From: aklilu w (akliluw@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Aug 11 2009 - 18:32:13 EDT
Ethiopia’s Rogue Regime Forces Kenya’s NTV to Alter OLF Documentary
August 11, 2009 at 3:04 am
Yassin Juma reports from the rebel territory (NTV)
- Shadowy Journalism Mandated by Rag-Tag Regime of Ethiopia
- Also, Amid Protests for Free Speech, NTV Reinstates YouTube Videos
The much anticipated Part-3 of the “Inside rebel territory: Oromo Liberation Front” documentary, produced by the Nairobi-based private television station - NTV, surfaced online on NTV’s YouTube channel on Monday August 10, 2009. However, the content of this “Part-3″ video of the 4-part documentary series appears to have been altered by NTV due to pressure from the rogue regime of Mr. Meles Zenawi, who leads a country known by the Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as one of the most repressive for press freedom in sub-Saharan Africa.
NTV started advertising the controversial “four”-part documentary series about the Oromo Liberation Front rebels in southern Ethiopia on July 28, 2009 through its YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1pqpd1a27k. For all practical purposes, one expects the documentary series has gone through its final cut and was waiting for its “August” release as advertised by NTV. Part-3 of the series is evident that NTV has been forced to alter its content amid the diplomatic row that ensued between Ethiopia and Kenya after the broadcasting of the first two parts of the documentary. It even appears now that Part-4 has been deleted altogether from the series.
Statement of the Ethiopian Embassy in Kenya
The statement of the Ethiopian Embassy in Kenya came to light once NTV started advertising the documentary. Therefore, it could not have been part of the “original” four-part series that was final-cut by NTV crew. Due to the pressure from Ethiopian authorities, it seems that NTV has been obliged to include the statement from the Embassy in Part-3 of the OLF documentary.
NTV has put journalism at stake by allowing Ethiopian authorities to have tremendous say on what should or should not be included in the documentary series.
Interview of the Eritrean Ambassador to Kenya
Eritrean Ambassador speaks to Daily Nation (an affiliate of NTV) on Saturday August 8, 2009. Two days later, this interview becomes part of a documentary that was advertised as ‘final-cut’ since July 28, 2009. NTV seems to have altered the content of Part-3 under pressure from the rogue regime of Ethiopia.
Mr. Salif Omar Abdu’s (Eritrean Ambassador to Kenya) interview was just conducted on Saturday August 8, 2009 following news that an Eritrean diplomat was deported from Kenya (reported by NTV’s affiliate Daily Nation a day before the interview). At the interview, Mr. Abdu was asked about OLF and his response to that question has been included in Part-3 of the OLF documentary at the last minute.
The Eritrean Ambassador’s interview was never part of the “original” OLF documentary that was advertised by NTV since July 28, 2009. The Ethiopian rogue regime, an arch foe of Eritrea, has forced NTV to alter the content of the documentary from material gathered merely two days prior to the airing of Part-3.
The interesting instance (watch above his original interview that was later edited to become part of the documentary) is when the Eritrean Ambassador talks about the documentary segments (parts I and II) that already aired a couple of days prior to his interview, little did he know that he’d become part of the documentary’s next segment.
The public may never know the “original” content of the documentary series as intended to be presented by NTV crew. The ethics of journalism may overwhelm those associated with this project to release the “original” documentary series to the public for the public has the right to know.
Amid Protests for Free Speech, NTV Reinstated Parts I and II on YouTube
As reported previously, NTV took down Parts I and II of the OLF documentary from its YouTube channel on Friday, 7 August 2009, after news broke that the Ethiopian government objected against the airing of the series. NTV has re-uploaded the first two parts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj3_-e37ygM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Td7fOoSkk) following criticism of “shadowy” journalism by many Oromos, Ethiopians, Kenyans and others alike.
SOURCE LINK : http://gadaa.com/oduu/?p=742
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