VOA, May 04, 2011
An Ethiopian observance of World Press Freedom Day was marred Tuesday by a walkout of independent journalists after a dispute with a rival group of state-run media employees
It was organized as a conference on critical topics of interest to Ethiopian journalists. But before the meeting began, staff members of Addis Ababa’s private newspapers were grumbling that the discussions were being hijacked.
They said representatives of private media were far outnumbered by those from Ethiopia’s numerous state-run news outlets.
The welcoming remarks included a speech from senior Communications Ministry official Shimelis Kemal, in which he blamed private newspapers for the poor condition of media-state relations in the years after the current government seized power in 1991.
"The private press was from the outset dominated by members of the former ruling party or those that shared its political perspectives. As a result, the press took on an overt adversarial political direction that set the tone and standard of journalism," Shimelis said.
Shimelis, who is a member of Parliament and government spokesman, accused the country's private media of having taken as their primary task during the early years of the current government to delegitimize the state.
"This state of affairs somehow foreclosed possibilities for a meaningful and constructive relationship between the government and the private media, depriving the public the opportunity to make informed decisions. This trend took a difficult turn, leading the public into confusion during the 2005 post-election crisis that was unfortunately exacerbated by the private press," Shimeles said. Read more on Voice of America
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