From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Dec 05 2009 - 05:55:43 EST
Ethiopian paper quits under government pressure
(AFP) - Dec 5, 2009
ADDIS ABABA - A leading Ethiopian newspaper said Friday it had closed down
as a result of months of government "persecution and harassment" against its
staff.
"This is the culmination of months of persecution, harassment and black
propaganda by the Ethiopian government on Addis Neger," the name of the
paper launched two years ago, said executive editor Abiye Teklemariam.
Addis Neger, a weekly newspaper often critical of government policies
published its last edition on Saturday before some of its staff fled the
country for fear of arrest.
"Three of Addis Neger's editors left the country this week after the paper
learnt that the government was preparing criminal charges against its top
editors, reporters and owners based on the new anti-terror law and the
criminal code," the paper said in a statement sent to AFP.
Ethiopia's parliament adopted an anti-terror law earlier this year that
opposition leaders and the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch
said would curb independent criticism of the ruling EPRDF party ahead of
elections in 2010.
Four other media firms meanwhile, told AFP that the government was seeking
to freeze their liquid and fixed assets under treason-related charges dating
to electoral violence in 2005.
"The government has suddenly decided to pursue the case. and is appealing a
pardon by the president in accordance with the law and the public
pronouncements of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2007," said Serkalem Fasil,
speaking for the four groups.
The government was not immediately available for comment on the accusations.
Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders condemned what it
described as a "climate of fear" prevailing in Ethiopia.
"The spectre of the 2005 crackdown on the opposition and on the independent
press is resurfacing in the run-up to the May 2010 general elections," it
said in a statement.
"We condemn the fact that a weekly has been forced to close because of a
smear campaign and because its staff was gripped by fear. We hope the
government?s assurances will allow it to resume publishing soon."
The Horn of Africa nation is to hold elections on May 23, the first since
2005 when nearly 200 people were killed in post-poll violence sparked by
allegations of vote-rigging.
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