Forced evictions turn deadly
and the 'ethnification of the Ethiopian media'
Hi everyone,
This one-woman-show is behind schedule today, as one-woman-shows tend to be. But today is special - Sifter’s 10th edition! As promised, I have read through and made notes on a research report, entitled…‘The Ethnification of the Ethiopian Media’.
The report, authored by Terje Skjerdal and Mulatu Alemayehu Moges, highlights some interesting (and important) points in the evolution and current status of Ethiopian media, captured below.
Though the report was originally launched in December 2020, (and updated again in February 2021) the topic has only gotten more relevant, if you ask me. If you’re only interested in the news updates from last week, you can also just scroll down to that section. But I highly encourage you to browse through.
The Ethnification of the Ethiopian Media
The report starts with a historical backdrop; media was used to promote Ethiopian unity during the time of Emperor Haile Selassie, which meant using only Amharic in both print and broadcast. Ethiopia Radio started its service in the 1930s and was one of the oldest radio stations in Africa (and the world!).
What’s interesting is that in ensuring that media was used to create unity, Emperor Haile Selassie banned programs in Afan Oromo. Infact, Afan Oromo programs were first broadcast during the Emperor’s exile (Italian occupation), and even that was reversed as soon as he got back to Ethiopia. He finally allowed it to air for the first time on local radio in 1972.
This one language policy was also supported by the communist Derg Regime.
Fast forwarding to when the EPRDF took power in 1991, different ethnic groups were given acknowledgment by the media. Throughout this whole time, conflict has been given a somewhat minimal coverage by media despite posing serious challenges for the government.
Journalism school: The report cites a survey done in 2015, on 350 journalism students – a high number of those surveyed did not want to say what their ethnicity was, along with a high proportion who also said they’re ‘Ethiopian’. Some were offended by the question, including my favorite response below (“don’t ask bastard question”).
Liberalization of Ethiopian media: Some notable moments in the liberalization of media in Ethiopia include when private radio stations were allowed in 2007, when a revised media law (and access to information) was introduced in 2008 and when license for private TV stations began in 2017. (You still needed to have the ‘right connections’ to benefit from these, however.)
Current government: Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power, diaspora channels have been allowed into the country, such as Oromo Media Network, started by activist-turned-politician Jawar Mohammed. Compared to earlier times, there seems to be more options (media plurality) in terms of channels and voices. But this has brought with it, increased polarization between media houses, which is not a new thing but it has changed forms. It used to be private media versus state media, now it’s mostly based on ethnic interest.
Hate speech: Broadly defined as, ‘advocacy of hatred against a group which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence’, the report states that there is a direct relation between online hate speech and real life violence in Ethiopia. And according to a study done by a local NGO (named CARD), most of this monitored ‘hate speech’ has been linked to originate in the Ethiopian diaspora, specifically traced to universities in the West.
The worrisome trend now is that this hate speech, which was mostly on social media, is moving to mainstream media outlets.
On some of the media houses in the country
Oromo Media Network (OMN): This started in 2014 in the United States as a satellite TV station among the Oromo diaspora. OMN has ‘an outspoken aim to advocate for the Oromo people’. According to an interview with the Executive Director, the station does this because Ethiopian media is not inclusive, and ‘eliminates a part of the country’. Jawar Mohammed, founder of the station, says that, they push agendas aggressively but within the confines of the law.
Amhara Satellite Radio and Television (Asrat TV): Asrat is an acronym but it also represents a person named Asrat Woldeyes, which used to be the personal doctor of Emperor Haile Selassie. The station does not hide its intention to ‘speak with an ethnic mandate’. Informants in this study say that the reason the station gets a lot of support is because it represents a group which is facing a lot of political pressure, due to having ‘lost power to Oromo interests in the top leadership’.
Dimtsi Weyane Tigray (DW): This was established over 40 years ago, as a secret radio station run by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front. The station has evolved over the years; in the 1980s, it was a resistance radio (against the communist Derg regime), from 1991 until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power, it was a pro-government radio, and now is an opposition radio.
Ethiopian Satellite Television and Radio (ESAT): Incepted in 2010, ESAT is known for speaking against the Ethiopia government and for pan-Ethiopianism.
Regionalization of Ethiopian journalism?
Regional media houses employ a huge number of journalists; the largest is Oromia Radio and Television Organization, which has 530 reporters and editors. As far as language diversity in programs, South Region Radio and TV Agency, airs in 49 languages each day.
Regional media house might have been considered as an extension of the federal government in the EPRDF days, but that is no longer the case. Their ‘political commitment is first to the regional government.’ People living in different parts of the country see regional media houses as an ‘ally’ that can voice their concerns. This has been the most pronounced in Tigray. Here’s an excerpt from the report:
“The ongoing consolidation of the Tigray media is a textbook example of political parallelism in the media sector. Political parallelism points to the extent to which the media in a society reflects political developments and the party landscape.”
Meanwhile, federal state media is losing the grip it once had on the country. Ethiopian Radio and Ethiopian Television (renamed EBC after 2015) used to be the most popular channels but recent surveys have shown that private stations have three to four times as many listeners and viewers as state-owned ones.
In conclusion
While there is political parallelism in the country, ethnic parallelism is coming out as a more defining character for Ethiopian media. What this means, is that different media houses are committed to a certain region or group of people.
The next section of the report deals with specific analysis of stories that were covered by different media houses. I’ll save that for next week, as part two of this edition.
You can find the full report here. Now to the news.
Forced evictions turn deadly
There have been forced evictions and demolition of houses in areas surrounding Addis Abeba. These have been taking place within the Sheger City administration. Sheger City was created about a month ago, and it includes within it 12 sub-cities and 36 districts; most of Addis Ababa’s outskirts now fall under this new administration.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, which has been investigating complaints coming from people who have been evicted and had their houses demolished, published a report last week. In it, the Commission says that people who had bought their houses, regularly paid utility bills and partook in regular social life in their communities have been uprooted unjustly. It added that people been left homeless without adequate notice.
Administrators from the newly structured Sheger City, say that they are evicting people who don’t have proper legal documentation or proof of ownership, specifically applying to houses built after 2013. The city administration says that it held discussions in the community, and that home owners were given time to demolish their property themselves, and failing that, they had stepped in.
The Commission, in its report, says that the evictions were taking place in the presence of police, special forces, militia as well as civilians armed with sticks.
Thought the evictions and demolitions were supposedly targeting illegally bought houses, this was not the case for all the houses, says the report. Some homes have been destroyed while residents were at work and one person has been confirmed to have died in the ensuing confrontations.
The Commission’s report in Amharic here and the story in English on The Reporter here.
Peace deal progress
The Ministry of Justice (Ministry) announced last week that terrorism charges had been dropped against members of the TPLF. This is the latest update on the implementation of the peace deal between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The Ministry said that crimes committed in relation to the conflict will be dealt within the scope of the transitional justice policy, which the government is now working on. Following this, 36 members of the TPLF have also been released from prison, including the former minister of Finance, Keria Ibrahim.
However, the Ministry has not stated how many of these cases have been dropped nor which group of cases it is referring to.
One of many charges filed following the start of conflict in Tigray, include a case against 52 individuals, including Getachew Reda, who was elected to lead Tigray’s interim administration two weeks ago.
Part of the peace deal developments included delisting the TPLF from its designation as a terrorist organization, which happened at the end of last month.
The full story in Amharic from Ethiopia Insider here.
Disarming combatants from the war
The National Rehabilitation Commission has been consulting with Amhara region officials on disarmament, demobilization and integration of combatants in the region. Earlier in March, the Commission had had its first consultations in Tigray region.
What’s the National Rehabilitation Commission? A national program that came following the peace deal in November of last year to help demobilize and reintegrate around 250,000 ex-combatants from the war. It will be active for two years.
How long is the Commission going to do this? Two years.
How much money does it take to disarm, demobilize and integrate 250,000 combatants? 29.7 billion Birr (555 million US dollars).
Who’s paying for this? The Ethiopian government is expected to cover up to 25% of the costs and the rest from grants and loans. The UN is pitching in to support the Commission in this process, technically and financially.
The full story in English on Addis Standard here and Addis Admass’s version in Amharic here.
In other news
Ethiopia, long with Kenya, has been listed as one of the main transit zones for trafficking cocaine worldwide, according to a recently released report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Bole International Airport has been targeted by criminal networks as a ‘stopover’ to Europe. The full story in English on The Reporter here.
The TPLF now has Getachew Reda leading the interim regional administration in Tigray. The hope is that Getachew will be able to bridge the gap between TPLF leadership and other political parties in the region, on top of navigating the complexities of the political landscape in Ethiopia, according to this news analysis on Ethiopia Insight. The piece talks about the fate of contested territories like Welkait and Alamata and what the current alliances indicate.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
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Note: I go through all the major news outlets, newspapers, online publications, and will at times, include reports, notes on parliamentary sessions, and go through fact checking websites as well. I try to provide links to both English and Amharic sources, and I usually time stamp the video I link to unless I think the whole video is relevant.