This is a translation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s speech on the role of media while responding to questions of lawmakers at parliament on Friday.
In Ethiopia, the media find it hard to play the role it should be playing. To be fair, there are journalists from private and state media who are playing constructive roles, notably in tackling institutional failings, expanding democracy, presenting issues in balanced manner. However, since as institutions they are at nascent stage, they (media outlets) operate by serving the particular interest of forces who set agendas for them. They go around asking, “What should we serve up this week? What area should we focus to get people’s attention? What issue is being discussed on Facebook? Which scholars should we bring and use to convey insults, making it look like scholarly commentary?” This is really a disease. Any media group that is creating a forum for vilifying other individuals and bashing other regional administrations should not forget that it is inviting reciprocal attacks. If a media outlet is there to fuel division, beat the war drum, that is a dangerous thing.
One of the issues we have assessed during the ruling party’s recent convention was the role of the media. A concern was voiced from party members who said the media was not playing its key role of educating and informing the public on vital issues. Setting aside private media and those affiliated with the opposition, we have agreed first to mitigate the failures of the media that are in our control. Direction has been put to urgently improve the situation of those media groups run by federal and regional governments.
There is no healthy media in the country. The regional media outlets are reluctant to report objectively on stories of common national interest, only pursuing insular agenda to curry favour with elites of the ethnic group they represent. These media are busy producing war propaganda, instigations on everyday basis to stir people to violence . This could not be beneficial. The media should be there to show us the proper path when we go astray. If they are unable to do that, that means they are missing their mission.
A common forum should be created among private and state media to set out the principles that guide future reform. A forum that includes, for example ESAT (Ethiopian Satellite Television & Radio), OMN (Oromia Media Network) and others to facilitate ways of discussion on how to move forward, improve and create robust media landscape. Again, there are matured journalists in every media. If we take ESAT as an example, Sisay Agena’s analysis are much more valued than those delivered by journalists working for the state media. Very rational, balanced, instructive. There are many others journalists who do their work competently here and there. However, there are also journalists who are placed on the state payroll who run stories without any corroboration or adherence to journalistic adherences, in such a way as to foment conflict rather than resolve it. Especially when the election approaches, if they continue operating in a partisan and polarized way, they would inevitably set the stage for illegal and destructive acts. Accountability mechanisms and legal proceedings should be in place for both private and state media to fulfil their important mandate.
Let’s us take the current shortcomings as something normal for emerging democracy, like observed in actors such as opposition parties, government. Government get things wrong in the name of maintaining the rule of law and democracy. The media has also its share of problems. Hence, we should make it a point to find ways as government and media agents to evolve together, whether being on the giving or receiving end of criticism. Some tend to think that it is problem of infrastructure. But it is more than that, we government officials ourselves have been abusing the use of the media. If we ourselves don’t change, we can’t expect the media to change. Media institutions alone cannot be reformed.
The private sector, civil society, citizens should support the private and state media to defend democratic gains and towards effectively working to safeguard the peace and democracy of the country.
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Very good job, Arefaynie. This will help to get the message of the PM than distorted social media campaign on him.
Yes. Most comments on social media took remarks Dr. Abiy made out of context to suggest he was labelling the media as enemy of the people. What he said over all should be questioned and debated but why the need strip the context from Abiy’s comments. They just want to create mayhem.
There are organized elements who paint a sordid picture of reigning anarchy in the land following Dr. Abiy’s premiership (and the sidelining of Tigray front). These elements are tech savvy and among them are hate groups using American media freedom to destabilize our country. See here https://bit.ly/2NwTE86
OMN, ESAT, and Eskinder (Etyopis) and facebook groups should come together to do proper investigative journalism. What we see now is these news groups are themselves sources of much disinformation. ESAT and Eskinder are the ones that came up with “ጽንፈኛ tsinfegna”, a word targeting a group in toto.
Let us remember ALL major news outlets (tv, youtube, facebook, print) until recently were in the hands of Tigray Front (named after their comrades). Walta, Fana, EBS, The Reporter (Amare Aregawi), Aiga Forum, Tigraionline, and of course the mercenary Daniel Birhane’s Horn Affairs (paid according sources over $2000.00 per month from state treasury).
Tigray front played a dangerous game of creating a non-existent narrative to cheat the West of its finances, to exaggerate achievements (poverty was reduced by 60%; 60% of what? or x number of graduates and enrolees or bird flu that never was, bomb blasts in Addis where no one EVER gets caught!). This took jailing every independent journalist! Now as the truth continues to come out Tigray front through its cadres is back telling the world Ethiopia is disintegrating because Tigray front is sidelined!
Prime Minister Abiy has began to coordinate the nation’s media outlet. But a lot needs to be done. Nothing should be left to chance or should any unofficial group be the one to publicize the news that relate to public safety, etc. The question now is this, Would ESAT, etc stop griping about everything and focus its energies on researching what actually transpired over the past 27 dark years. For example, a news source today https://bit.ly/2MPKfMI reported that presidential palace served as the playground for Meles Zenawi, Sebhat, Abay, Bereket, Addisu, etc families, listen to this, every penny on government budget. 4G internet access, breakfast cost $700 per day; telephone bill cost $40,000 per month; all 60 bedrooms were occupied by the same group; hard liquor and wine was flowing every single day!! Do you now see why Tigray front leaders are disgruntled? Dictator Mengistu Hailemariam looked an ascetic in comparison.
Could Dr. Birhanu Nega and his associates help the nation and the watching world by researching and reporting the dangerous level of corruption in the past 27 years? This may finally convince enablers of tyranny (Bill Gates, Jeffrey Sachs, Joe Stiglitz, Obama, Susan Rice, Tony Blair, etc) to side with freedom seeking people!
The hypocrisy, you’ve been spitting long-winded ethnic hatred on every comment section for years.
Nice try. Why not produce evidence to back up your statement, badger?
Use your real name this time. 🙂
Unsurprisingly, Ethiopia is suffering from historical Alzheimer. People can not remember the war of words between EPRP and Meison long before the sanguinary violence started between in 1976-77. Particularly, the characterization of Haile Fida, E/TPLF and the Armed Forces exhibited a similar pattern by the flourishing ethnic based web sites inside the country and abroad towards for the destruction of the country. One can hardly see the media’s crucial role to foster a salubrious atmosphere of national unity. All what one hears until one’s ear bleeding is an endless political rhetoric of Weyanes toxic residue of ethnic politics after predatory TPLF’s internal- colonialism was displaced not by brute force, but mechanically.
First of all,warring ethnic based websites based in the country or abroad do not necessarily foster a salubrious atmosphere of national unity. Look what happened to Yemen republic, former Yugoslav and the recently independent South Sudan. Thanks to TPLF’s decades of toxic residue of ethnic body politics, each wants to have its flags in its own backyard. It sad but true, the media in general have a congenital bias against the current government reminiscent of the war of words between EPRP and MEISON before the sanguinary bloodshed consumed the youths nationwide in 1976-77. Who was the beneficiary in the aftermath? one has to adopt the attitude like the Jesuits: “We knew it, but we chose not to know it” during the massacre of the indigenous native Americans. The Prime Minister has a valid point while struggling an enormous challenge to overcome the ethnic body politics launched by the late Meles Zenawi.