Abuse of free speech – a setback for African democracy
By Mohammed Shardow
The extent of press freedom in Ethiopia and Uganda vary quite widely, with Uganda showing greater gains in recent years than Ethiopia, Even then, events recently expose the weakness of press freedom gain in both countries.
What constitutes abuse of press freedom and free speech in Africa is virtually inexhaustible. It starts with arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions and killing of journalists.
In Ethiopia, journalists in the independent press are seen as a threat to the security of the state. Civil society groups are also a target. For instance protests by the Coalition for Unity and Democracy made up of opposition parties and civil society groups including teachers unions and NGOs have led to the death of more than 40 Ethiopians and endangered the lives of several independent journalists.
There are at least six journalists in jail who are threatened to face the death penalty under Ethiopian law. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said the journalists will face charges of treason punishable by death because of unsubstantiated allegations of their connections to the clashes between protesters and Ethiopian security forces, which occurred on November 1, 2005 after protests against alleged election fraud.
The state media have published the names and photographs of certain journalists and called on the public to assist the police to trace them . Following the announcement, many journalists have gone into hiding. Zenawi’s government is actively searching for at least 17 other journalists, publishers and editors, including the president of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA), Kifle Mulat. Kifle is now somewhere in Africa unable to return home after attending a three- day meeting of Africa Free _Expression Organisations in Accra from October 28-30.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) hosted the conference, which was to intensify advocacy for freedom of _expression around the continent, and gave birth to the Network for African Free _Expression Organisation (NAFEO).
In Uganda, the independent Daily Monitor of Kampala reported that security agencies besieged its premises on October 10, where the company’s FM radio station is also located late in the night and supervised publication of the next day’s edition of the newspaper.
Police and military personnel also searched the newspaper’s premises and ordered all the Daily Monitor upcountry distribution vans to stop, thereby delaying distribution of the day’s newspaper.
According to the security agencies, their mission was to know the source of an advertiser’s announcements the Monitor published for the main opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to raise money for the defence of its imprison leader Dr Kizza Besigye.
The police action followed the government’s earlier threat to shut down the Daily Monitor newspaper and arrest political editor Andrew Mwenda over a story about the appointment of the Chief of Defence Forces. He is also facing sedition charges.
Such blatant disregard for fundamental human rights on the continent gave the impetus for collaboration such as NAFEO, which seeks to maximize the effectiveness of African free speech promoting organisations.
The Ethiopian situation could be the first specific case for NAFEO to grapple with. The network has sent a strong protest to Meles Zenawi reminding him of the universally accepted principle that allows the press to report freely on events in society without fear of persecution or restrictions.
The letter is not only timely but also refreshing as it urges the government to consider its actions, which could impact negatively on the credibility of the African Union, in which the network says “millions of Africans have invested their hopes for greater future”.
Again, NAFEO’s statement says the implications of the arrests and detentions of citizens and a crackdown on the media in Ethiopia would further worsen the future of the AU, which is already facing significant challenges. The statement also points out that the Ethiopian government should rather ensure that the moral leadership of the AU and the Executive Commission based in Addis Ababa are strengthened.
According to the statement, the Zenawi administration will be evading historical responsibility if it fails to release the detained journalists without conditions and also allow individual journalists to operate freely.
A little over a decade ago, there was an emergence of media pluralism all over Africa. But today, despite these improvements in the extension of frontiers of free expressions, there are increasing attacks on press freedom; in some cases aided by courts using civil defamation laws and outrageous damages.
By Mohammed Shardow
The extent of press freedom in Ethiopia and Uganda vary quite widely, with Uganda showing greater gains in recent years than Ethiopia, Even then, events recently expose the weakness of press freedom gain in both countries.
What constitutes abuse of press freedom and free speech in Africa is virtually inexhaustible. It starts with arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions and killing of journalists.
In Ethiopia, journalists in the independent press are seen as a threat to the security of the state. Civil society groups are also a target. For instance protests by the Coalition for Unity and Democracy made up of opposition parties and civil society groups including teachers unions and NGOs have led to the death of more than 40 Ethiopians and endangered the lives of several independent journalists.
There are at least six journalists in jail who are threatened to face the death penalty under Ethiopian law. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said the journalists will face charges of treason punishable by death because of unsubstantiated allegations of their connections to the clashes between protesters and Ethiopian security forces, which occurred on November 1, 2005 after protests against alleged election fraud.
The state media have published the names and photographs of certain journalists and called on the public to assist the police to trace them . Following the announcement, many journalists have gone into hiding. Zenawi’s government is actively searching for at least 17 other journalists, publishers and editors, including the president of the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA), Kifle Mulat. Kifle is now somewhere in Africa unable to return home after attending a three- day meeting of Africa Free _Expression Organisations in Accra from October 28-30.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) hosted the conference, which was to intensify advocacy for freedom of _expression around the continent, and gave birth to the Network for African Free _Expression Organisation (NAFEO).
In Uganda, the independent Daily Monitor of Kampala reported that security agencies besieged its premises on October 10, where the company’s FM radio station is also located late in the night and supervised publication of the next day’s edition of the newspaper.
Police and military personnel also searched the newspaper’s premises and ordered all the Daily Monitor upcountry distribution vans to stop, thereby delaying distribution of the day’s newspaper.
According to the security agencies, their mission was to know the source of an advertiser’s announcements the Monitor published for the main opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to raise money for the defence of its imprison leader Dr Kizza Besigye.
The police action followed the government’s earlier threat to shut down the Daily Monitor newspaper and arrest political editor Andrew Mwenda over a story about the appointment of the Chief of Defence Forces. He is also facing sedition charges.
Such blatant disregard for fundamental human rights on the continent gave the impetus for collaboration such as NAFEO, which seeks to maximize the effectiveness of African free speech promoting organisations.
The Ethiopian situation could be the first specific case for NAFEO to grapple with. The network has sent a strong protest to Meles Zenawi reminding him of the universally accepted principle that allows the press to report freely on events in society without fear of persecution or restrictions.
The letter is not only timely but also refreshing as it urges the government to consider its actions, which could impact negatively on the credibility of the African Union, in which the network says “millions of Africans have invested their hopes for greater future”.
Again, NAFEO’s statement says the implications of the arrests and detentions of citizens and a crackdown on the media in Ethiopia would further worsen the future of the AU, which is already facing significant challenges. The statement also points out that the Ethiopian government should rather ensure that the moral leadership of the AU and the Executive Commission based in Addis Ababa are strengthened.
According to the statement, the Zenawi administration will be evading historical responsibility if it fails to release the detained journalists without conditions and also allow individual journalists to operate freely.
A little over a decade ago, there was an emergence of media pluralism all over Africa. But today, despite these improvements in the extension of frontiers of free expressions, there are increasing attacks on press freedom; in some cases aided by courts using civil defamation laws and outrageous damages.
posted by mohammed shardow at 4:27 AM
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