VOA标准英语2008年-Ethiopia Denies Independent Newspaper Licenses

By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
02 January 2008

Ethiopia has denied licenses¹ to three independent newspaper publishers who were jailed for 17 months in connection with media coverage² of the country's 2005 post-election unrest. VOA's Peter Heinlein has details from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Journalists and newspaper publishers Eskinder Nega, Serkalim Fasil, and Sisay Agena say they were notified by an Ethiopian information ministry³ official Monday that their applications for permits to practice journalism⁴ were denied. No reasons for the rejections⁶ were given.

The three were among 15 journalists jailed for their coverage of the anti-government uprisings that left nearly 200 demonstrators dead following the disputed 2005 elections. They were initially⁷ charged with outrage⁸ against the constitution, which is tantamount to treason, and carries a maximum sentence of death. They were released last April, after the charges were dropped.

Several of those freed later went into exile, but Eskinder Nega and Serkalim Fasil, who are husband and wife, along with Sisay, applied⁹ in September for permission to re-open their papers.

Eskinder says he and Serkalim, who gave birth to their son while in prison, are unfazed by the rejection⁵, and plan to fight on.

"We will remain here and fight for freedom of expression to the very last," he said. "We will not leave. I am sure the Ethiopian government would be happy to see us leave, to see us go into exile like the rest, but that is exactly what we will not do."

Several current and former Ethiopian Information Ministry officials contacted by VOA Tuesday said they were not in a position to comment on the government's action.

Journalist Eskinder Nega expressed surprise that he had been notified of the denial. He says in other similar cases, the ministry leaves applications pending¹⁰ indefinitely. He told VOA the denial appears intended as a message to journalists and others preparing for local elections scheduled throughout Ethiopia later this year.

"There are no legal reasons for denying us the license," he said. "So this is a political decision, so they want the public, and the world to know that we have been denied registration¹¹ for political reasons. So they are delivering a message. For whom? Our guess is they are delivering a message for the opposition¹²."

International press watchdog groups have sharply criticized Ethiopia's media restrictions¹³. The Committee to Protect Journalists last year named Ethiopia 'the world's worst backslider on press freedom', saying it had banned eight newspapers, expelled two foreign reporters and blocked critical websites.

Ethiopian government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle rejected that criticism at the time, saying press freedom is getting stronger. He told a reporter the government must sometimes take newspapers to court because of their threat to constitutional order.

1 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

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 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。

4 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

5 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

6 rejections   

拒绝( rejection的名词复数 )； 摒弃； 剔除物； 排斥

参考例句：

• Most writers endure a number of rejections before being published. 大部分作家经历无数次的退稿才守得云开，作品得到发表。
• Supervise workers and monitors production quality to minimize rejections. 管理工人，监控生产质量，减少退货。

7 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

8 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

9 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

10 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

11 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

12 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。

13 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制