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Papers appeal for lifting of ban
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Two weekly newspapers that have been critical of Ethiopia’s ruling party have stopped publication because of government obstruction, the papers’ publishers said Monday.
The publishers are appealing to the country’s newly appointed Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to intervene. A government spokesman said the Ethiopian government is not telling printers not to print the papers.
Both Feteh, the country’s largest weekly at 27,500 copies, and Finote Netsanet, which is published by the largest opposition group, Unity for Democracy and Justice, have been unable to reach their readers for several weeks after the state-owned Berhanena Selam printing company refused to continue printing them.
“We tried other printers, private ones as well. Some say they don’t have the capacity while others first agree to print our paper only later to refuse us without any reasons,” said Negasso Gidada, a former president of Ethiopia who now leads an opposition political party with the lone opposition member in the 547-seat parliament.
“They simply tell us ‘Please don’t come back … we only want sports and medical issue papers … not politics.”
The group says its paper was forced off market after featuring critical articles on the legacy of Ethiopia’s late leader Meles Zenawi, who died Aug. 20.
The opposition group said it sent Hailemariam two letters demanding he stop “authorities’ attack of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech.”
Temesgen Desalegn, editor in chief of Feteh, said that his paper’s July 20 issue was blocked from distribution because a prosecutor said that the news report it hoped to publish — that Meles had died — was false. The printer has since refused to publish the paper, citing an order by the Ministry of Justice, he said.
“They told me if I can bring a written letter from the Justice Ministry saying otherwise we can continue to publish the paper,” said Temesgen. “What we are hoping is the spirit of dictatorship that was taken off by the natural death of the late PM is gone. … Maybe the new prime minister and his government, once settled in, may ease attacks on the free press.”
Shimeles Kemal, communications state minister, denied that the government is telling the printer not to publish the papers.
“It is an absolute lie,” he said. “The government does not have the province and jurisdiction to dictate a contract between a public company and its clients.”
Shimeles said that the printer has the right to refuse to publish a publication that contains “rebellious material and materials that are in violation any written law.”
A media rights official blamed the government.
“Barhanena Selam printing company is controlled by the state and its refusal to print Feteh and Finote Netsanet, two publications critical of the government, is a result of official pressure and political censorship,” said Mohamed Keita of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Meanwhile, CPJ last week said Ethiopia should stop harassing journalists covering Ethiopia’s Muslim community after a reporter for the U.S.-government-funded Voice of America was briefly detained last week. The reporter was forced to erase interviews she had recorded at a protest by Ethiopia’s Muslim community, CPJ said.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Haile Mariam Keeping His Foreign Minister Post?
From what has transpired so far TPLF officials are not allowing Haile Mariam Desalegn to stay in Addis Ababa and be in his office let alone allow him do any work of the PM office. He has been kept in the foreign minister mode even after his swearing in as the PM. They send him from one country to the other. Right after his swearing in he was sent to New York and he stayed there for unduly long time of nearly a week mostly confined to his hotel room. They sent his deputy Demeke Mekonnen to Bahir Dar and ordered him to stay there unduly for over a week. Imagine two newly sworn in ‘top officials, the PM and his deputy’ one traveling outside and the other inside the country without forming any government (cabinet) of their own.
Needless to say that the top priority of a newly sworn in or inaugurated PM or President is forming government. For instance, the recently reelected President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, stayed back home to form his government after his inauguration instead of going to G8 summit in the U.S. last May. The newly inaugurated President of Somalia, sworn in a week before HMD, stayed in Somalia to form his government than going to the U.N. General Assembly. These two leaders have real powers and can decide what they want to do. But poor HMD does not and it is the TPLF that decides in his name. Now he has been sent to Uganda for unduly long 4-5 days just for an anniversary celebration than forming a cabinet. It is obvious that the TPLF officials send HMD and DM away so that they can use the excuse of their absence to do whatever they want. We will see more and more of this repeating in the weeks and months to come.
HMD was supposed to give the top priority to forming his cabinet. Even if he wants to continue with the current cabinet, he must state his intentions to do so officially to the Ethiopian people and other interested parties. He also needs to fill up vacant posts such as the foreign minister. As of now, the Ethiopian people and the other stake holders in the country are kept in the dark and do not know if the current appointees would continue or there would be a cabinet reshuffle. When you are in government, you cannot act like when you were in the desert of dedebit. Decisions need to be made and made public quickly so that all the stake holders including investors can make decisions and move on.
If what has been hitherto observed is anything to go by, it is clear that the TPLF officials who wield the real power behind the scenes do not want to see HMD or DM in the town or office. They want them to spend their tenure traveling around the country and the world in and out. With his calendar heavily packed with travel schedules, it is not farfetched to speculate that the TPLF would not allow HMD to come to office to do anything other than when he has pre-scheduled official duties such as receiving and talking to foreign dignitaries and officials. While the ceremonial President, Girma W/Giorgis, will be remembered as the most senile and sedentary President in the history of the world, HMD is running to be remembered as the most traveled ceremonial PM. It is a good ‘developmental’ combination; is it not? I suspect that whoever is going to be eventually appointed as the foreign minister would not be traveling as much as HMD would be. Or is it that HMD would also keep his foreign minister post as did DM who has kept his education ministry portfolio? The never ending TPLF drama keeps unfolding.