New York, January 23, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is outraged at the Ethiopian government’s weekend expulsion of The Associated Press correspondent in the country. Anthony Mitchell, who reported news on Friday of renewed clashes between police and protesters in the capital, Addis Ababa, left on Sunday after government officials gave him 24 hours to depart.
“Anthony Mitchell is a respected and experienced reporter, and he should not be expelled for doing his job,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “The Ethiopian government, which has imprisoned 16 journalists since November, is demonstrating yet again that it is bent on silencing independent reporting.”
The state-owned Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) said Saturday that the government had decided to expel Mitchell for “tarnishing the image of the nation repeatedly, contravening journalism ethics” and “disseminating information far from the truth about Ethiopia.” It did not provide any details.
AP Managing Editor Mike Silverman said in a statement that Mitchell is an “aggressive and fair journalist” who worked in Ethiopia for more than five years. Mitchell, a British citizen, also worked for the U.N. news agency IRIN. His departure is seen as a serious blow to the foreign press corps in Ethiopia.
The government has imprisoned dozens of opposition leaders, civil society activists, and journalists in the wake of clashes between opposition protesters and security forces in November. Fourteen detained journalists are among a group charged with treason and genocide, which carry a possible death penalty. Two more local journalists have been jailed after convictions on so-called press offenses.
The November clashes followed similar protests in June against election results that the opposition says were rigged. Last Friday, police again opened fire on stone-throwing protesters as annual religious processions were turned into political protests for a second straight day, Mitchell reported for the AP. At least two people were killed and 40 injured in two days of clashes, according to Agence France-Presse.
Ethiopian Review has received a confirmed report from an eyewitness that Ayer Tena High School students have walked out of their classes. They were shouting “leba!” and demanding immediate release of their friends and opposition leaders. There is no heavy police presence at Ayer Tena High School now as the Federal Police are focusing more on Menen, Menelik II and other schools.
Ayer Tena High School Students broke windows of government vehicles as they walked out of class this morning. The few police in the area did not react. The school is now empty.
Earlier, an explosion was heard around 4:00 AM local time in the Lideta area of Addis Ababa. ER has been able to confirm that the target was the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and the nursing school close by. The bank sustained heavy damage, and the windows other buildings nearby including Assab Hotel were broken.
Many elementary and high schools in Ethiopia are scheduled to give exams to their students starting today. Ethiopian Review has been making calls to various cities since early this morning, and from what we have been able to gather, the call for the boycott of the exams is being heeded by many students and teachers. Over 100,000 flyers in Amharic and Oromigna have been distributed in Addis Ababa alone.
ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 21 (Xinhuanet) — Ethiopia’s Ministry of Information announced Saturday it was decided that the Associated Press correspondent in Ethiopia leave the country in 24 hours for “tarnishing the image of the nation, repeatedly contravening journalism ethics.”
In an official statement, the Press License and Control Department with the ministry said it was decided that AP correspondent Anthony Mitchell be expelled from the country for “disseminating information far from the truth about Ethiopia.”
“Though the correspondent was given repeated advice and reprimand for his misbehavior by the ministry, he continued to disseminate information bent on tarnishing the image of the country,” said the statement.
Accordingly, the ministry ordered the journalist be expelled from Ethiopia in 24 hours.
As an AP correspondent, Mitchell was in Ethiopia for four years. He is also working for IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service.
It was good news to hear Secretary of State, Hilary Ben, announcing from Addis Ababa, the withdrawal of direct budget support to the regime of Melese Zenawi. While appreciating this first step taken by the British Government, the campaign organized by Support Organizations of Kinijit, UEDF and the Consortium of Civic Organizations in the UK have continued with a candle light vigil yesterday and another one is planned for Friday, January 27.
Appealing to and lobbying the British Government shall continue until the Ethiopian people get respite from the indiscriminate killing, whole sale repression and violent human rights violation perpetrated by Melese Zenawi and his rouge regime. The killing machine of the TPLF/EPRDF is now turned against Christians. It is to be recalled that the regime had raided mosques and killed worshipers while in prayer in the past.
Britain along with the United States administration has played significant roles in the regime change that took place in Ethiopia in 1991. TPLF/EPRDF as a front and with Melese Zenawi as its leader came to power with the ‘blessings’ of Britain and the United States with the condition that human rights and democratization will be the guiding principles of government. After fifteen years of extensive and comprehensive support, consultation, and persuasion, Melese Zenawi has chosen to go his way, the way of revolutionary democracy, and in the event he is on the verge of loosing very useful allies, Britain and the United States. Melese has betrayed their trust.
“… the provision of budget support is based upon shared commitments between partners, one of which is upholding human rights. Recent political events have led to a breach of trust on this. [Letter to the Times, Hilary Benn, 19/01/06]”
Budget Support means “cash in hand on the level of government”. It is sheer arrogance if not naive on the part of Meles Zenawi to loose both a dependable alley like Britain and a vast amount of cash that is poured in annually into the coffers of TPLF/EPRDF via the conduit known as the treasury.
The British government had assumed that it had found a dependable African partner in the person of Melese Zenawi. Zenawi has rejected Britain and it mediation in the current crisis in Ethiopia and would have to pay a heavy price for it. Secretary of State for Development has started by turning off the tap for direct budget support but he may have to turn off more taps to bring Melese Zenawi and his regime to their senses.
The Ethiopian people must be pleased by the beginning of the end of British support for TPLF/EPRDF. Plaudits to Secretary of Overseas Development Hillary Ben. It is now most likely that the British government will work towards the implementation of the latest EU resolution, the publication of the final report of Ms. Anna Gomez, use its access through the Africa Commission to reach out to African governments to live up to the sprit of NEPAD and most important of all persuade the American administration to firmly back the campaign for human rights and democracy in Ethiopia.
The regime of Melese Zenawi may react to the cut in budget support by printing more paper money to pay wages of its ‘federal and Agazi’ killing divisions. This means the exponential rise of prizes of essential goods like bread, cooking oil, fuel, etc. which will spread and deepen the crisis to the extent that the privileged and protected sections in the TPLF/EPRDF camp also become engulfed in the crisis.
The crisis has deepened at the political level for some time now. It now appears that it is getting entrenched in the social and economic areas as well. TPLF/EPRDF shall reap the benefit of the leadership of Melese Zenawi that is leading it to the abyss.
Melese Zenawi and his comrades may be self-confessed atheists but they should not be allowed to desecrate the religious space of worshiping Christians and Muslims by gunning down believers on the act of worship. Violating the profane space of believers is transgression of the highest order. The international community should take notice of the vandalism and savage act by no less than a regime ruling over 70 million people. Melese Zenawi has to be stopped before it is too late. Failing to act now will lead to chaos and anarchy in Ethiopia that will in turn destabilize the entire region of north-east Africa. The way to fight international terror is to stop local tyranny and seek alliance for peace and stability with forces fighting for human rights and democracy and not the other way around. There will be no dependable alley in north-east Africa other than the Ethiopian nation and standing against the democratic aspirations of such a nation is a recipe for disaster.
____
Support Groups for Kinijit, UEDF & Civic Organizations in the United Kingdom
Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi has held talks with visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer on the upcoming African Union summit in Khartoum and Ethiopia-Eritrea border situations, officials said Saturday.
Meles and Frazer on Friday discussed the future relations between the United States and the AU, and the AU summit to be held on Monday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum as well, among others, according to a spokesperson of Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry.
After talks with Meles, the U.S. diplomat plans to attend the AU summit.
The two sides deliberated on Ethiopia-Eritrea border situations and the practical application of the UN Security Council’s resolution 1640, adopted on November 23, 2005, in particular, said the spokesperson.
They also consulted on things that the U.S. government and international community need to do to resolve the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute, he said.
They also exchanged views on the prevailing situations in Ethiopia, particularly the activities being made to further enhance democracy and ensure the supremacy of law in the country during post-election period.
Meles and Frazer also discussed the bilateral cooperation and relations between Ethiopia and America. They deliberated ways of enhancing U.S. support to Ethiopia.
On Thursday, Frazer traveled to northern Ethiopia to visit the border with Eritrea on a curtailed mediation mission intended to ease tensions and avert a potential new war between the arch- rivals after Asmara snubbed her plans to visit.
From 1998 to 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war, in which 70,000 people were killed. Since July 2001, a UN peacekeeping force, which now numbers about 3,000 troops and observers, has been patrolling a buffer zone separating the two countries’ militaries.
In recent months, tensions have grown with renewed military buildup along the Ethiopia-Eritrea border.
The United States considers Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa’s top military power, a key counter-terrorism ally in the area.
The United States has said it will not follow other donors in withholding aid to Ethiopia over a government crackdown on opposition supporters, and will not cut the 600 million dollars it is giving for development and fighting HIV/AIDS.
Addis Ababa is calm but tense today. There is no confirmation of how many people the security forces murdered yesterday. But eyewitnesses told Ethiopian Review that many people were shot dead by the Federal Police during the religious processions which were turned into protests against Meles and Aba Paulos.
Hundreds of young people have been dragged out of their homes and taken to unknown locations last night… Meanwhile, students and teachers are preparing to boycott next week’s high school exams.
Tens of thousands of flyers have been distributed through out Addis Ababa by Tegbar League Ethiopia calling for boycotts of the exams. Students and teachers who are supporting the boycott say that it would be unjust to take the exams while tens of thousands of students are languishing in concentration camps.
The boycott is being supported by a network of several groups through out the country, including the newly formed Association of Kinijit Supporters.
It was good news to hear Secretary of State, Hilary Ben, announcing from Addis Ababa, the withdrawal of direct budget support to the regime of Melese Zenawi. While appreciating this first step taken by the British Government, the campaign organized by Support Organizations of Kinijit, UEDF and the Consortium of Civic Organizations in the UK have continued with a candle light vigil yesterday and another one is planned for Friday, January 27.