Ethiopia: The Passion of the Ethiopian Press [Interview]

(Special Coverage On the State of Ethiopian Free Press )

 

After 2007 when the theology of EPRDF overtly changed, its mechanism for dealing with the media also changed, growing ever more systematic. As some pundits claimed, the major shift lay not only in its approach to the media in particular, but in its approach to all independent voices. Ato Meles dreams of a country of one party and ideology. For him and the party, they argued, democracy has only instrumental value–to purge other democratic forces and voices from the scene, using “democratic means”

 

You may think these are real stories from fake journalists. Not at all. Rather, these are part of an unfinished play from a pseudo-independent Ethiopian journalist organization, staged in an international venue.  On May 11, 2010, the International Federation for Journalists called on Ethiopian political leaders to “keep out of journalists’ affairs and restrain from interference in the way media covers the elections”. This press release was about a faceless journalist of “Sened” Newspaper who received a death threat from an independent candidate. IFJ also stated the concern of the Ethiopian television over the intimidation of its journalists by the leader of the “Federal Democratic forum party” (Medrek). According to Ethiopian political pundits, this press statement of IFJ was “an absolute mockery of the current state of the Ethiopian free press”.

 

Last January, two months prior to the issuing of the press release, IFJ officials had the privilege of meeting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Menilik’s palace. In their statement after this meeting “IFJ Africa Welcomes Ethiopia’s Fresh Start for Press Freedom”.  This press statement was issued within a month’s time since Addis Neger newspaper closed and its journalists were forced into exile. Oh, What are these “fresh starts“ the IFJ officials discovered after they met Meles? But for many media commentators, it marked a new method of astute engagement of the international community by the Meles regime.  It was just the beginning.

 

The story of “Sened” Newspaper is stirring. It is the kind of newspaper that serves two complimentary goals. One is to serve its founder’s selfish interests and the other is to masquerade as the new model of the “free” revolutionary democracy media. It is private, not governmental, but purely affiliated and “developmental” in approach. It relentlessly attacks the ideals and actions of the opposition and targets individuals—namely, the notorious Dr Ashebir Woldgiorgis, arch enemy of Ato Birhanu Adello. Behind this newspaper, it is believed that there are two government officials who set the general direction of the paper: Birhanu Adello, Minister of the Cabinet’s Affairs, and Shemeles Kemal, Deputy Minister of Communications Affairs.  The duo is known for their role behind the two infamous laws, the NGO and Civic (CSO) law and the press law, which resulted in a diminishing of the political space.

 

Birhanu Addello is the only EPRDF official to lose his constituency in the May 2010 elections for independent candidate, trumped by Dr Ashebir Woldegiorgis, in their native Kafa, Bonga. Ashebir, a dentist by profession, is a diehard person.  He first entered the Ethiopian media sphere through a controversy within the nasty politics of Ethiopian football. But he mastered the art of media manipulation for his self-seeking ends. While embroiled in the middle of the football controversy, he established a sports newspaper, Challenge. Now, two years later, he is waging another battle with Minister Birhanu Adello. As usual, he launched a newspaper to attack and defend. This time he appropriately named the newspaper “Defender”.  The existential reason behind “Defender” appears to be attacking Birhanu and co. Dr Ashebir clearly stated that he does not have any political divergence from the noble ideals of EPRDF, and that he remains a devoted supporter. The purpose of his paper is allegedly only to defend his turf. So he owns a newspaper. These are the two newspapers that are burgeoning these days.

 

 

The Ethiopian free press is now in a dismal state.  Their circulation is minimal; the data for the official circulations affirms this reality.   Of 19 weekly and biweekly political, economic and social affairs newspapers, only two Amharic papers have an average distribution of more than ten thousand.  Only Addis Admas and The Reporter reach the numbers 25 000 and 12 000, respectively.  The two English weeklies, Fortune and Capital, and the Amharic weekly, Awuramba Times, have an average circulation of 5000-8000. However, most of the newspapers have an average circulation of less than 2500. Among these few small newspapers are overt supporters of EPRDF–such as Ethio Channel, Dagu-Ethiopia and Sened. Some of the newspapers have manifested twists and turns in order to survive the days. Only a few papers remain to strive for editorial independence. Those 19 political, economic and social affairs newspapers have an aggregated total of 82 000 per week, which is 41% of the daily circulation of the Kenyan Daily Nation . This is too small for a country of 80 million.

 

When on 18 March this year the Daily Nation, one of Africa’s biggest and most successful independent newspapers, celebrated its 50th anniversary, Charles Onyango Obbo, a columnist for the Nairobi, Kenya, paper, wrote, “It has mostly been hell on earth for the African media for most of these 50 years. In fact the freest period for the African media generally has been the 15-year period between 1990 and 2005.

 

In Ethiopia for the last 19 years, the ruling EPRDF has considered the media an arch enemy of the state, next to the Eritrean government. It labeled them “the media of calamity”.  According to the pundits, the current Ethiopian state of affairs lacks favorable socio- political and economic conditions to sustain the free press. Four reasons substantiate these claims: the most important and fundamental reason is the systematic crackdown on the press by the Ethiopian government. The ruling EPRDF has now devised a new blueprint to create a full-fledged authoritarian regime in Ethiopia. It contains strategic and tactical dealings to preemptively tackle any dissenting voice within the realm of the Ethiopian political sphere.  Now the party has a firm resolution not to repeat “the past mistakes of the 2005 elections”.  Here, they have already come with their carrot-and-stick.

 

The 2007 EPRDF document, “The Struggle For Democratization and Revolutionary Democracy”–which is believed to have been written by Meles Zenawi–has outlined the future relationship between the party and the free press. Before the wake of the debacle of the 2005 elections, the EPRDF regarded the media as its enemy, but allowed it to exist within the suffocating atmosphere of harassment, imprisonment and exile of numerous journalists. Many believe before the 2005 election that the EPRDF did not have a clear picture of how to deal with the private press. Rather, it was random.

 

However, after 2007 when the theology of EPRDF overtly changed, its mechanism for dealing with the media also changed, growing ever more systematic. As some pundits claimed, the major shift lay not only in its approach to the media in particular, but in its approach to all independent voices. Ato Meles dreams of a country of one party and ideology. For him and the party, they argued, democracy has only instrumental value–to purge other democratic forces and voices from the scene, using “democratic means”.

 

According to sources inside the party, all the things arise from this larger conception of the ruling “developmental and democratic” Ethiopia. As one political commentator suggested to Addis Neger, “blatantly speaking, it aimed to transform Ethiopia from a semi-authoritarian state to full-fledged authoritarian state. We cannot assess the relationship between the party and the media without this bigger picture of the EPRDF. ”

 

The party has crafted a clear strategy to weaken the media. The document, “The Struggle For Democratization and Revolutionary Democracy”, gives instructions to prevent the media from getting infested by “rent seekers”. It also suggests supporting those publications deemed “healthy media”. This is a new style for the EPRDF.  It has been three years since the publishing of this document; the Ethiopian private press is fading.

This gloomy picture and such frustrations arise from the unhealthy relationship between the Ethiopian government and the free press in the past. This relationship has three phases: the first was the introduction of the free press into the Ethiopian political and social spheres. The second was the blanket closure of the free press, and the last phase is the systematic stifling of free media and all dissent.

 

Dancing with Juveniles

 

The history of the TPLF struggle for the power realm of Ethiopia was not distinguished by accommodating pluralism and multiple ideas. But when the party seized power, it allowed the free and private press, contrary to its true nature; the changed global realities and the fall of the Berlin wall forced the party to adapt to the new dynamic global reality. Permitting the private press cast Meles Zenawi as a new, young, progressive African leader in the eyes of the West.

 

Beginning in 1992, many magazines focused on a variety of issues entered the market. The original publications were mainly magazines. Most of them focused on social and religious issues. Gradually, political magazines driven by the history and ideological inclinations of the Ethiopian right took stand in the new growing market. These political magazines harshly criticized the secession of Eritrea, and the loose ideological stance of Meles Zenawi on the unity and sovereignty of Ethiopia. Their ideological stand was not liked by the new incumbent. Yet the newly mounting private press was reluctant to focus on the issues of current affairs.

 

Then, the course of the newly growing Ethiopian press changed in a single shot. In March 1993, a young returnee from the United States of America observed the flowing course of the press. He saw a gap to be filled, and started to publish a current affairs newspaper with his colleague, the late Tefera Asemare. The name of the newspaper was “Ethiopis”, by the renowned journalist and few remaining vocal dissenting voices in Ethiopia,Eskinder Nega. “Ethiopis” was not lucky enough to reach its fifth publication. Commencing from the first edition, the journalists were forced to become fugitives, tortured and imprisoned by Ethiopian security forces. The journalism style of Ethiopis was daring; it pried into current affairs, paying little attention to the ideologies of both sides. This daring start was an inspiration for the many journalists who followed, but it added the press to the EPRDF list of “enemies of the state”. After Ethiopis, dealings on current affairs became the norm. Most magazines were forced out of the market, but some prominent magazines, like Tobia, survived until late 2005.

 

For many journalists of the free press, their profession was not mere journalism. Rather, some considered their profession a tool to tackle and break the authoritarian tentacles of the EPRDF. They believed that they were on forefront to lead the struggle to a freer Ethiopia to counter the EPRDF-crafted presence in the Ethiopian public sphere and to transform Ethiopia into a truly democratic state.  For some, their journalism was like a fire brigade rushing to save Ethiopia from being dismantled by the policies of the EPRDF. For a certain block of journalists, recent entrants to the market, the role of the press was to lead the struggle for the freedom of expression within the semi-authoritarian state of the EPRDF. However, some critics have lodged  complaints about how the

 

Ethiopian free press pursued the classical ethics of journalism and its general competence.

 

These years were marked by the militancy of the members of the free press and the harsher measures of the incumbent. Many journalists were imprisoned, harassed, intimidated, tortured to death and forced into exile. From the day of the first edition of the “ Ethiopis” newspaper and for the next thirteen years, the passions of the Ethiopian free press have seemed endless.

 

The Election Trauma

The Ethiopian press was not blessed with a high rate of readership. There were only specific incidents when high circulation rates were achieved–the Ethio-Eritrean war, the 2001 fracture within TPLF and the 2005 national elections. The free press enjoyed particularly high circulation rates during the final week of the campaign period of 2005. Following the election, their circulation grew more than threefold; they were highly sought by readers.  Many still argued over the role played by the free press during these times. When Ethiopian opposition supporters began public demonstrations and many were assassinated in October 2005, the Ethiopian free press faced a severe government crackdown. The government accused the press of inciting the public to participate in the street actions; many journalists were sent to prison. The government passed a decision ordering the blanket closure of 23 newspapers. Many opinion makers believe this action was not thoroughly considered; rather, it was a knee-jerk reaction. Ethiopia transformed into a state with an absence of free press during those days.

 

Here Comes the “Free” Revolutionary Democracy Media

Many opposition political personalities had a grain of faith smaller than a mustard seed in the will of the EPRDF to allow a multi-party democracy in Ethiopia. Yet it was this seed of faith that spurred them to create the largest popular opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUD). Many political commentators desired to participate in the Ethiopian political discussion through the press. They once commented without fear. But after the elections of 2005, the rhythm of the music has changed. The prime minister introduced a hazy ideology of developmental democracy as a bible to his followers, which inherently advocates hegemony and authoritarianism.

 

Now, the EPRDF will not act without the “protection” of the law; it has accordingly enacted many laws. Over the past five years, parliament has approved a new press law, the CSO law, and a sweeping antiterrorism law to stifle voices of dissent. These laws are both cunning and deceptive. The journalist can easily and inadvertently “break” any of the rules while writing a story. Besides these laws, harassment, intimidation, cooption and the introduction of a new, state-directed “free” media have entered the market. But, concerning issues of primary importance, the party is still quick to act in an extra-judicial manner. The EPRDF, for instance, prohibited two journalists, Eskender Nega and Sisay Agena, from obtaining a media license, although both received amnesty from the government itself.

 

These laws went beyond shattering the hope of a fully-fledged democratic government in Ethiopia, and signaled the authoritarianism of Meles and his designs for a totalitarian state. The EPRDF clearly sought to control and weaken the press by constraining the media’s economic resource, while allowing and supporting the media who volunteer to be co-opted by the regime. The role of the Ministry of Communication Affairs facilitated this operation, focusing on information control. The office, under Bereket Simeon, dealt with many publications–including Awurumba Times and Addis Neger–using the carrot-and-stick approach. Its aim was to create a two-sided relationship–the flame and the snow. Such systematic stifling of the media has worked well for the EPRDF thus far. Some newspapers have been cornered into absolute self-censorship. Newspapers like Addis Neger have been forced into exile.

Here is the new social contract of the EPRDF and the free press: If you are on the side of the party, you will be supported; if not, you will be systematically purged. In the document, “The Struggle for Democratization and Revolutionary Democracy”, the EPRDF has shown its interest in a party-sponsored “free “press. It has labored to indoctrinate the public with developmental and democratic ideology, using the addition of this “free” press to supplement the already existing government media

 

The free press appears to be re-living its memories, rather than its hopes. They have failed to impress either their readers or themselves. In the past few months, a few EPRDF-sponsored newspapers entered the market. They overtly advocated the “developmental and democratic” nature of the state. Some newspapers exploring the twists and turns of the developmental approach of journalism agreed to be co-opted in order to survive. Others did not want to be considered a vocal dissenting voice. Only a few papers remain to strive for editorial independence. This is Meles’s Ethiopia.

 

Many wonder, “Tell us,” they said, “when this will happen, and what will signal the end of the age?”
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“The press as a beacon of hope and defiance is no more”: Eskinder Nega

 

Addis Neger Online had a brief interview with prominent dissident journalist Eskinder Nega about the state of Ethiopian press. Excerpts:

 

What has happened to the Ethiopian newspapers in the past six months?

 

The closure of Addis Neger came as a surprise to all of them; as it did for the public. The explanation for the closure, an impending charge under a feared repressive law, spawned a gaping question that none of them were willing to address: How come there is space for some to work when it is closed for many others? Refusing to address it has of course not meant that the issue will wither away, as many of them erroneously calculated. A suspicious public has almost totally forsaken them. Even at the height of election season and the subsequent controversy the result generated, only two papers, Addis Admas and Reporter, were able to garner a circulation of over ten thousand copies. The rest hovered around or below five thousand. Their circulations have continued to go down.

 

What is significant is that no paper has urged the opposition to stand up and dispute what is clearly a fraudulent outcome. Neither have they disputed or confirmed the outcome through editorials, opinions, exposés, and polls. In effect, no journalistic work to scrutinize the charge and counter charge by the ruling party and the opposition has been done by a single newspaper. And so I ask: How do they continue to justify their existence if they haven’t been able to rise up to the call and realize their professional responsibilities?

 

Do you think the newspapers will play a vital and significant role in Ethiopian political sphere in the coming few years? What hope do they have?

 

No. Because as in politics personalities do matter in media too. That is the significant lesson of the entire post-2005 period. The attempt by EPRDF to pull off a threat made in the early 2000s to build a new press over the grave of the old one has been a tremendous failure. The pioneers are indispensable. No credible press could be built without their participation. This does not preclude the emergence of one or two good papers. And I do hope they will somehow emerge. But they will not be enough to constitute an entirety the way the old press did. And without the entirety in the picture the press could not become the fourth estate that it is supposed to be.

 

How challenging it could be working as a free press in one party run Authoritarian state?

 

Bereket has his way for now: the press as a beacon of hope and defiance is no more. We have fully entered the era of the token press. And I sense not resistance but compliance to this trend amongst many journalists. This is bad for the profession and it is also bad for the nation.

 

-September 01, 2010 by Girma Tesfaw

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Source: addisnegeronline.com/2010/09/the-passion-of-the-ethiopian-press-2/  (accessed on 01.09.10)