Interview with Information Minister Bereket Simon

Bereket Simon is Ethiopia's Minister of Information. On the eve of a two-day national symposium on the controversial new draft press law, he tells IRIN about the new law and says the ministry is considering making amendments. QUESTION: Are you surprised by the controversy caused by this new draft press law? ANSWER: No. The issue of the press and freedom of expression should be an issue that is discussed and grasped. The fact that my ministry has organised a symposium around the draft press law and our ability to make sure that this has become a controversial issue is a positive sign. It means citizens have taken the issue seriously and for me this is a political development. Q: What do you mean by political development? A: The government has declared time and again the participation of citizens in the decision-making process. When citizens abdicate from political involvement and participation, then the process of that country will go astray. When citizens take centre stage in the development process, in the formation of opinions, in the formation of laws and in passing decisions, then that means the country is on the right track. After some years of sleeping now the government has exerted so much effort to make sure citizens participate in the overall, as well as day to day, affairs of their country. Q: What prompted the government to introduce a new draft press law? A: We are newcomers to democracy. At first we tried to make sure the fundamentals to democracy were in place. In some instances we formulated democratic principles in general terms, which meant they were open for interpretation. The previous press law was not as specific as it should have been. Elements of the criminal code were incorporated in it and there were problems, so we wanted to purge the criminal elements from the previous law. Also in order to make sure that positive developments are enhanced and negative aspects diminished, it was necessary to improve the previous press law based on the experiences of the last 10 years. We are considering amendments to the new law which we will discuss at the workshop. In those 10 years were have seen the free press flourishing, but so far we haven’t seen any credible newspaper. This is a threat for democracy. Most of the press are instruments of vendetta, instruments of vilification, instruments of defamation. Q: What do you see as a credible newspaper and its purpose? A: I envisage a credible newspaper to be both critical and supportive in its deliberations. For me a credible newspaper is an objective newspaper that doesn’t try to substitute opinion for news. It is a newspaper that doesn’t try to substitute personal feelings and grudges for professionalism. The basic international standards of professionalism should be there. I don’t want to see newspapers that are only supportive of the government. I would like to see newspapers not shy away from telling the truth – even bitter truths like government scandals. Q: Who do you see as making the decision that an article is balanced and credible? A: This balance and objectiveness comes from different things. First and foremost it should come from the development of the professionalism within the industry. It should also come as a result of public pressure. The law also should help in developing professionalism. The law should not only be the sole function. The editors and the journalists are one of the main things. Q: What is your response to critics who say the new press law will stifle freedom of expression? A: This is a government that firmly believes that without democracy the existence of this country is questionable. It is only through democracy and freedom of expression in particular that we can stick together. If there is no democracy, the survival of this country is in question. Democracy is an instrument of development. If you deny basic democratic rights of the people, our development policies will not be implemented. The constitution is the ultimate judge and this democratic right is enshrined in our constitution and no law can be in contravention of this. The content of the draft law is not a prohibiting law. The laws are made in such a way that they ensure the smooth flow of information from the government to the public. Q: What is your response to critics who say there are restrictions on reporting from opposition groups? A: That is not true because the law clearly puts that newspapers are not entitled to publish declarations or information related to subversive groups like the OLF [Oromo Liberation Front] or Al–Ittihad or Al-Qaeda. But for those political opposition parties which have engaged in a peaceful struggle, nobody can deny their constitutional rights. Without allowing the opposition parties to freely express themselves both in government and privately then there would be no free elections in Ethiopia. Q: Is jailing a journalist who contravenes the press law excessively harsh? A: No. For instance we have kept separate the administrative and procedural matters and the crimes related to content. In this place, no. We have not attempted to make sure there is a transgression of law related to content being punished by this press law. We have scrapped it and left it for the criminal court or the civil courts outside of the press law. But there are areas that fall in the category of procedural and administrative matters. If a publisher publishes a newspaper without a licence, he should be accountable. The press law takes care of this type of approach. We have made it so that he or she is fined. The government will give out the licence. Q: Do you see government media shifting from state control to public control via legislation? A: Not in the near future. It took the BBC several decades. It might take us many years. Q: Do you see a self-regulatory body running the private media in Ethiopia or is that the job of the government? A: The government as a stakeholder and as a representative of the public has an obligation to make sure the laws are observed. But to a large extent, I think the development of professionalism in the newspaper business should be the task of the journalists and their organisations. The sad thing about Ethiopia is there is no all-encompassing association. Q: Will the government support training for journalists from the private press? A: What I envisage is the government should play its role in upgrading the professional level of our journalists, be it government or private media. So I thinking of allocating a certain budget for this purpose and give chances for journalists from the private media. Q: Can a press council play a vital role in enhancing the media in Ethiopia? A: It is high time we formed a press council. It is one of the important instruments to make sure there are developments within the private press in Ethiopia. It will be a journalists' press council. But we feel other stakeholders should participate, like the government, but not with a dominant position. Q: Will the private media be invited to press conferences by the government? A: We are moving towards that and we have already started. But this will be extended and expanded in the future. We would like to make sure that the newspapers are accredited. It will be open to those who are a responsible and credible private press, credible in the eyes of the public. We have started it but there is a lot of room for improvement here.