EFJA Calls for Concerted Global Efforts to Stop Abuses

Ethiopia: EFJA Calls for Concerted Global
Efforts to Stop Abuses

26 January, 2012 | EFJA (Press Release)
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The Ethiopian Free Press

Association (EFJA) strongly

condemns the use of Ethiopia's

controversial anti-terrorism law

to persecute, muzzle and silence

critics and journalists. EFJA also

calls upon press freedom

advocates, human rights

organizations and freedom-loving individuals around the world to
make concerted international efforts to stop widespread violations
of human rights that are being routinely committed by the TPLF-
led government.

It is a sad spectacle that the government of Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi has been abusing the law and the court system to punish
journalists, human rights advocates, civil and political leaders that
are critical of government policies and those who dare to expose
corruption, gross human rights violations, abuse of power and all
sorts of political crimes in Ethiopia.

It should be noted that the 1994 Ethiopian constitution, adopted
by the TPLF and its allies, guarantees freedom of expression and
also upholds the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article
29 stipulates: "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression
without any interference. This right shall include freedom to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of
frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or
through any media of his choice." Article 19 further declares that
the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution
must conform to the principles of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights and
International instruments adopted by Ethiopia.

As a matter of fact, the constitution has never been respected
since its very inception. The Ethiopian government has consistently
proved to be one of the leading repressive regimes in world. In the
last two decades, journalists and media organizations have been
the major targets of repression and persecution. As a result of this
fact, CPJ has ranked Ethiopia the number one source of exiled
journalists in the world and one of the most hostile enemies of
press freedom. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch,
Genocide Watch, Reporters without Boarders, International Press
Institute and many other advocates of freedom have condemned
the acts and conducts of the Ethiopian government.

In the widely condemned "terrorism" drama, two Swedish
journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, have been the
first batch to be convicted of terrorism offenses only for doing
their jobs as journalists in the restive Oganden region, where gross
human rights violations and crimes against humanity have been
frequently reported. More recently, journalists Reeyot Alemu, a
columnist for the weekly Amharic, Feteh, and Wubishet Taye,
deputy editor-in-chief of Awramba Times and Elias Kifle, editor
and publisher of U.S.-based website, Ethiopian Review, have
been "convicted" of trumped up acts of terrorism.

In a separate charge under the case of Andualem Aragie et al, one
of Ethiopia's most prominent journalists, Eskinder Nega is
expected to be convicted of similar offenses. Under the same file,
exiled journalists and editors Abebe Belew of Addis Dimits, Fasil
Yenealem of the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), Abebe
Gellaw of Addis Voice and ESAT, Abiy Teklemariam and Mesfin
Negash of Addis Neger Online are predicted to be convicted of
the charges in a Kangaroo court show trial. By doing so, the
Ethiopia government will only set another offensive world record
for using terrorism legislation to terrorize its own citizens and
silence critics.

EFJA strongly condemns these outrageous acts of lawlessness in
Ethiopia and urges the government to free all journalists and
political prisoners without any preconditions.

EFJA also believes that only condemning the outrageous political
crimes being perpetrated against innocent and peace-loving
citizens has proven to be a futile exercise. Therefore, EFJA calls
on civil liberty and freedom advocates around the world to
coalesce against gross violations of basic liberties in Ethiopia.
EFJA also urges democratic governments around the world to
join forces to stop crimes against humanity in Ethiopia and press
Western governments to desist from doling out foreign aid without
any preconditions.

If the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is to remain relevant,
humanity has to act in unison against the egregious acts of
dictatorship in countries like Ethiopia. After all, injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Courtesy