Two sides of the same coin
and holes in the system
Hi there,
I’m writing a story this week so today’s edition of Sifter is going to be brief. In continuation from last week, I have included the second part (of three) update on the research on media and religion; this section takes a look at religious media houses in the country.
To new subscribers, welcome! This is Sifter, a weekly newsletter on Ethiopia, where you can catch up on the week’s top five stories in under ten minutes.
I’m Maya Misikir, a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba, and I write it.
Now, to the news.
Law: making sense of these two things
Last week, parliamentarians voted to lift the immunity of parliamentarian, Christian Tadele, who is also a member of opposition political party, the National Movement of Amhara. If you remember from earlier updates, Christian was one of the first people to be arrested immediately following the declaration of a state of emergency last year in August.
The request was tabled by Minister of Justice Gedion Timotheos, who said that the parliamentarian had given orders to anti-peace groups in Amhara region which resulted in the death and injury of many people.
On the other end of the spectrum, all charges have been dropped against the former president of Somali region in Ethiopia, Abdi Mohamoud Omar (aka Abdi Illey).
The former president was in prison for more than five years on charges of human rights violations.
Here’s an excerpt from a statement from Human Rights Watch:
…failing to hold Abdi Illey to account for the many rights violations during his rule, the Ethiopian government is sending the message that impunity remains the order of the day.
With the government reportedly just weeks away from launching a nationwide transitional justice policy, the authorities need to reverse course and demonstrate a willingness to tackle accountability for serious abuses.
But why was he let go? According to a post by state-affiliated media house, Fana Broadcasting, for the sake of “public interest”.
The parliamentary session with the statement by the Minister of Justice on The Reporter, in Amharic, here, the story on this issue in English on Addis Standard here, and the statement from Human Rights Watch here.
Banking: glitching more than usual
The last time I wrote a banking update was in December last year on the plans to open up the Ethiopian banking sector to international players. You can read more on that here.
Last weekend, the conversation was centered on the ‘temporary freeze of digital financial services across the industry’ according to a story on Addis Fortune.
So, what happened exactly? A glitch in the system, an unmitigated disaster or a once a in a lifetime opportunity, depending on who you ask.
The digital platforms of the country’s ‘largest financial institution’, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), were overwhelmed, ‘during which depositors were able to conduct unauthorised withdrawals or transfers’ according to the same story.
This systemic failure (once in a lifetime opportunity) was seized by numerous university students across the country who managed to make transactions and withdraw money from ATM machines without having money in their accounts, according to another story by BBC Amharic.
This went on for hours before the bank’s officials were any the wiser. All other commercial banks were then alerted to freeze all digital transactions.
How much was ‘lost’ during this time? According to ‘industry sources’ cited in the story, 2.4 billion Birr.
Can this be reversed? Here’s an excerpt from the story:
…discerning between legitimate and erroneous transactions would require time and a detailed investigation, emphasising CBE's challenges in the aftermath of the system's failure.
The story on BBC Amharic says that federal police have already rounded up students from the universities where the transfers and withdrawals took place. The bank’s employees have also been going to the universities and collecting money back from students who volunteered to give it back.
The full story on Addis Fortune in English here, and on BBC Amharic here.
Labor rights: abducted employees reported dead
Five employees at the country’s Wonji Sugar Factory were abducted two weeks ago by militants while they were working a night shift.
Last week, the factory’s official said that their bodies were found in a forest near the factory, located in Ethiopia’s Oromia region in Eastern Arsi.
Here’s more information on them from a story on Addis Standard:
Identified through the official social media account of the factory, the deceased individuals are Bekele Tirunehi, Teshome Heramo, Yalew Temesgen, Girma Belachew, and Kamil Abdurhaman. Among them, three hail from the Wonji area, with their funerals reported to have been held yesterday.
The fourth victim came from Adama city, while the body of the fifth individual was sent to his birthplace in Dessie town, Amhara region.
The information of their death was announced by the official, who also disclosed their abduction at the same time.
The full story in English on Addis Standard here, and on BBC Amharic here.
Press freedom: charged with hate speech
Ethiopian journalist Muhiyadin Mohamed Abdullahi, has been formally charged for spreading false news and hate speech earlier this month.
If found guilty, Muhiyadin could potentially face up to five years, according to a recent statement by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Here’s an excerpt from what CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo said:
“Authorities should release Muhiyadin immediately and drop the criminal case against him. Ethiopian authorities must bring an end to the culture of locking journalists up whenever they don’t like what they are saying.”
The details of his arrest, the review of the charges brought against him and the response of regional authorities in Ethiopia’s Somali region, where Muhiyadin lives, here.
Media and religion: have we come full circle? (II)
This is the second part of a research report which looks at the intersection of religion and media in Ethiopia. If you want to take a look at the first part, go here.
In this section, the research maps out the legally registered religious broadcasters in the country – between 40 to 50.
It’s the 2021 media law which finally gave religious media houses the right to get broadcasting licenses. The report says that this was a, ‘compromise between religious rights and government control in the sense that religious institutions are given the right to apply for a broadcasting license, but they are not allowed to use the ‘limited radio spectrum’.
But if religious media institutions are allowed to broadcast but not use radio airwaves, what exactly does this mean?
Here’s an excerpt (in short):
This means that religious broadcasters must rent space on a satellite or use the internet for transmitting their content.
Okay, but if they need to use the internet or rent satellite space (both ‘freely available’), why get a license? This formal recognition opens doors, says the report, like invitations to cover events.
But it also ensures non-interference from the authorities.
Here’s another excerpt:
Without a licence, organizations suspect that they can be prosecuted if they continue to produce and distribute media content on a systematic basis for an Ethiopian audience.
The media regulatory body says that after putting this law in place and giving out licenses, it has noticed a positive shift, that religious media houses have ‘become more responsible’.
But why won’t the Ethiopian government ‘make churches share frequencies’ (like other countries) if the airwaves are too precious to give out for issues that are not of ‘public interest’?
The research suggest, that this may be because the government wants to control the airwaves. Other ‘media people’ in the report say that it is, “anxiety that ‘extreme’ Muslim groups will exploit the radio medium to spread their message”.
The research then takes a closer look at four of the most active religious media producers in the country; three Christian (one Catholic, one Orthodox, one Protestant) and one Muslim channels.
Here are a few highlights on each of them:
The report starts with Africa TV, the first Islamic broadcaster for the country (there are around 10). First established in 2010 (broadcasting from Khartoum), today it has programs on Islamic teaching in four local languages (Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Tigrinya and Afar).
Mostly funded by, ‘‘Muslim brothers’ in Europe and the US’, the media house has an editorial policy doesn’t allow for women to host programs.
Why? Here’s an excerpt:
The leadership of the station has seen how women are used by other channels to entertain audiences, and Africa TV does not want that.
As a second example, we have Orthodox TV (EOTC TV) with the highest number of employees at close to 100 (debunking the myth that not all media houses in the country are perpetually understaffed). Established in 2015 - though preceded by decades of print publication - the report says that it is ‘directly financed by the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’.
It broadcasts in three languages, Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya and is different in its coverage from others, according to the report.
How so? Here’s an excerpt:
The content differs slightly from most of the other religious broadcasters in the sense that the topics are not strictly related to spiritual matters. EOTC TV has children and youth programmes and programmes focusing on social and environmental issues, but more challenging, the station also produces news and current affairs.
The third example is Pax TV, a Catholic television company founded in 2021. For a church that has only 70,000 members in a 150 million plus population, the reports says it has ‘big ambitions’, evidenced by its 24-hour program schedule. It broadcasts only in Amharic but notable here is the history of Catholic radio programs in the country, says the report.
Here’s an excerpt:
Vatican Radio has transmitted shortwave radio broadcasts from Italy to Ethiopia in Amharic and Tigrinya since 1948 (Janas, 1991, p. 57), and today also has programmes in Somali.
The final example is Yemisirach Dimts Radio, the Protestant religious media which started out in 1963. Though it had TV programs until recently, it is now only on YouTube because of high fees for TV satellite transmission.
Here’s an interesting excerpt:
“Protestant church accounts for the highest number of broadcasting licences in Ethiopia.”
This concludes the highlights on the religious media landscape in the country. Next week, I’ll have the final part on the coverage of religious issues by media houses in the country.
If you want to read the full report, hit reply and let me know, I’ll share it with you.
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That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more updates!
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Thank you, Maya.