http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-protests-media-idUSKCN12P26L
World News | Tue Oct 25, 2016 | 11:55am EDT
Ethiopia magazine halts publication over emergency rule curbs
By Aaron Maasho | ADDIS ABABA
ADDIS ABABA An Ethiopian English-language magazine which has been
critical of the government has ceased publishing its print edition
saying restrictions imposed when emergency rule was declared early
this month made it "impossible" to continue.
The Horn of Africa country introduced a state of emergency on Oct. 9
after a wave of protests over land grabs and political rights, which
resulted in violent clashes and attacks on both local and foreign
businesses.
The emergency measures introduced for six months granted security
forces more powers to make searches and arrests, and imposed curbs on
the "preparation and distribution of publications that could incite
conflicts".
Tsedale Lemma, editor and founder of the Addis Standard monthly, told
Reuters that printers had refused to publish the magazine unless an
authority set up to oversee the implementation of the new regulations
gave them permission.
"(It is) a proposal we have vehemently refused because it will subject
us to submitting our editorial to voluntary censorship by a military
command post," Tsedale said, without saying what the monthly print run
was.
Vendors and supermarkets have also pulled the magazine from newsstands
in the wake of the announcement, she said.
The magazine continued to publish articles on its website, she added.
The United States and other major donors have raised fears about the
measures, saying they may infringe on constitutional rights. Rights
groups say the government has long muzzled the media, and say the
latest moves make this worse.
Addis Ababa has rejected those concerns saying security efforts had
now "restored peace nationwide".
Ethiopian and foreign rights groups say more than 500 people have been
killed in violence triggered by protests in the Oromiya region.
Demonstrations were initially sparked by a development scheme for the
capital that opponents said would to lead to land seizures, even after
the government scrapped the plan.
Protests have increasingly broadened to include demands for more
political rights and unrest has spread to other areas, including parts
of the Amhara region north of Addis Ababa.
(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by Edmund Blair and Richard Balmforth)
Received on Tue Oct 25 2016 - 13:17:29 EDT