http://www.madote.com/2013/01/attempted-coup-in-eritrea-was-hoax.html
Yesterday morning, longtime Eritrean critic, author, and co-owner of
a Paris-based 'Eritrean opposition' radio network, L=E9onard Vincent,
tweeted in French that 100 Eritrean soldiers were staging a coup
d'=E9tat in Asmara and claimed that it would be a 'long' day,
presumably, for the Eritrean government.
Immediately following his tweet, BBC correspondent Martin Plaut, who
is outspoken critic of Eritrea and an Ethiopian regime sympathizer,
gave L=E9onard's claim attention by seeking confirmation and retweeting
disinformation from an individual who didn't even live in Eritrea.
In order to keep the flame of disinformation alive, Martin would go
on to make a series of 'unconfirmed' tweets, such as this absurd
claim that said the Eritrean President was apprehended by renegades.
How the unfounded coup rumor gained 'legitimacy'.
Shortly afterwards, AFP gave hollow legitimacy to L=E9onard's unfounded
claim by adding their own spin to it. Instead of 100 renegades, the
Paris-based news agency multiplied by 2 and said 200 Eritrean
mutineers were attempting a coup and added stories of tanks,
defections, and quotes by an Ethiopian-funded website to paint a
negative and extremely distorted narrative about Eritrea for its
readers.
Eritrean army tanks besieged the information ministry in central
Asmara on Monday after some 200 mutineers seized the building.
Not to be outdone, the Associated Press, the Goliath of all news
agencies, picked up L=E9onard's claims and added the president's
daughter, Elsa Isaias, who works at the Ministry of Information
building (known locally as Forto), was in custody by the hostage takers.
More than 100 dissident soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information
in the small East African nation of Eritrea on Monday and read a
statement on state TV saying the country=92s 1997 constitution would be
put into force, two Eritrea experts said.
The soldiers held all of the ministry workers =97 including the
daughter of the president =97 in a single room, said Leonard Vincent,
author of the book =93The Eritreans=94 and co-founder of a Paris-based
Eritrean radio station.
The AP goes on to interview Martin, a man who has never set foot
inside Eritrea, to describe a situation he admittedly had no
knowledge of. Despite this fact, Martin, along with L=E9onard, were
dubbed as the "Eritrea experts" by the AP.
More concerning, however, was how both of them ignored tweets by
Eritreans living in Asmara, who said no coup had taken place in
Eritrea. Instead of engaging with these Eritreans who knew the
reality of the situation better than anyone, they conveniently
dismissed them and continued to sell their sensational story of a
coup that never was.
Rahel Weldeab, an Eritrean who moved from San Diego, California to
Asmara a few years back, wrote this about the coup hoax:
Ppl in #Asmara are going about their daily lives while "experts on
the #Horn" cry coup. I live right near the airport. NOTHING IS HAPPENING
Similarly, Semere H., a young entrepreneur who moved to Asmara from
New York over a year ago, had this to say:
Coup in #Eritrea? I'm in #Asmara right now and I don't see '100
soldiers surrounding the Ministry of Information'. I guess lying is
news now
A number of Eritreans who phoned in their loved ones received similar
accounts, too. They tweeted that no coup attempt took place and the
city was calm and normal, despite the media hyping up a coup story.
So why did Martin and L=E9onard break journalistic norms by ignoring
the numerous credible tweets from Eritreans living in Asmara that
said there was no coup? Sirak Bahlbi from Sweden seems to have the
most rational answer for this:
Martin Plaut & Dan Connel attempting to destabilise Eritrea fueling a
virtual coup d=92=E9tat in the vain attempt to kick-start a real Coup
In response to Martin and other western journalists ignoring her
reliable claims, tekereb tweeted:
Had I confirmed YOUR #halfbaked story re #Eritrea I wdv been labeled
a *drum rolls* "revolutionary" fighting for "freedom", yeah? Sigh!
Fed up by the politically-motivated disinformation Martin and Leonard
were spreading, Filmon Zerai, an Eritrean activist living in the
United States, suggested an investigation should be launched for
their abuse of journalistic ethics.
By this point, it was becoming apparent to most rational people that
the fictional coup story was a farce and journalists who invested
their reputations and egos were hastily trying to repackage the coup
that never was as the coup that 'failed'. Asmarinos, who are known
for their sense of humor, began to poke fun at these sloppy
journalists for their false reporting.
In response to their bogus claims of tanks being on the streets of
Asmara, Tekereb wrote:
On phone w/_at_RahelWeldeab! She was here (Sembel) 30mins ago & is now
at work (downtown)! She goes: I didnt trip over a tank on my way! LOL!
After one American tweeted he was doubting this 'coup' story, Semere
T, who lives not too far from the MoI building, jokingly tweeted back
the following conversation:
So what really happened? Here are the facts:
There was never 50, 100 or 200 troops present near the MoI building.
There was no tanks, or any heavy military equipment. In fact, not a
single shot was fired, nor was anyone injured. However, a brief
hostage situation did take place early in the afternoon, in which a
handful of individuals (far from 100 and less than a dozen) briefly
took hostage of MoI building and threatened to kill employees if
their demands were not met. Elsa Isaias (the president's daughter)
was not present during the hostage incident and the entire fiasco was
quickly under control once self-preservation set in the minds of the
kidnappers, who ended their stunt by asking negotiators if a
compromise can be reached. The compromise included freeing innocent
civilians in exchange for a safe passage. They agreed and true to
their word, they were not apprehended for their terrorist actions.
Police began to investigate the details of the incident immediately
afterwards, so no government explanation will be forthcoming until a
thorough investigation is complete. It was this brief terrorist
hostage situation of a TV station by a handful of men that Martin and
L=E9onard falsely described as a 'coup'.
Martin Plaut could be facing legal action for his 'Eritrea coup' hoax
Leonard Vincent, a French 'Eritrean opposition' member
and the man behind the Eritrea coup hoax.
Received on Tue Jan 22 2013 - 22:22:52 EST
