Human Rights Watch accuses government of harassing journalists

The government was on Friday accused of trying to silence the country’s fledgling independent media by harassing journalists. Human Rights Watch (HRW) asserts that "government repression" is being used as a means of tightening the state's grip on the increasingly critical free press in the country. HRW's accusation comes in the wake of the government’s decision to ban the beleaguered independent Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA). In a letter sent to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the New York-based organisation described the ban as "politically motivated". "The Ethiopian government is trying to muffle the independent press," Peter Takirambudde, the executive director of HRW’s Africa division, said in the letter. "The government’s harassment of the Ethiopian Free Journalists' Association violates the freedoms of expression and association." The EFJA was banned, and its leadership overthrown by its own members last month during a meeting organised by the justice ministry. Critics argue that the ban was imposed because the EFJA has strongly opposed a controversial new press law currently being introduced by the government. HRW says that under the new law the government will be entitled to censor articles, and to apply "criminal sanctions" if journalists make mistakes. For their part, government officials say the ban was imposed because the EFJA had failed for three years to register and supply audited accounts in accordance with a law applying to all associations. They also stress that the country’s 82 weekly and 32 monthly newspapers constitute a testament to the government’s commitment to supporting the free press. "We do not oppose freedom of expression," said the government spokesman, Zemedkun Tekle. "We are not harassing the journalists. The closure of this organisation has nothing to do with freedom of expression or new press laws. It failed to abide by the country’s laws that apply to everyone else. We would welcome these organisations [HRW and other advocacy groups] to come and see the realities here in Ethiopia." HRW is the latest of a series of organisations to have condemned the decision to ban EFJA and replace its leadership. Some 14 advocacy and media associations criticised the decision last month, including the International Federation of Journalists and ARTICLE 19. For their part, the new leaders of EFJA elected during the government-held meeting also insist the old organisation had become too politicised and was failing to help journalists. But EFJA's former leaders express scepticism over the government’s role in forcing them out. Ethiopia’s private press only came into existence after the overthrow of the former military dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam, by the current ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. Since then, relations within the EPRDF have often been strained.