Ethiopia
Independent newspaper foldsPosted Dec 10 2009
Addis Neger, one of Ethiopia’s few independent newspapers, decided to cease publication due to pressure from the government. The Amharic-language weekly was known for being outspoken and critical of the government. It printed its last edition Nov. 28.
Managing Editor Mesfin Negash, Executive Editor Abiye Teklemariam and Editor-in-chief Tamerat Negera fled Ethiopia, suspicious of government intent to prosecute them under Anti-Terrorism Proclamation No. 652/2009, which was passed last summer.
“This is the culmination of months of persecution, harassment and black propaganda by the Ethiopian government on Addis Neger,” Teklemariam said.
Addis Neger Publishing made the decision to shut down the newspaper in order to protect its owners and journalists from charges believed to be coming from the government. If convicted, the editors and journalists could face 10 to 20 years in prison, and the court could seize the newspaper’s assets, Negash told IPI.
A pro-government newspaper, Addis Zemen, has been balefully criticizing Addis Neger in a series of articles over the past few weeks, and the state television station ETV has been preparing a program attacking the weekly, according to Reporters Without Borders.
Addis Neger, which began circulation in Sept. 2007, introduced a groundbreaking model of media ownership, which its founders hoped would bring sustainability to the press as an institution. Founded by six former journalists who were victims of the media crackdown following post election crisis in 2005, Addis Neger expanded its ownership base to other journalistic members of the paper.
“Our newspaper was one of the country’s best examples of what independent journalists with an internal capacity to act free of constraints can accomplish in being the platform for intake and synthesis of public opinion,” Negash said.