over the American brand of democracy. There is growing disillusionment and realization that democracy made in America is not a panacea for the world’s ills and rights abuses but part of them.

Global call for rebellion

Yes we can! We can kill SOPA. That is if we up our game rally together and sound our drums of global dissent at the US from Tokyo to LA, from Nuuk to Cape Town. Lets sign all major anti-SOPA petitions. Let’s press it upon the Internet giants like Yahoo, eBay, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Netscape, to move fast in staging a planned global Internet blackout, which will pinch everybody including the bills proponents. And yes, in this crucial election year, we can also make SOPA a serious foreign policy issue for Barak Obama who plans to retain White House. SOPA should have no place in this world today, as we all know it.

The global press unites behind Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson: ለኢትዮጵያውኑ ጋዜጠኞች ማን ይጩህላቸው?

The international media’s reaction on the verdict of the two Swedish journalists of supporting a terrorist group has been frenzied and largely censuring both the trial and finding of an Ethiopian high court. Time framed the account as a deplorable decision on its website. Huffingtonpost.com took identical stance on the story with Time. In Britain telegraph opted to focus on the demand of the Sweden government to release the journalists. Both Aljazeera and Christian Science Monitor estimated the sentence on the pair to be up to 15 years which is expected to be handed next week while many other media outlets took it up to 20 years.

Meanwhile only a handful of Ethiopian local media grabbed the story with a report of a greatest precautious detachment. The Amharic version of “The Reporter” wrote the verdict excluding any of the remarks made by any of international human right, press watch dog organizations and of course Swedish diplomatic community. Sheger FM is another local radio that approached the story with preventative measure of any sort of repercussion. Actually they had good reason to be cautious as they are vulnerable of being indicted of supporting terrorism because at present Ethiopia has accused more than ten journalists on the bases of litigious anti-terrorism law.

However Ethiopian exiled journalists and the online Ethiopian public are free from such apprehension of being indicted and write about this complicated and prolonged case of Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye. Apparently the major Ethiopian exiled online media; Addis Neger, brought the bona fide remarks of many Ethiopians to the world’s attention immediately after the court ruled the verdict. In breaking the news Addis Negers wrote on their facebook page:

“The Kangaroo court in Addis Ababa ruled this morning that the two Swedish journalists are guilty of supporting terrorist organizations. According to the draconian “Anti-Terrorism” law of Ethiopia, “encouragement of terrorism” is punishable by a rigorous imprisonment of 10-20 years”.

Many of the comments followed this facebook update of Addis Neger have largely backed Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye to get released and demanded the Swedish government to take hard line stance on Ethiopian government and pointed the finger of blame at the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his cronies.

Abiye Teklemariam, journalist who himself is being prosecuted in absentia with terrorism charges believes the unlucky capture and trial of Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye is pinpointing that if the Ethiopian government treats foreigners from donor countries badly, it treats locals even worse. He reacted on the decision of the panel of judges and their unanimous verdict after he quoted the statement of the middle man of jury, Shemsu Sirgaga
….“They have not been able to prove that they did not support terrorism,” [judge] Shemsu said, speaking in Ethiopia’s Amharic language….”Since they were caught with (ONLF) rebels we find it difficult to believe they only came to find that information.”

Abiy wrote “Is it conceivable that these judges have an even touristic knowledge of criminal law? Nauseating!”

Further damage to already damaged reputation of journalists’ treatment

In their reporting many international media organization made a reference of Ethiopian authorities’ bad reputation of journalists’ treatment and this could only broaden the already damaged reputation of Ethiopia. CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes was quoted by many international media saying “We have reached a seminal point, which unfortunately we hit in the 2005 post-election crisis,” Furthermore Amnesty International’s Ethiopia researcher Claire Beston highlighted that “The sheer numbers of arrests and prosecutions this year indicate a systematic crackdown, a systematic dismantling of the last few independent voices,”

Indeed, I have been also chronicling the case of Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson and the general context in which Ethiopian journalists are operating since the trial Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson has begun in Addis Ababa in October.My reporting has included analyses of how the Ethiopian media both private and government media is covering court proceedings; how David Isaac, Eritrean-Swedish, was reported in Ethiopia’s media and the state of freedom of expression in Ethiopia such as continues brandish of arrests and accusations of journalists and opposition leaders. These malaises are most visible in Ethiopian media landscape since the ratification of the contentious anti-terrorism proclamation in 2009 which lead to the closure of independent newspapers, accusations, detentions and kicking out of journalists and bloggers out of their country.

Estimate on the pair’s sentences

Months before the verdict has been handed dawn to the journalists the international media has been guessing what would happen to the Swedes. Now the journalists are officially declared guilty of supporting terrorism on 21 December, much of the international media are already reporting the journalists could face up to 20 years in prison when they are sentenced on December 27.Now, the failure of Swedish government to oblige the Ethiopian government has become a dominant theme. Kiflu Hussain,a notable human right defender and writer said

‎””Silent diplomacy” failed. The Westerns along with the Swedes themselves who are merciless on the likes of Mugabe & Afwerki,cannot save the two Swedish journalists from their favorite dictator, Meles Zenawi.Apparently,the conviction by the Kangaroo court leads to long term incarceration. But I bet they’d be released soon since Zenawi always has something up his sleeve with this sort of “internationally “publicized cases. The question’s; would the Swedish journalists be sworn in to silence from speaking out against prison conditions in Ethiopia or would they disparage Zenawi’s regime like those Americans did after being pardoned by Tehran?”

However in a statement, Mr Reinfeldt does not agree with such views and said Sweden viewed the convictions in a very serious light and was already making high-level contact with the Ethiopian government to secure their release.”Our position is and continues to be that they were in the country on a journalistic assignment. They must be released as soon as possible in order to be reunited with their families in Sweden,” wrote BBC citing an official statement of Sweden Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Regardless of the upcoming sentence Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson would thank their colleagues all over the world for keeping them at the center of global media attention. It is evident that the Swedish media and journalists all over the world have done a huge public relations campaign to free them.

What was Ethiopians searching on Google in 2011?

Last year I published what Ethiopians were searching in 2010 on the web. As 2011 is in close proximity to be over here is what Ethiopian internet users have been searching throughout 2011. Though there are no basic change interims of search term from 2010, there are some surprises. Let’s see the top searches by dividing them into three groups as top web search, news, images and product searches.
In similar manner as in 2010 the most regularly requested search term on Google by Ethiopians in 2011 is the social networking site, Facebook. The remaining top ten searches are not of big revelation – they are a blend of e-mail websites like Gmail and Yahoo. Ethiopia and BBC news are also amongst the top searched terms in 2011.
Google’s fastest rising search list also revealed that Gaddafi, DV2013 and an Ethiopian Television Drama called Sew le Sew are among fastest rising searches on Google. With DV2013 is a break out the remaining are almost comparable with top search terms.
Despite relentless coverage of the Great Renaissance Dam on Blue Nile by government and local media; it seems Ethiopians online are not interested to Google it. There is no single search item for the news of the grand project in the top searched items but it appears that the word “Abay” which means Blue Nile is among fastest rising search list.
Google Insights for Search, which registers the most searched images, reveals that Rihanna, Meles Zenawi, Renaldo were among the key words punched by many Ethiopians online.
Google Insights for Search sounds like a tool for everyone who is interested to know what Ethiopians were searching on Google should try it. Here is the link

Ethiopian journalists locked up in terrorism charges neglected in “media fog” of Swedish journalists of equal if not identical case.

Woubeshet Taye, Reyot Alemu, Eskinder Nega, Sileshi Hagos and at least four others have been ignored in the “fog” of an attentive international media reporting and social media driven public relations campaign to free two imprisoned Swedish journalists; Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson whose verdict is expected to be concluded on 21 December 2011.

Indeed, I have been chronicling the case of Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson and the general context in which Ethiopian journalists are operating since the trial Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson has begun in Addis Ababa in October. My reporting has included analyses of how the Ethiopian media both private and government media is covering court proceedings; how David Isaac, Eritrean-Swedish, was reported in Ethiopia’s media and the state of freedom of expression in Ethiopia such as continues brandish of arrests and accusations of journalists and opposition leaders. These malaises are most visible in Ethiopian media landscape since the ratification of the contentious anti-terrorism proclamation in 2009 which lead to the closure of independent newspapers, accusations, detentions and kicking out of journalists and bloggers out of their country.
Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson were pleaded not guilty in an Ethiopian court on Thursday to terrorism charges after they were caught with allegedly fighters of an outlawed rebel group called ONLF in the country’s Ogaden region last July.
In the rigorous Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson media coverage, eight other Ethiopian journalists — whose similar made up terrorism charges — has disappeared from most of the views of major international news media organization with the exception of handful news media organizations that have tried to shed light on cases of the Ethiopian journalists in light of the Swedish journalists.
“The world barely noticed these politico-criminal dramas in one of the west’s closest African allies – until the unfortunate arrest and trial of two Swedish journalists. Good news? Well, a useful rule of thumb is that if the Ethiopian government treats foreigners from donor countries badly, it treats locals even worse.” wrote Abiye Teklemariam Megenta who himself is being prosecuted in absentia with terrorism charges in his latest article on opendemocracy.net
The international news media coverage of the cases and the campaign on social media has been so effective so far and managed the international community to think of the defendants as highly- respected investigative journalists with wide-ranging experience in taking assignments in all over the world.
Sweden’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Jens Odlander, pointed out many journalists with the similar experience of the defendants has offered to be a professional witness, and two have flown to Addis Ababa. “Something very impressive is happening,” Odlander told for international news media in Addis Ababa. “We had a mail sent out to a few contact people we know about, some journalists, and they forwarded it to maybe 800 plus foreign correspondents, mainly from Anglo-Saxon countries, and we had at least 20 people who were ready to come and witness, and very many people told us they would write a story about this case.”

It is apparent that his comments come in the mildest of the high coverage of the trial on Wednesday and Thursday by the international media. “A British and an American war correspondent called as expert witnesses by the defense appeared in court on Wednesday, telling the court that entering a country illegally for reporting purposes is a work method commonly used by journalists in conflict zones”, reported Aljazeera.com. “Ethiopian Court Mulls Journalists’ Role in Conflict Zones” writes VOA in its English news website.
Regardless of the upcoming verdict Martin Schibbye & Johan Persson would thank their colleagues all over the world for keeping them at the center of global media attention. It is evident that the Swedish media and journalists all over the world have done a huge public relations campaign to free them.

In contrast, coverage of Ethiopian journalists locked up for terrorism charges though it is significant it is not as intensified as it should be. And Ethiopia’s local media gives insignificant attention for the matter ether. I never come across a single news, feature or commentary on Ethiopian government media regarding the cases of both accused Ethiopian and Swedish journalists.

Ethiopia’s press & the online community in catch-22 about homosexuality, freedom of expression and beyond.

As usual Ethiopian government has been a disappointment for its suppressive handling of the matter and religious leaders did also get extensive censure for their methodical silence on the theme

It was reported that in early hours of Saturday few homophobic protestors who managed to locate the where about of gay rights activists gathering to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) conference centre were broken up and the alleged coordinators of the demonstration detained for few hours by police in Addis Ababa. Now, the unstated endorsement of the government to the gay rights activists gathering in Addis Ababa and the calm and methodical approach of the religious leaders to the matter has become a dominant theme.

Just before the commencement of the 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa; Ethiopian’s religious leaders’ tried to convened a meeting to denounce the preliminary meeting of gay rights activists gathering which was said to be organized and sponsored mainly by the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR) but their effort was cancelled after a discussion with government officials. This precautious and secretive deal of government with religious leaders to cancel the press conference called for the admonition of the gay activist gathering in Addis brought them a grave condemnation from most of Ethiopia’s online community. Abel Wabella, a blogger, slammed the act of the religious leaders and pretenders ironically for their stance on the issue. In his Amharic article titled: “Are we (Ethiopians) not sodomists?” He confronted writers, the so called social commentators and the online community for their reticent approach of the recent wave of journalists’ accusation and detentions based on terrorism charges while they are bogusly noisy on occasions such as the topical gay right activists’ gatherings in Addis.

The fearful nature of the religious leaders to the subject is despicable as it has been clear that “they were not able to properly address the situation as they were stopped from giving any kind of press release” [sic] on the matter writes Mahlet Zesolomon in her blog.Tamerat Negera, one of the exiled journalists of Addis Neger in his exceptionally extended Facebook update on the issue has scorned them as:You have never been part of any non violent campaign for your freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion. When those who non violently fight for your freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion campaign for these rights to be respected you never joined them. When these people who are nonviolently fighting for you were sent to jail you didn’t campaign for their release or even bother to visit them. When they were tortured you didn’t console them. When they are persecuted to exile you didn’t even care. When they are killed you were too afraid to attend their funeral. But when it is about the freedom of others to speak, assemble and practice their religion you are committed to violently deny them their rights. You have always been careful not to put yourself in any danger to protect and defend your own right but you are totally committed to put yourself in mortal danger to deny the rights of others. What the hell are you?

By the way during the official opening ceremony of 16th ICASA conference Mr Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director, calls for the protection of minority among which Men who have sex with men(MSM) community remembers were mentioned in the presence of many members of religious leaders

With one or two bona fide critical and independent print media outlets remaining in the country of 85 million populations Feteh and Addis Admass wrote about the issue. –as usual it seems the later takes a frame that does not brazen out with the government. In contrast, The Reporter’s coverage of the issue tried to be wide-ranging with a negative side of homosexuality out weighing the negative ones; one can read the articles in the local press (for example here ).

Personally, I find falling in a tricky trap of denouncing or approving homosexuality in Ethiopia is ludicrous as we have much more serious and wider issues at our hand to discuss about such as freedom of expression. One particular quote worth mentioning to trivialize the hot issue of the media is Kiflu Hussein’s Facebook updates on the issue : Though, it’s difficult to embrace the universality & indivisibility of human rights including gay rights for many people who consider themselves liberal, thanks to the unknown reason, I have also accepted the rights of gays. So my problem doesn’t stem from Meles & Co. allowing a gay rights meeting in Ethiopia. Because I know that Meles uses any cheap trickery to ingratiate himself with the so-called international community, while deploying snipers to gun down even babies, he hosts a gay rights meeting. And the West that still discriminates using different facades such as discriminating against HIV positive people shed a crocodile tear for African gays with the worst bloody despot.

Global voices author Markos Lemma has also revised the context in which many Ethiopian online community is arguing on the matter

New wave of journalists’ accusation a way of gag the private press?

In a series of reports being released since early September 2011, many Press Freedom Organizations like CPJ reported that minimum of ten journalists are currently accused on the basis of the country’s contentious anti-terrorism laws which the Prime Minster Meles Zenawi described it as a high standard law and a copy pasted law from American or British anti- terrorism laws in his recent parliament briefing in October 2011. With more Ethiopian journalists and dissidents also facing charges, the total number of people who would face terrorism charges could soon be ahead of Eretria which reportedly trail s only Ethiopia and described as Africa’s leading jailer of journalists and dissident. In fact, since July I have simply counted more than fifteen court proceedings against journalists.
The tight spot of private press seems to be reaching its climax, with many journalists of the private press on the verge of being indicted on anti-terrorism law. However such circumstances are unendurable wherever, but particularly in a country that gets a huge Western support for its development endeavors and that identified freedom of expression as a fundamental right in its constitution.
Nonconformist journalists allegedly tied to outlawed organizations Ginbot 7 or Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) or Oromo People Liberation Front (OLF) have regularly been targeted under the country’s anti-terrorism laws, and if the journalists found “guilty” they would face up to 20 years in prison, the cruelest punishments possible to silence critical voices in the country.

Accused journalists reactions

Scholar and journalist Abiye Teklemariam whose philosophical and critical facebook status updates usually sparks hundreds of comments and likes from his online friends faced prosecution in absentia. Though the charge reads that Abiye is going to be prosecuted for his editorship of Addis Neger Online I guess it appears that Abiye‘s critical facebook status updates added fuel for his indictment and of course Abiye instantaneously posted his reaction for the accusation:

For loving my country, for spending my waking hours thinking and talking about my country, for dreaming to see my country achieve its promise and potential, I am charged of terrorism by Meles Zenawi.

As usual his facebook wall is soaked with more than hundred melancholic and heartening messages from his e-friends.

Another journalist under blaze of the government’s allegation is Mesfen Negash who already faced prosecution in 2008-9 for an offense described as a press crime in his closed file. But this time Mesfen is accused under the anti-terrorism law of being members of a terrorist network and abetting, aiding and supporting a terrorist group. Mesfen was also not reticent about the allegation and he updated his facebook status by posting:

Special Status Update:My official Status according to Meles Zenawi’s book is changed to “a wanted terrorist.” It’ll inspire us all; don’t expect us to give up!!!

Other colleagues and friends of the accused journalists reflected on the incident. Tamerat Negera ridiculed on his facebook page as

What Else do you expect from despots and beasts? Congrats Dear Abiye Teklemariam and Mesfin Negash and I am terribly sad for Tamerat Negera and Girma Tesfaw. I hope you will be graduated and certified soon!

Where did the blocked sites instigate havoc?

Forget about the contents of blocked sites of Addis Neger Online; Abebe Gellaw of the U.S.-based Addis Voice; Abebe Belew of the U.S.-based radio station Addis Dimts; and Fasil Yenealem of Netherlands-based station ESAT; are they really accessible in Ethiopia and prompt havoc amongst Ethiopians? Here is my observation.
Mentioning a study conducted by Open Net Initiative (ONI) in 2009 Freedom House, whose website itself is blocked intermittently while I write this report in its 2010 report indicated that regardless of the refutation of the Ethiopian authorities in engaging in online censorship, Ethiopia is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa to enforce nationwide, politically motivated internet filtering. A Freedom House report further highlighted that ONI carried out a testing which found that the filtering focuses primarily on independent online news media, political blogs, and Ethiopian human rights groups’ websites. Almost all recently indicted journalists belong to or own these blocked sites of Ethiopia, so where and how they wreaked havoc? I will leave this question for those who suppose these journalists posed problems for State.

Groundless fear on the rise?

Ethiopia’s problems in treating journalists and dissident opinion leaders are much deeper. They are basic attitudinal problems of government and they harshly will affect at least budding Ethiopian blogosphere and social media sphere. I have received a lot of advice not to write some critical issues about government on my blog. Some friends of mine even went on to fall out with me for fear of that similar cases could be implicated on me. They always wonder why I would play with fire. Considering Ethiopia’s behavior on journalists of the last five years at least they might appear reasonable as an atmosphere of fear go sky-high with each accusations and arrests. Since the disputed election of 2005 alone, the government retracted the accreditation of foreign correspondent journalists from Voice of America, Deutsche-Welle and others as part of an effort to obstruct attention garnered by foreign press though all of them regained their accreditation later. The government points finger at the journalists of filing biased reports on Ethiopia’s effort in building democracy and developmental endeavor. Besides many pro-government people give a piece of advice for dissident opinion leaders not to write critical issues as they believe critics would destroy Ethiopia’s good image on global media. In his recent sardonic Amharic comment a columnist of Feteh, Abe Tokichaw, highlighted these issues as a very somber social hitch. Indeed, with effortless investigation of closed files of journalists at federal high court I estimated that there were more than 500 court proceedings were ongoing against journalists between five years with proceedings intensified in the last six months.
The virtual lacuna of coverage and analysis of Ethiopia’s handling of journalists by local press though has improved, owing to the recent glaring waves of accusation and arrests, highlights local journalists fear of similar repercussion of their fellow journalists. Besides the coverage and critical analysis can be finger counted on few brave weeklies of Awaramba Times and Feteh.

So what?

A pervasive line in all of the allegations of the journalists is that the alleged terrorist activities of the journalists are masked in mystery, and the plaintiffs have always turned down to expose any evidences of crimes of the journalists. Worse still, plaintiffs have rejected even to inform those brought earlier than courts – sometimes in closed courts –
Meanwhile, Prime Minster Meles Zenawi affirms his government’s dedication to press freedom, even as he usually censures the aim of the journalists as practitioners of the free press. However journalists who criticize their government’s action show proper loyalty to their country, because no democratic state can endure without the open and free assessment of government policies that journalists present. If Ethiopian government desires to be considered a rising democracy, its leaders must not grip freedom of the press in hatred and allow the journalists to practice the fundamental human right which is recognized in the constitution.

What Ethiopian press is saying about jailed journalists?

A week before the commencement of the trial of the two Swedish journalists- Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye- charged with terrorism much of the global press was already reporting the case following Prime Minster Meles Zenawi’s interview with the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten. Now, primer’s public allegations against two imprisoned journalists have become a dominant theme on pro-government media of Ethiopia. Interestingly enough, Walta Information Center, a pro-government private news and information service, that had been reporting about the Swedish-Eritrean journalist, Dawit Isaak and its subsequent concern of the Swedish authorities as Dawit remains jailed in the neighboring, Eretria kept shtoom about Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye
In his Amharic feature titled – “A country that permits public demonstration for animal right but not for human rights” Dawit Kebede, managing editor of Awramba Times, one of the few remaining private Amharic weeklies, satirizes the latest interview of Meles Zenawi with Aftenposten as a buy and sell business since his paper imported the interview and translated it for Amharic readers like an Ethiopian import of a foreign currency. With this claim he accentuated on how journalists from the private press methodically barred from meeting or interviewing Prime Minster Meles Zenawi for his entire time in power. In its weekend editorial, Awramba Times appeals for comparable opportunity with state media journalists regarding access to information of government activities.
Along with prime minster Meles Zenawi’s interview with Aftenposten, Awramba Times has translated an article written by Caelainn Barr of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and tried to draw attention to current status of journalists and press freedom in Ethiopia.
With trial of the two Swedish journalists fast approaching, the government has been severely criticized by many of major publication in the global press; however Addis Admas; another major private Amharic weekly didn’t utter a word about the two Swedish journalists. Rather, Addis Admas did report the deferment of the case of Eskinder Nega, another prominent journalist who has been imprisoned on similar accusations of Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye’s anti-terrorism charges. The Reporter, another bilingual well-known Addis Ababa based newspaper also reported the case in similar vein with Addis Admas, besides activists had set up a website devoted for Eskinder Nega’s immediate liberation.

In contrast, the online media coverage of the case of the Swedish journalists had been relatively high with the creation of a facebook page dedicated to raise funds for legal assistance effort has been more positive with 2,475 likes already registered and the page is being circulated amongst Ethiopian facebooking community.
ZenaEthiopia.com reported that Ethiopia does not want Swedish journalists in sensitive trial but highlighted that Swedish journalists denied visas to Ethiopia to cover the trial of imprisoned colleagues. Furthermore a website known as kilil5.com reported Meles Zenawi’s interview with the Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten and framed the story based on report of the Committee to Protect Journalists as an attempt to fix the outcome of Swedish journalists’ court case. “Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s public accusations on Monday against two imprisoned Swedish journalists compromise the presumption of their innocence and predetermine the outcome of their case, the Committee to Protect Journalists,” reported kilil5.com.

While the media in the rest of the world reporting heavily about jailed journalists in Ethiopia, but most of the Ethiopian press were making admirable developmental, fashion and life style stories for their front pages a lot more is going on amongst the chief members of the private press. The ever dwindling private press of Ethiopia chooses to take no notice of harsh narratives of Ethiopian private press and instead chooses to focus on the constantly ear dampening stories of fashion and development.

Ethiopia’s access to information law kept in the rear side of the door

This past September, delegates and leading experts in freedom of access to information from all over the world met in Cape Town and launched a landmark attempt to build on the epochal 1991 Windhoek Declaration on press freedom to an African Platform on Access to Information. I together with over a thousand delegates all over Africa did so by launching a declaration– “African Platform on Access to Information – a declaration that builds on its historical ancestor to establish, for the first time ever, general legal principles that define on access to information as a fundamental human right. But what is prospect of this declaration in Ethiopia?
In Ethiopia it took almost half a decade to ratify a law on freedom of access to information. Besides, though access to information is commonly described as other side of the media freedom coin – freedom of access to information receives little attention in the country. My observation is that most global free press ranking is usually made based on the authorities’ treatment of journalists in the country. Hence, Ethiopia’s World Press Freedom Index has been slipping to nadir. In 2010 Ethiopia was ranked 139th and in 2011 even worse. And in their complementary report the publishers, Reporters without Borders, pointed out the slippage to arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists and surveillance of the press but not on the status of freedom of access to information. This freedom is a basic one. There are plenty of journalists and political philosophers who consider it the first and foremost of a certain democracy. African Platform on Access to Information is probably the most robust expression and enshrinement of the primacy of access to information for open governance and transparency and hence democracy.
However, I am not saying that Ethiopia’s World Press Freedom Index ranking would have improved had the report included the status of freedom of access to information. Bluntly speaking Ethiopia’s rank would have fallen even behind probably behind the most common repressive regimes of the press in Africa like Eretria. I found it also important to mention the recent arrest and detention of journalists on allegedly trumped-up charges of the country’s anti-terrorism laws which continue to be a subject of heated discussion and protest amongst custodians of the free press is another big blow for the implementation of access to information law.
I recognized that though the freedom to access to information laws endorsed for all citizens but the most frequent and discouraged users of freedom to access to information laws are journalists and whistleblowers (though there is no legal protection for whistleblowers in Ethiopia). Of course it can also be claimed that freedom to access to information laws need journalists and whistleblowers to realize their potentials as political accountability tool to realize their role as the fourth estate. But to consider the Ethiopian press as a fourth state is probably the most hypocritical concept as the government owns national broadcaster Ethiopian TV and Radio controls the airwave.
In Ethiopia, ‘freedom of access to information’ means freedom to request little development related information and communicating them only as news when the authorities find the information necessary to be in the public domain. In many opinions of authorities, this is ‘freedom’ of access to information. Many journalists and free press activists argue that freedom of access to information in Ethiopia is becoming worse. Some even goes on to argue that in Ethiopia journalism is growingly understood rather in a different way from generally accepted norms that are thought in Ethiopian higher education journalism departments. They claim that journalists are perceived as support staff or public relation officers by authorities, and journalism itself as an intermediary bridge for communicating information the authorities deem enhance communication between government and the public. Journalists from both the dwindling private press and the government media are not actually free to access any information they wish weather the information they request is exempted by law or not .
Such a situation is painful anywhere, but particularly in one of the few countries of Africa that ratified freedom of access to information and that recognizes freedom of access to information as a fundamental right. Ethiopia’s government behavior this calls into question not only its desire but also its ability to commit to the principles underlying the declaration– “African Platform on Access to Information and its own proclamation that supposedly provided freedom of the mass media and access to information.
It is not clear that the situation has improved notably since the passage of the law – Freedom of the Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation (590/2008) – for instance, let alone journalists even members of the parliament were unable to get access to the full truth about cost of Ethiopia’s war against Somali’s Alshabab as these kinds of information dubbed as national security issues and are exceptions to the law and this makes the law as it stands is hindering the free exchange of ideas and information.
The right of journalists to get access to sensitive topics, including national security, is a basic right. Journalists who do not found accountable of criminal activity by an independent court should not face arrest, incarceration, or any other form of harassment or intimidation for doing their job to defend themselves.
Far from being slanderous and rebellious, journalists who tried to get access to sensitive information and criticize the government’s actions make obvious loyalty to their profession, because no democracy can survive without the open and independent assessment of public policies that government provide. Without implementing freedom of access to information abundantly from local administration to the prime minister’s office, the democratic state cannot survive. Indeed, one of the failings of Ethiopia’s democracy is failing to realize of freedom of access to information law in a coherent and robust fashion.