Some Comparative Studies on Press Freedom in Ethiopia

by Melaku Tegegne

In this article, I would like to compare the press freedom of Ethiopia with that of Russia, China, and North Korea.

Press Freedom in Russia

Time Magazine, in its special edition devoted to Vladimir Putin – Person of the Year 2007 – revealed the grim picture of press freedom in Russia “today, for example, the Russian government doesn’t just have supporters at the national television stations; it owns the stations outright. In a meeting at the Kremlin before I began my trip, Putin’s spokesman didn’t even try to deny that national news was slanted in the government’s favour. But he said the regional media were thriving and independent. ‘Study them,’ he said, and ‘you will understand that this is the freest country in the world.’”

The freest country in the world? Sarcastic at its best. On this point, the journalist who wrote the article went on to say that: “I met journalists throughout my travels and found the Kremlin’s assessment disingenuous at best. In America, you are free to criticize Bush, a television talk-show host told me in his kitchen in Novogorod, wrote the journalist and added ‘Me, too. I am also free to criticize Bush.’ He laughed. Then, not smiling, he said, ‘I am actually scared to be talking to you. Time Magazine is far away. But if I express my opinions, I will have to face the authorities – not Putin, but someone here on a local or provincial level. I will lose my job.’”

The writer states that the will of the central government is well understood by the officials at all levels of the government – how to silence dissenting views or opinions – and gave it the name “grass-roots autocracy”. Noting further, he says, “This is a new phenomenon in the post-Soviet era, but in the words of the talk-show host, Russians have “historical experience” of voluntarily and enthusiastically carrying out the perceived will of the supreme leader.

This heavy-handed action or a subtle method of restraint on the press freedom in Russia was given justification that in the 1990s there was much freedom of the press, and the purpose of the whole exercise now is to “systematize political discourse”. Again it is an ironical statement made against freedom of expression. Briefly stated, the press freedom or freedom of expression in Russia at present is meant only to serve the interests of the new ruling class. The majority people of Russia are deprived one of their basic rights.

The same applies to my homeland, Ethiopia. The principal of the governing law of the press, which is often not expressly stated, is the same as the Russian (unwritten) law. The unwritten law in both cases is “the will of the ruling elite”. The only difference between the two is that in Ethiopia, ideology is added. There is what they call “revolutionary democracy”, reminiscent of Marxism and Leninism. So freedom of expression falls under these two foul practices – ideology and hidden will of the ruling elite. Hence, any journalist who tries to counter both the expressed and unexpressed will of the ruling elite group is knocked out by legal or forced means. That is why many Ethiopian journalists of the private press have been incarcerated, thrown out of jobs, or forced to flee the country.

In Russia, in the past few years, many journalists have been killed in a mysterious way, as stated in Time Magazine, referred to above. But the question is that how can the deaths of journalists, who have respected places in society, be mysterious for a government like Russia which has a very strong security system, a sophisticated means of control?

The nefarious practice in the case of Ethiopia is that the few mass media are now largely controlled and staffed by kinsmen and women of the Prime Minister. Just to mention one example, when I left Ethiopia in 2001, Assefa Bekele, was head of Ethiopian Television. During the previous military regime, both of us were ordinary reporters; I was at Addis Zemen newspaper, and he was at Ethiopian TV. Assefa became head of Ethiopian TV during the time of the new government, not because of his exceptional talent or merit, but because of nepotism: he is a kinsman of the ruling elite.

This is naked tribalism or racism based upon nepotism or abuse of state power. This kind of nepotism was imitated by the Prime Minister and his cohorts from the late Somali dictator, Ziad Barre. He gave all the higher echelons of the government to his kinsmen and women from the Merihan clan. This nefarious practice by the present government of Ethiopia is practiced in all government ministries, commissions, agencies, military institutions, higher education institutions, etc. In all places, one can find “a guardian angel”, a watchdog of the ruling elite. It is very sad to see such a tribalistic situation in one of the ancient countries of the world in the 21st century,

Press Freedom in China

Under the title “Ruthless Media Manipulation”, the Economist Magazine in its special issue of December 22, 2007, (page 124), states how Mao, the founder of modern China, manipulated the media.

Chairman Mao had his “Little Red Book”, a guide to the ideology to be followed by the country. Meles Zenawi authored a voluminous draft work – 700 pages – called “Revolutionary Democracy”, an ideology book for the 21st century of Ethiopia. He wrote the book in 2001 during a crisis period that he faced from his closest friends, founders of his liberation movement. The draft was not published in a book form, which is in some ways good for circumventing the wider dissemination of the ideology throughout the country.

Let me add one more point.

Like Chairman Mao, PM Meles has established a system where he can only talk to a very select group of journalists. The former Ethiopian dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam, had also a similar fashion. These select groups of journalists are either cadres or kinsmen and women of the government officials of the day.

Press Freedom in North Korea

I visited North Korea in 1989, during the International Festival of Youth and Students, representing young Ethiopian journalists. In my stay with the delegation of the Ethiopian youth and students, numbering 150 persons, I observed that in North Korea, there are no BBC, CNN, CBC, ABC, CBS, or any other international radio, TV, magazines, or newspapers. It is a closed system to the outside world. In the international news broadcasts on North Korean TV, one can listen to their version of international news, which is heavily biased in favour of the Communist state. Even our music cassettes and players were taken by the security at Pyongyang airport and returned to us when we went back home.

I saw very few books on shelves, and these books are nothing but portray the juche ideology ("man is the master of everything and decides everything") architected by the late Korean leader, Kim Il Sun. There are also some books written by the current leader, Kim Jong Il. He was praised as the guardian of journalism and the arts.

I mentioned the North Korean experience in press freedom to make a direct link with the current trends in Ethiopia. The government of Meles Zenawi is quickly moving towards the Korean style of suppressing news and information from the international media. Latest reports indicate that the regime blocked the two radio stations based in Washington, DC, and Cologne, Germany, broadcasting in three Ethiopian languages. It also blocked pro-democracy web sites. It has become also a public secret that the regime wiretaps telephone lines of persons who have dissenting views. This simply shows that the Meles regime wants to deny the 70 million people of Ethiopia of the right to information. Following such irresponsible anti-democratic practice, the regime can only drag the all-round development of the country. Without press freedom, free opinion, and ideas, it is inconceivable to envisage a better Ethiopia.

Spin Doctors

In Ethiopia, there are four main spin doctors who manipulate the dissemination of domestic and foreign information. At the forefront comes Bereket Simon, Public Relations Advisor of the Prime Minister. Well known by his notorious activities in the election in 2005, Bereket Simon has rigged the election by illegally knocking out his competitor from the main opposition party and has managed to give interviews to the main international media such as the BBC and CNN. Bereket speaks broken English and this made him a laughing stock among many Ethiopians in the diaspora. How can a person who is not versatile with foreign language, especially English, be a Public Relations Minister?

The second spin doctor is Dr Tekeda Alemu. He is the Deputy Foreign Minister and speechwriter of Meles Zenawi. He spins all the information relating to foreign relations of the country. Although a sophisticated scholar, he lacks integrity and is a well-known opportunist. He is responsible for tarnishing the image of the country, for he has always been providing unsound advice to his bosses, the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister, who lack professionalism, foresight, and wisdom as he does.

Berhan Hailu, the Minister of Information, is the third spin doctor. However, like his predecessor, Bereket Simon, he is also poor in English. It is indeed shameful to see such people in ministerial positions representing the people of Ethiopia in the 21st century.

The last person whom I would like to mention is Wahide Belay, my former colleague at the Ottawa Embassy. He is now the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I laughed when I heard him speaking about the Human Rights and Democracy Act of Ethiopia, a document which was unanimously passed by the US Congress advocating the protection of human rights, as a document which undermines the sovereignty of the country. He said the document considers Ethiopia as one of the 52 states of the USA. Ridiculous, indeed. A twisted argument, lacking any rationality.

In short, as I stated earlier, the current regime is heading fast towards the suppression of free opinion at the mainstream media and academic institutions. It is worrisome indeed to hear nowadays that professors and doctors in academia are signing their contractual agreements by entering oaths of allegiance not to criticize the political system of the country, which is naked tribalism; this does not augur well for the all round development and progress of the country.

About the Author:

Melaku Tegegne is a former Ethiopian journalist and diplomat, now a peace and democracy activist and can be reached at melaku_tegegne@hotmail.com. Please visit his blog, Issues in Focus, at http://issues-in-focus.blogspot.com/