July 26, 2002

REPRESSION AGAINST JOURNALISTS AND THE INDEPENDENT PRESS

The ruling EPRDF has let it be known that it plans to adopt a new Press Law that observers state promises to be more repressive than the already existing one. Using vague clauses alleging defamation, incitement and the like, the EPRDF plans to shut down the relatively independent press. Three journalists-- Tewodros Kassa,Lubaba Saed and Zegeye Hailu-- are still in prison while dozens of others have been charged and many more forced into exile.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has let it be known time and again directly and through the Minister of Information, Bereket Semeon, and other officials that he considers many of the relatively independent newspapers as subversive and as "tools of the Opposition". The existing Press Law, itself very restrictive, has been amply used to persecute journalists and cause the shut down of newspapers. Under the law that is expected to be adopted the government can 'de-license" any newspaper, in other words shut down the papers it does not like. The EPRDF owns its own newspapers and is licensing others at the same time as it controls the media and publications fields. The big publishing house, Mega Publishers, is owned by the main organization in the ruling front, the TPLF.

SOCEPP calls on international public opinion to condemn the repression against journalists and the press in Ethiopia. The EPRDF must also be pressurized to release the imprisoned journalists, to stop the new Press Law from being adopted and to revoke the existing one which is very restrictive and arbitrary.

SOCEPP