VOA常速英语2007-Journalists Say Press Freedoms Lacking in Ethiop

By Cathy Majtenyi
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
29 October 2007
 

The Committee to Protect Journalists says Ethiopia is the worst country in the world for press freedom. The international press watchdog group says that Ethiopian journalists routinely face censorship, harassment¹ and imprisonment² if they publish reports critical of the government. Cathy Majtenyi recently visited Ethiopia and sends this report to VOA.

For Ethiopian journalist Kassahun Addis, writing his column in a weekly newspaper and assisting foreign journalists can be a dangerous task.

He tells VOA that any reporting that challenges the existence or legitimacy³ of the government, or that criticizes the government on sensitive policies such as Ethiopian troops in the Ogaden region or Somalia can have frightening consequences, as he discovered after filing a critical report.

"I was called, I was asked to write a letter of apology to the Ministry⁴ of Information,” he said. “I was apparently⁵ intimidated⁶, harassed⁷. I was warned that I would go to jail."

In its May 2007 report, The Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, blasted the Ethiopian government for jailing more than 10 journalists, mostly during and after the country's 2005 elections.  Some are still in prison.

CPJ says that eight newspapers were banned, two foreign journalists were expelled, and a number of websites were blocked last year.  Websites critical of the government are still being blocked.

Observers say Ethiopians now have little choice on the quantity and quality of information they are able to get from the media.

Yoseph Mulugeta is secretary-general of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council. "We are not in a position now to see those media, free press, expressing views and people interacting about issues that have even remotely touched upon politics. The free press now we have is focusing on sports, medical issues, romance, things of that sort," he explains.

Mulugeta says there are very few private newspapers being published now as compared to before the elections two years ago.

There is only one television broadcaster in the country, Ethiopian Television, or ETV, which is owned and operated by the government. Four radio stations also are state run, but the government granted licenses⁸ to two private radio stations in 2006.

For its part, the government says it is committed to press freedom, but officials say journalists go too far in their reporting and end up supporting the opposition⁹ in trying to overthrow¹⁰ the government, or incite¹¹ violence.

The most common charges against journalists are treason, publishing false news, and genocide, in cases where journalists are accused of targeting specific ethnic¹² groups.

Netsannet Asfaw is deputy director of the government's millennium¹³ committee. She says there are many private newspapers in Ethiopia, and that media can operate freely as long as they report responsibly. "There was a newspaper that had in it printed, a material that said that a certain population should be quarantined because they are poison to Ethiopia,” she told us. “That should not be allowed, in my view. What would this create? Violence against each other among society."

Meanwhile, journalists rights groups are calling for greater press freedoms so that, they say, Ethiopians can better participate in their society.

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

3 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

8 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

11 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

12 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

13 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。