Of late, there has been much talk about Ethiopia’s fast economic growth and increased crackdown on media. While the state media continuously highlights economic achievements, netizens maintain that free press is key to stable economic growth and food security. Africa's food security is on the agenda for the upcoming G8 Summit which will be held at Camp David in Maryland from 18-19 May, 2012.

Several media and human rights organisations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have been highlighting the relationship between free press and food security.

Taking the 38th G8 Summit as a window of opportunity, Joel Simon, Executive Director of CPJ, writes a public letter to President Barack Obama:

Dear President Obama:

As you prepare to host the G-8 summit and discuss the security of food supplies with leaders from Africa, we call on you to strongly consider the role of an independent press in identifying and assessing agricultural challenges and famine, and facilitating the national and international response to food crises.

Mr. President, we are deeply concerned that Ethiopia’s ongoing repression of investigative journalism fuels tensions that threaten the country’s relative stability and risk unraveling the economic and social progress registered in recent years. Since 2011, under the guise of a counterterrorism sweep, the government of Ethiopia has brought terrorism and anti-state charges against 11 independent journalists, including blogger Eskinder Nega, who may face life in prison for his writing about the struggle for democracy. Such policies deter reporting on all sensitive topics, including food security

Charlayne Hunter-Gault hopes that issues around press freedom in Ethiopia will come up during the summit:

It is time for me to return to Ethiopia and try to see the prime minister, to plead yet again for the journalists’ freedom and for their right to free expression. And maybe, just maybe, in the interim, when Prime Minister Zenawi attends a G-8 Summit Food Security at Camp David on May 19, American officials can weigh in, too, on the importance not only of strategic partnerships but also of freedom of speech in a democracy.

Alemayehu G. Mariam, an activist based in the US, asks, “Does aiding dictators who use food aid for political purposes end famine and food shortages in Africa?”:

On May 19, President Obama and the G8 leaders will have to face some tough questions: What is the moral hazard of endlessly supplying food relief to the Horn countries? Why should the world continue to help a country that leases millions of hectares of the most fertile land in the country and become the breadbasket for India and the Middle East while its people are starving? Why should the world provide food aid to a country when the ruling regime weaponizes the aid to decimate opposition, crush the democratic aspirations of the people and flagrantly violate human rights? Does aiding dictators who use food aid for political purposes end famine and food shortages in Africa?

Endalk summarises online commentaries about press freedom and food security in Ethiopia:

The campaign for press freedom has reached a critical stage in recent weeks. In this context it may be worth collecting commentary from those participating in an effort to regain freedom of the press in Ethiopia – from analysts to reporters to readers. You can also share your opinion on my blog, or throw in a perceptive from elsewhere to this collection.

Some Ethiopians in the Diaspora have gone as far as urging President Obama to rescind his invitation of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. A Group of Ethiopians calling themselves Ethiopian National Transition Council posted a call on their Facebook page to detain Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at Camp David:

This is a call for all Ethiopians who love their country and are courageous enough to come and face him off, show your anger and disgust, and be heard loud and clear that his invitation is immoral and unacceptable and that he should never be allowed to touch American soil in respect of the millions who are his victims and suffering at home and abroad. This is a call for President Obama to stand by many Ethiopians who stood by you during your election in 2008. President Obama we got your back on your election and now it is your turn to show us to what extent you go to be on our side.

However, Daniel Berhane thinks that it is important for Zenawi to participate. He points out that Zenawi has been participating in the G-8 annual summits since year 2005.

*Thumbnail: Courtesy of EYOUTHM Facebook group.

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At WEF Panel on African Leadership, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi lauded his government’s economic achievement and dismissed claims that there is a relationship between economic growth and democracy. He said:

There is no direct relationship between economic growth and democracy, historically or theoretically. I don’t believe in bedtime stories, contrived arguments linking economic growth with democracy. Democracy is necessary to keep diverse African nations united.

Despite Meles Zenawi's claims, critics claimed that fast economic growth brought about at the expense of democracy are ephemeral and superficial. Ermias Kassaye, a critical commentator based in Cape Town, does not think so. Reacting to Endalk's observation on Facebook, he wrote:

The dull mind always enjoys by the suppression of the free. Of course he struggled to fill his big stomach, never had a single freedom thought in his mind. The reason for growth is democracy and free thinker society, but if growth flourishes on the grave of democracy, one day is enough to demolish the whole material being.

Writing on the World Bank blog, Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank’s chief economist, argued:

I disagree with those who assert Ethiopia and other African nations of similar income level s are too burdened with governance, poverty, and poor investment climates to exit the poverty trap. China and Taiwan, China – where I am from – as well as many other newly industrialized economies were just as poor a few decades ago and equally saddled with corruption and other obstacles. Many of them still rank low in various governance and business environment indicators today. I was involved in China’s transformation away from agriculture and I’m confident a similar evolution can happen in Africa

He further noted that:

What’s required is what I call ‘Development Thinking 3.0,' an approach based on identifying what the country has (that is, its endowments) and what it can do well (that is, comparative advantage). As part of this, the government should play an active role in helping the private sector scale up what the country can do well now.

Development economics in the past often focused on what developing countries did not have and could not do well. One example of this was the attempt to prop up heavy industries using an import-substitution strategy based on what I call the old structuralism, or ‘Development Thinking 1.0’. This was followed by a focus on governance issues as epitomized by the neoliberal Washington Consensus – what I call ‘Development Thinking 2.0’. The fruits of Development 1.0 and 2.0 were generally disappointing.

Development Thinking 3.0 proposes a change in mindset — we need to stop telling Africans and other low-income countries what is wrong and what needs fixing and instead work with them to identify their strengths based on what they have now. These strengths can then be turned into competiveness in the domestic and international markets.

But many netzines have wondered whether his choice for development over democracy is an applicable thought in the context of Ethiopia. One anonymous commentator on World Bank blog asked:

As an Ethiopian I find it hard to swallow what you wrote about the country. Ethiopia's growth mantra is much of hype than facts on the ground would depict. Imagine, Ethiopia is a country that gets 3 billion dollar of aid money every year. The regime has been in power for the last 20 years, the country's GDP per capita stands where it was 20 years ago. 20 years ago, even during the time of the dictatorial military regime, the people were able to eat at least two times per day, now after 20 years of WB's aid, the people are unable to eat once in a day. In Christian Ethiopia theft is an abomination, now corruption has turned to be a national culture. You may see skyscrapers in Addis Ababa, but they are owned by the ruling elites, army officers and their affiliates. 7 million Ethiopia's are yet under safety net program, which is largely funded by the WB, and 4 million people need urgent food aid. Ethiopia in Addis Ababa and Ethiopia outside of Addis Ababa are different. The government beautifies Addis Ababa to dupe the foreigners that the country is growing, but 100 kms outside the capital everything is different. Ethiopia is a country where human rights violation is so rampant, and I don't blame you if you down grade the value of freedom and democracy for development as you were born and raised in China, but for the sake of comparison imagine Libya before Ghadafi. It was a rich and well built country, but the country turned to ruins in just a year. China's fate won't be different from Libya's and Ethiopia's will be worse. We Ethiopians need to have a stable government first before we think of any kind of development. Once we establish our government based on free election, it won't be difficult to change the country for good. The World Bank needs to hear the cry of Ethiopians; freedom first .Freedom bakes bread not the other way.

The World Bank has reported that online consultations have started regarding the Bank’s Partnership Strategy with Ethiopia. Ethiopian netizens can participate online by suggesting priorities for Ethiopia’s development.

African Confidential, a fortnightly newsletter covering politics and economics of Africa has, reported that though Ethiopia ranked as one of the fastest growing economies, its political strategy and regional role is a questionable one:

Food, housing and water are deemed more important than democracy and trade unions. ‘We’re a fairly tough regime, no one denies that,’ says an official in Addis, privately. He makes Ethiopia’s world view clear: Eritrea is a menace; Somalia is not a cosy neighbor; the Oromo Liberation Front makes threatening noises but is in complete disarray. Foreign NGOs such as Human Rights Watch have difficulty entering the affected areas and horror stories emerge from the refugee camps about periodic political crackdowns.

In addition, a report by The Economist titled ‘A new fund attests to the country’s allure—and to the value of connections’ shows that Ethiopia’s door for investment is opened preferentially based on connections.

Ethiopia, the second most populated Sub-Saharan African country, is accused continuously for using Chinese made monitoring and surveillance technologies to supress voices of dissent in the country.

*Thumbail: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Courtesy of WEF Flickr page (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Ethiopian Muslims both online and offline have been protesting for over three months against alleged government's interference in their religious affairs. The protests, however, have received very little attention from international media.

Daniel Berhane explained on Facebook why the protests have received less attention from international media:

I ask: Why did the foreign media and NGOs ignored the months long Awelia Muslim school protests/disturbances, while giving extensive coverage to minor events in the right-wing camp?

I answer: That is because, the westerners media & NGO involvement in Ethiopian affairs is tuned on specific ideological agenda.

Ethiopian Muslim women. Photo source: Boyznberry Flickr page (CC BY-NC 2.0)

However, for the past two weeks the protests have generated a significant amount of news on international media as the government made it clear that it will not tolerate any activities by subversive groups that have been using Islam as a disguise to create instability in the country.

The Ethiopian government has expelled two Arabs who flew in from the Middle East after they went to Grand Anwar Mosque and allegedly tried to incite violence in the country. Just a week prior to the deportation of the two Arabs, it was also reported that security forces arrested a Muslim religious leader in the Oromia regional state for calling for Jihad. A group of Muslims who tried to free him clashed with police. Four demonstrators were killed and 10 police were wounded.

Rumours were circulating on Facebook that the government has conceded to one of their demands. Jawar Mohammed, a respected political commentator, wrote:

Rumor has it that Meles has conceded to one of the demands put forward by Muslim activists – removing the current unelected leaders of Mejlis. But there is no official news yet. Two scenarios sound plausible: a) The government has not conceded but is spreading the rumor to create a debate and confusion among the activists. The confusion will distract them from planning and coordinating their actions and could also create division..

b) The government is making such fake gesture in order to prevent this Friday's protest, which is slated to be the biggest yet, because more than 700 foreigners will be gathering in the capital for the World Economic Forum. A large protest in the presence of foreign dignitaries will give the movement more visibility. A visibility that will not only hinder the government's ability to crack down on the protesters this Friday but could also make future such crackdowns backfire.

c) The government is actually removing the Mejlis leaders ( use and throw is Meles well known game) with the hope of sucking the momentum out of the protesters and eventually replacing the Mejlis with other set of puppets.

Following these events, Ethiopian Muslims have turned to Facebook and Twitter to make their voices heard. On one of the Facebook pages created in order to coordinate the protests says [amh]:

ጠቃሚ መሳሰቢያ!!! አንዳንድ ወንድሞች በነገዉ ጁምአ ተቃዉሞን በዝምታ መገለፅ አለበት የሚለዉን መልዕክት ወይም ማሳሰቢያ የግለሰቦች ሀሳብ እየመሰላቸዉ ተክቢራዉ መቀጠል አለበት ይላሉ:: ሁሉም ሰዉ በተክቢራ ተቃዉሞን መግለፁ ጠቃሚ እንደሆነ ይስማማል::ነገር ግን የነገዉን ጁምአ በተመለከተ በሁሉም መስጂዶች ሙስሊሙ በዝምታ ተቃዉሞዉን መግለፅ እንዳለበት ሹራ ተደርጎ እና ከብዙ አቅጣጫ ታይቶ የተወሰነ መሆኑን በመረዳት ይህንን መልዕክት በየመስጂዳችን ተግባራዊ እንድናደርገዉ እናሳስባለን …….አሁንም ይህን የተለመደዉን ታዛዥነታችንን በማስቀጠል በየመስጂዶቻችን በዝምታ ተቃዉሞአችንን እንድንገልፅ በአላህ ስም እናሳስባለን::

Another Facebook group advocating for their cause is Ethiopia Muslims:

The overall development, prosperity and democratization processes of a country can never be realized with a marginal participation of only a segment of its population. Having passed through centuries of systematic and unfair policies, the Ethiopian Muslim community has been struggling to ascertain its very existence.

Finally, there is Nur-Ethio:

The purpose of this group is to fully empower Ethiopian Muslims socially, economically, and politically based on the Ethiopian constitution and International law..

Islam, which arrived in Ethiopia in 615, is the second-most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity.

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The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas:

Africa is experiencing strong growth and despite the increasingly volatile global economy, African leaders are pursuing measures that will transform the region into the next global growth pole. In this context, the World Economic Forum on Africa will seek to leverage the positive political, economic and social progress of recent years by providing a true multistakeholder platform to develop new ideas and actions to achieve further sustainable, inclusive growth, -  says Elsie S. Kanza, Director, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum.

Caroline Kende-Robb, Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof - World Economic Forum on Africa 2012. Photo source: World Economic Forum (CC BY-SA 2.0) .

It is not a surprise that such a forum would take place in Africa since African countries are among the top fast growing economies in the world. The top ten countries with fastest growing population are also in Africa. But the choice of Addis Ababa leaves many unanswered questions to human rights activists.

Ethiopian blogger and Global Voices author asks, “When Addis Ababa hosts the 22nd World Economic Forum for the first time on Africa soil will anyone care?”:

I strongly believe that one topic that should be tackled in numerous debates in the forum should be the role of free and independent media and economic growth in Africa. Also other topics on the agenda should be issues like journalists’ incarceration, telecom services control by government and may be corruption. In fact the present spotlight of media on Ethiopia’s economic breakthrough is distracting attention from many serious challenges that Ethiopia’s free media is facing on day to day basis.

The forum has started on Wednesday after lots of bad news about Ethiopia’s free press five journalists—Woubshet Taye, Elias Kifle, Re’eyot Alemu and two Swedish journalists — sentenced to at least 10 years and more behind bars and 2012 PEN America press freedom award winner, Eskinder Nega, could face the death penalty if convicted this Friday.

However, Bekele argues that bringing the WEF to Ethiopia “marks a real shift in the perception of Ethiopia”:

Bringing the Forum to Addis Ababa marks a real shift in the perception of Ethiopia by the international community – a gradual understanding that this is a continent of potential and opportunity and not just misfortune and intractable problems.

As a representative of civil society among what will be an impressive gathering of influential political and business figures, I will be reinforcing the logical progression from building strong communities to strong economies, and, ultimately, greater political stability.

On Twitter, tweeps use the hashtag #WEFAfrica to share key insights and lessons from the Forum:

@Kwabena: Who (here) is using new technologies to engage the youth? - Klaus Schwab asks at the World Economic Forum on Africa #wef #WEFAfrica

@waresafrica: “l wouldn't really invest anywhere apart from Africa today because that's where the growth is.”Dangote tells #WEFAfrica in Addis

@msibeko: Best time for Africa in 50 years, but don't confuse economic growth with economic transformation. Kaberuka #WEFAfrica

@StephanMorais: My view is that there is no connection between democracy and economic growth, but democracy is good in itself, PM Ethiopia @ #WEFAfrica #YGL

@Africa_activist: Is the ordinary African touched by this #AfricaOptimism, is it an elitist movement, how can it be real & transformative? #WEFAfrica #YGL

@FightPoverty: Very inspiring day yesterday @GrowAfricaForum - key message: shift mindset from developing agriculture to developing agribusiness

You can follow the Forum live here.

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Upon collecting his prize on his behalf, Serkalem Fasil, his wife who is also a once jailed journalist, highlighted the worsening situation of Ethiopia’s free press. She said:

I accept this award on behalf of Eskinder Nega at a time when freedom of expression and press freedom are at the lowest in Ethiopia. If Eskinder were standing here, he'd accept this award, not just as a personal honor, but on behalf of all Ethiopian journalists who toil under withering conditions today: Those who went into exile over the years… those in prison with whom he now resides.

Ethiopian blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega. Photo courtesy of FreeEskinderNega.com

Ethiopian bloggers and netizens on social networking sites congratulated all Ethiopian journalists and bloggers immediately after the news appeared on the BBC and other sites. They also used the opportunity to draw attention to the deteriorating situationof media landscape in Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa based blogger Abel Wabellaa wrote:

Super excited!!! because (https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-am-Eskinder-Nega/236369699747226) I am Eskinder Nega aren't we Zelalem , BefeQadu and Jomanex ?

Another blogger residing in Addis Ababa shared an article written by Al Mariam Zelalem on his wall:

Eskinder is a hero of a special kind. He is a hero who fights with nothing more than ideas and the truth. He slays falsehoods with the sword of truth. He chases bad ideas with good ones. Armed only with a pen, Eskinder fights despair with hope; fear with courage; anger with reason; arrogance with humility; ignorance with knowledge; intolerance with forbearance; oppression with perseverance; doubt with trust and cruelty with compassion. Above all, Eskinder speaks truth to power and to those who abuse, misuse, overuse and are corrupted by power.

Yes, that is why We Are All Eskinder Nega

Endalk explained why Eskinder Nega deserved the “Freedom to Write” award and reflected on Ethiopia’s media:

In fact Eskinder is not the only gem of tattered Ethiopian modern day journalism, my favorite stalwarts of Addis Neger journalists, Dawit Kebede, Wubeshet Taye and of course Reyot Alemu are all creditable for their daring attempt in becoming alternative voices in Ethiopian media landscape. But Eskinder is a highly remarkable emblem for freedom of expression. In a time when many journalists not succeeded in enduring horrendous pressures from a range of interest groups, both financially and politically, Eskinder was something of a matchless: a well-behaved and top end professional who did not succumb to either exile and or silence.

Mesfin Negash, an exiled journalist who has also been charged with terrorism in absentia, wrote:

Eskinder Nega is increasingly becoming the human face of the repression in Ethiopia as it was Birtukan Mideksa before her release. The first name you'll hear in any discussion about Ethiopia is ESKINDER be it among donors or diplomats or right advocates. That is a constant reminder to MZ!

However, Berihun Mekonnen disagreed with Mesfin's observations:

I have every respect and appreciation for all you have done (and in fact you are still doing) concerning journalism and how to reason critically, but I think you have a problem in building some individuals cult. when Siye Abriha came out of prison your paper Addis Neger (Oh God! I missed it a lot!) gave him an unfair chance to cleanse his name and what he has done. I believe your paper has helped him to rinse his name and rise up again re-building up his personality again. Again sometime when Birtukan went to jail you were writing about her again and again like she were not an opposition politician having a political dispute with a repressive govt but as a Jean de Arc who is fighting for a truth and the nation's liberation. And now you are doing the same thing for Eskindir! I am not denying that the government is repressive but how about what these people are doing? Do you really believe that Eskindir was doing only a journalist's job? I understand he is bold and courageous but it has been said a lot about his involvement with ”illegal” politicians and politics! I am trying to convey that we should also see and talk about what ”others” have done to have offended the govt rather than talking about the govt that doesn't heed anything all the time.

More than ten journalists have been imprisoned in Ethiopia since June 2011. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that about 25% of exiled journalists in Africa are from Ethiopia, making the country the world's main enemy of major driving forces of free expression: journalists, bloggers and political dissidents.

Ethiopian government has increased its online censorship activities since September 2011.

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The report states that almost 5% of Africa's agricultural land has been bought or leased by investors since 2000, and emphasizes the fact that this is not a new issue, yet points out that the number of such land deals has increased tremendously in the past five years.

Many observers are increasingly worried that these land deals usually take place in the world's poorest countries and that they impact its most vulnerable population, the farmers. The benefits seldom go to the general population, partially because of a lack of transparency in the proceedings of the transactions.

An additional report by Global Witness, entitled Dealing with Disclosure, emphasizes the dire need for transparency in the making of land deals.

World's poorest nations targeted 

The Global Witness report lists that 754 land deals have been identified, involving the majority of African countries for about 56.2 million hectares.

Target countries of land deals from the Land Matrix Project

The nations targeted are usually some of the poorest in the world. The countries with the most deals in place are Mozambique (92 deals), Ethiopia (83), Tanzania (58) and Madagascar (39). Some of those deals have made headlines because they were conducted to ensure control over food imports, when the targeted regions faced major food crises.

The NGO GRAIN has already explained in detail the gist of their concerns in an extensive report released in 2008:

Today’s food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global land grab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their own offshore food production. On the other hand, food corporations and private investors, hungry for profits in the midst of the deepening financial crisis, see investment in foreign farmland as an important new source of revenue. As a result, fertile agricultural land is becoming increasingly privatised and concentrated. If left unchecked, this global land grab could spell the end of small-scale farming, and rural livelihoods, in numerous places around the world.

In Malawi, land deals have grown increasingly prevalent to the detriment of the local farmers. A report from Bangula explains the challenges faced by Malawian farmers, Dorothy Dyton and her family:

Like most smallholder farmers in Malawi, they did not have a title deed for the land Dyton was born on, and in 2009 she and about 2,000 other subsistence farmers from the area were informed by their local chief that the land had been sold and they could no longer cultivate there. […] Since that time, said Dyton, “life has been very hard on us.” With a game reserve on one side of the community and the Shire river and Mozambique border on the other, there is no other available land for them to farm and the family now ekes out a living selling firewood they gather from the nearby forest.

Land construction in Madagascar. Photo by Foko Madagascar, used with the author's authorization

Farmers in Madagascar share similar concerns because they do not own the rights to the land they farm and an effective land reform is yet to be implemented. The Malagasy association Terres Malgaches has been at the forefront of land protection for the local population. They report that [fr]:

 Les familles malgaches ne possèdent pas de document foncier pour sécuriser leurs terres contre les accaparements de toutes sortes. En effet, depuis la colonisation, l’obtention de titres fonciers auprès de l’un des 33 services des domaines d’un pays de 589 000 km2 nécessite 24 étapes, 6 ans en moyenne et jusqu’à 500 dollars US. (..) .  Face aux convoitises et accaparements dont les terres malgaches font l’objet actuellement, seule la possession d’un titre ou d’un certificat foncier, seuls documents juridiques reconnus, permet d’entreprendre des actions en justice en cas de conflit.

The association also reports on the practices of a mining company Sheritt, in Ambatovy, which have created a buzz in the local blogosphere because of environmental concerns for the local population and business malpractices (via MiningWatch Canada):

Sherritt International’s Ambatovy project in eastern Madagascar – costing $5.5 billion to build and scheduled to begin full production this month – will comprise a number of open pit mines (..) it will close in 29 years. There are already many concerns about the mine from the thousands of local people near the facilities. They say that their fields are destroyed ; the water is dirty ; the fish in the river are dead and there have been landslides near their village. During testing of the new plant, there have been at least four separate leaks of sulphur dioxide from the hydro-metallurgical facility which villagers say have killed at least two adults and two babies and sickened at least 50 more people. In January, laid-off construction workers from Ambatovy began a wildcat strike, arguing that the jobs they were promised when construction ended have not materialized. The people in nearby cities like Moramanga say that their daughters are increasingly engaged in prostitution.

Video of a worker's testimony in Ambatovy.

Solutions for the local population? 

The plight of Madagascar's farmers' plight may be slowly changing though. Land reform discussions are in progress, according to this report:

 According to a paper presented at the 2011 International Conference on Global Land Grabbing, about 50 agribusiness projects were announced between 2005 and 2010, about 30 of which are still active, covering a total land area of about 150,000 ha. Projects include plantations to produce sugar cane, cassava and jatropha-based biofuel.
To prevent the negative impacts of land grabbing, (The NGO) EFA has set up social models for investors, with funding from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The goal is to help investors negotiate with the people in the area where they want to implement projects, as a way to prevent future problems.

Joachim Von Braun, formerly  of the International Food Policy Insitute (IFPRI), wrote the following regarding land deals:

 It is in the long-run interest of investors, host governments, and the local people involved to ensure that these arrangements are properly negotiated, practices are sustainable, and benefits are shared. Because of the transnational nature of such arrangements, no single institutional mechanism will ensure this outcome. Rather, a combination of international law, government policies, and the involvement of civil society, the media, and local communities is needed to minimize the threats and realize the benefits.

The need for transparency in land deals is further emphasized by  Megan MacInnes, Senior Land Campaigner at Global Witness:

Far too many people are being kept in the dark about massive land deals that could destroy their homes and livelihoods. That this needs to change is well understood, but how to change it is not. For the first time, this report (Dealing with Disclosure)  sets out in detail what tools governments, companies and citizens can harness to remove the shroud of secrecy that surrounds land acquisition. It takes lessons from efforts to improve transparency in other sectors and looks at what is likely to work for land. Companies should have to prove they are doing no harm, rather than communities with little information or power having to prove that a land deal is negatively affecting them.

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Reporters Without Borders reported on 26 April, 2012, that:

Reporters Without Borders is very worried to learn that access to the Amharic website of Ethiopia’s leading independent, privately-owned weekly, The Reporter, has been blocked for the past five days. No one has been able to access the site from within Ethiopia since around 4:30 p.m. on 21 April unless they use a proxy server.

The reason for the blocking is unclear and Reporters Without Borders urges the authorities to provide an explanation. “Everything indicates that the blocking is being carried by the state-owned company Ethio-Telecom, since it is Ethiopia’s only Internet Service Provider,” the press freedom organization said.

Zelalem Malcolm Kibret, a blogger residing in Addis Ababa, reacted strongly on his Facebook page:

Ethiopian blogger and journalist, Eskinder Nega, is facing the death penalty. Photo courtesy of FreeEskinderNega.com

First EPRDF [the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front] going to be MAD, then gone WILD & now gone WILDER.In an effort to smash dissenting opinion in Ethiopia, EPRDF block 100 + websites and bloggers that puts Ethiopia as blocker-in-chief of Ideas in Africa.* . The recent wild act is blocking mediocre blogs like Abe Tokichaw's blog. Abe’s new blog is launched today for the fourth time with a new name. This can be the best instance that fits formerly mad and now turned wild government mad action.

Abe on his latest interview to a monthly Ethiopian Amharic Magazine called Addis Times via e-mail says:

‹‹ አሁን ባለሁበት ሀገር በቃ የምሰራው ብሎጌ ላይ ስፅፍ መዋል እና ማሰብ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ኦ ይቅርታ መንግስት ብሎጌን ሲዘጋብኝ አዲስ መክፈትም ሌላው የእለት ከዕለት ስራዎቼ አንዱ ሆኗል››

My only task here in a country where I am residing is only to blog and to contemplate. One more task is to produce different blogs on daily bases.

In Dictatorship we Un-trust.

* In Africa, Only Sudan & Ethiopia block websites in a 'substantial manner' and Ethiopia is the only country that blocks Political websites.

Markos Lemma, a blogger and Global Voice author, warns Internet censorship agents in the country that other people will be inspired to start blogging if blogs are blocked:

To whom it may concern: It might be possible to block 100s of blogs but not 10,000s or millions. I bet the second one blog is blocked in Ethiopia, 10 new blogs created. Thanks who ever writes, shares and communicates

Another blogger, debirhan, reported about his blog being banned in Ethiopia:

The Web address of De Birhan (http://www.debirhan.com/) has been blocked since Saturday night (21 April 2012) in Ethiopia. According to readers from Addis Abeba and the Website internal Audience Data Report, De Birhan was not accessible in Ethiopia for two days now. The regime in Addis Abeba has mastered the blocking of Websites, News and Information media since the 2005 election. Most Diaspora based Ethiopia focused News and Information Websites are blocked in Ethiopia.

De Birhan advises its readers to follow our Facebook updates at De Birhan Blogspot and use mobile phones or proxy servers to access us.

Incidentally, similar accounts of online censorship on mainstream media have been on the increase since early April.Huffington Post and New York Times indicates in their reports that Ethiopia’s government engages in online censorship.

A recent article posted on New York Times pointed out that Ethiopia’s government has stepped up its grip on both online and traditional media with the technical help from the Chinese government.

Iginio Gagliardone, a research fellow at University of Oxford highlights how Ethiopia’s government is being helped by the Chinese government in online censorship technologies and expertise.

Gagliardone writes:

China's EXIM bank provided a $1.5 billion loan to overhaul the country's telecommunication system, free media are struggling. Opposition blogs are blocked and the Prime Minister (Melese Zenawi) argued that Ethiopia has a right to jam the international broadcaster Voice of America because of its “destabilizing propaganda.”

Gagliardone further notes that Chinese companies are replacing Western companies such as Cisco Systems:

China has been accused of providing the technology and expertise to make these forms of censorship possible. A few years earlier, however, it was the expertise provided by Cisco Systems and Hughes Networks, two companies based in the U.S., that allowed the Ethiopian government to develop WoredaNet, one of Africa's most ambitious and problematic e-government projects.

A recent document [am] said to be shared by sources close to The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), an opposition movement based in the US, has made stronger claims that China supports Ethiopia’s online surveillance capacity in name of building Ethiopia’s national security.

The document [am] further states that Ethiopia’s only and government-owned Telecom Corporation and all of its network facility is appended to Information Network Security Agency (INSA), a government agency established to safeguard key government and public information systems from any security threat.

The document claims that with a huge technical and monetary aid of the Chinese technology companies, INSA has developed a competence to use ordinary cell phones as spy devices by tracking citizens’ movements and listening to people’s private conversations even when the cell phones are turned off.

This document further highlights that private conversations and movements of select members of the diplomatic community, civic society, opposition party leaders, journalists and individuals are closely monitored.

LAst year, Global Voices Author Jillian York reflected on Ethiopia’s Internet censorship:

Ethiopia [‘s], government filtering of websites has long been common practice. Despite an Internet penetration rate of only 0.5 per cent, the Ethiopian government blocks a range of political opposition websites, as well as independent news sites reporting on the country and the sites of a few human rights organizations. Ethiopia's Internet infrastructure is state-owned, leaving control of it entirely at the hands of the government.

ONI points out that Ethiopia together with the Sudan are the two leading sub-Saharan Africa states when it comes to Internet censorship. Freedom House 20111 report noted that Ethiopia is one of the worst offenders of freedom on the net.

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The lyrics of the song, which are written both in Amharic and Afan Oromo, are loaded with the history of Ethiopia’s Battle of Adwa, a topic that is seldom sung by Ethiopian musicians.

One of Ethiopian music Facebook pages writes:

Teddy Afro's new song is spreading like a wild fire in a street….love is in the air, in the streets of Addis…..wow…simply wow…………Teddy is the man……

Other discussions are taking place on Teddy Afro Facebook fans page, which has over 65,581 likes.

Teddy Afro in concert. Photo of Flickr user ALEMUSH released under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) .

Another fan posts an extended note [am] on his page:

ዛሬ ለሕዝብ ጆሮ የደረሰው የቴዲ አፍሮ አልበም እጄ ከገባበት ቅጽበት አንስቶ እያንዳንዱን ሙዚቃ እስካሁን ቢያንስ ስምንት ስምንት ያህል ግዜ (በኃይማኖቷ ምክንያት ሙዚቃን አርም ካለችው እናቴ ጋር እየተነታረኩም ቢሆን) አጣጥሜዋለሁ ፤ በቶሎም የምረካ (የምሰለች) አይመስለኝም፡፡ በተለይ “ጥቁር ሰው” እና “ደስ የሚል ስቃይ” የሚሉት ስራዎች (ላለማጋነን ከሃያ ግዜ በላይ ደጋግሜያቸዋለሁ) የሚገርም እርካታ ፈጥረውብኛል፡፡
ሆኖም ያልተሞከረ ታሪካዊ ዳራ እና ወኔያማ አቀራረብ ይዞ ብቅ ያለው “ጥቁር ሰው” በተሰኘው ስራ ውስጥ የተወሱት (የተወደሱት) የኢትዬጵያ አርበኞች ማንነት (በብሄረተኛ ኦሮሞዎች ዘንድ ስለአርበኞቹ ውስጥ ውስጡን ያለው ውዝግብና ቅያሜን ማለቴ ነው) እንዲሁም አርበኞቹ ከተወደሱባቸው ስንኞች መኸከል የተወሰኑት
(ለምሳሌ …
“”…አድዋ ሲሄድ ምንሊክ “ኑ” ካለ
አይቀርም በማሪያም ስለማለ
ታዲያ ልጁ ምን አለ?
“ወይ” …
“ወይ” ሳልለው ብቀር ያኔ
እኔን አልሆንም ነበር እኔ
እኔን አልሆንም ነበር እኔ
እኔን አልሆንም ነበር እኔ…”)
…የሚሉት ስንኞች ለድርብ ፍቺ (MISINTERPRETATION) የተጋለጡ መሆናቸው ለታሪካዊና ፖለቲካዊ ክርክር ብሎም ቶሎ ለሚከስም ውዝግብ (ከላይ ከጠቀስኳቸው ብሄረተኛ ኦሮሞዎች ጋር) መንገድ እንደሚከፍቱ ከወዲሁ እየተሰማኝ ነው፡፡

የሆነው ሆኖ የቴዲን በሳል እና ወኔያማ ስራ ተከትሎ በርዕሰ-ጉዳይ ላይ አይቀሬ ሆኖ እየተሰማኝ ያለው እሰጥ-እገባ እንዲሁም በጉጉት የምጠብቀው የቴዲ ምላሽ (ሁሌም የምናውቀው አይነት ቀና እና አስታራቂ አንዳንዴም ብልጣብልጥ ምላሾቹን ማለቴ ነው) የኋላኋላ ለብሄራዊ አንድነትና መግባባት መንገድ እደሚደለድሉ ገና ካሁኑ ልበሙሉነት እና ደስታን ፈጥረውብኛል፡፡ ታሪክን ለመስራት ደፋር መሆን ካለብን ይሄ በቂ አብነት ይመስለኛል፡

Markos, an Ethiopian blogger and Global Voices Author, lists 5 reasons why you need to buy Teddy Afro's album:

1. His songs invoke emotions

Artists should invoke emotions and Teddy Afro is very good at it. He takes Asmera to Addis; for most people still don’t believe that Ethiopians and Eritreans are two different nations. He invokes emotions about the social challenges what Ethiopians have in the country and outside the country. He sings about equality and unity. I would also expect that he would invoke emotions in this new album.

2. He is an activist

Activism is barely accepted in Ethiopian society let alone with the government. It is great that there are many online activists right now, thanks to social media! But the in the society at large most activists are driven by their political parties not in their own philosophies. Teddy’s activism comes out of himself. His new album titled “tikur sew” [am], Black Person. I expect that he will exercise activism in his new album.

However, Befeqe does not think that Afro is an activist. In his blog post he responds to Markos [am] explaining why he does not need to buy Afro's album:

ይህንን መንግስት እና ይህንን ኑሮ አላማረረም (I don’t want art for the sake of art)
‹እንዴ ቴዲ እኮ ዘፋኝ ነው?› ካላችሁ፣ እንዴ እስክንድርም እኮ ጋዜጠኛ ነው እላችኋለሁ፤ ‹እንዴ ቴዲን እኮ እያሰሩት ነው?› ካላችሁ፣ እንዴ እስክንድርንም እኮ ከሰባቴ በላይ አስረውታል እላችኋለሁ፡፡ ‹የፈለገውን አቋም መያዝ፣ ማራመድ ወይም አለማራመድ አይችልም እንዴ?› ካላችሁ ግን እስማማለሁ ግን ባያስጀምረን ነበር፡፡ የምርጫ 97 ሰሞን ጥዑም ፖለቲካ ዘፍኖ ከዘፋኝነት ወደነፃ አውጪነት ካሸጋገርነው በኋላ ማፈግፈጉ ያኔ የሕዝቡን ትኩሳት ተንተርሶ ሊጠቀምብን ነበር ማለት ነው? ያኔ ተቃዋሚዎች ተስፋ አላቸው ከነርሱ ልወዳጅ ብሎ ነበር ማለት ነው? ዛሬ ድንገት ተነስቶ ‹የለም! ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እየተካሄደ ያለውን ነገር አላየሁም፣ አልሰማሁም› ቢል እኔም አልሰማውም፡፡

But Zelalem Kibret, a blogger residing in Addis Ababa, looks at Teddy’s song in a different in a post titled “Ethiopian History 101 By Teddy Afro”:

The New Teddy Afro album is amazing as always has been and I prefer to give my reflection on the title of the album called ‘Tikur Sew’.

In Tikur Sew Teddy tries to give a history lesson for Ignorants but, not in a conventional way rather in a new & lovable way.

1. E pluribus unum , Out of Many, One

The first thing that I found Interesting in ‘Tikur Sew’ is Its mentioning of different Patriots & war lords who plays pivotal role in the battle of Adwa, from different Ethnic Group :

❥ First It mention Dejazmach Balcha Aba Nefso, an Oromo patriot

❥ Then Emperor Minilik ( Aba Gagnaw) , from Shewa, Amhara

❥ The Next is Fitawrari Habte Giorgis Dinagde ( Aba Mela ) , a Gurage Patriot

❥ It is Ras Mengesha Yohannes, Tigrian Patriot ( The son of Emperor Yohannes IV from Tigray) turn to be mentioned and followed by.

❥ Ras Alula Engida, another Tigrian Patriot,

An exiled satirist blogger Abe Tokichaw also posts [am] a rejoinder to the discussion:

ለእምዬ ምንሊክ የተዘፈነው ጥቁር ሰው! ኢህአዴግ ይበልጡንም ደግሞ ህውሃት ሚኒሊክን እንዴት አድርገው እንደጠመዷቸው ልብ ስል አደዋ ላይ ሚኒሊክ ድል የነሱት ጣልያንን ሳይሆን ህውሃትን ነበር እንዴ? ብዬ እጠይቃለሁ። ባለፈው ግዜ እምዬ ምኒሊክን ክፉኛ የሚያንጓጥጥ መፅሐፍ ከህውሃት ወዳጆች አንዱ የሆኑ ሰው አሳትመው ነበር። በዛ ላይም እንዳየነው ከኢህአዴግ ወላጅ አባቶች አንዱ የሆኑት አቦይ ስብሀት ፀሐፊውን “እጅህ ይለምልም!” ብለው ከሞካሹ በኋላ በሚኒሊክ ላይ ዘመቻው እንደሚቀጥል ተናግረው… “ጥቁር ሰው” ሙዚቃ አፄ ሚኒሊክን ድጋሚ ያነገሰ ቢባል ይገባዋል። አሁን እንግዲህ ሰሞነ ቴዲ አፍሮ ገብቷል።

The question is whether Teddy Afro's music will be censored. Gezahegn Teji, an Ethiopian who has written a thesis on music censorship in Ethiopia, challenges the practice of music censorship in light of the Ethiopia’s Constitution which forbids of any form of censorship:

Officials, journalists, DJs, music editors, lobbying and religious groups, and music producers are found to be active agents censorship. Music is censored to circumvent retribution, to satisfy bosses and to be perceived as caretakers of “government’s ideology”. Hence, self-censorship overrides other types of censorship, i.e. official, unofficial, and market censorship.

De Birhan’s blog reports that the album might have been “censored”:

As the Ethiopian music audience eagerly awaits the release of Tewordos Kassahun’s aka Teddy Afro’s new album “Tikuer Sew” meaning Black Person rumour has been circulating in the city of Addis Abeba that the album might have been “censored’’from being distributed. No authentic source could verify this.

Teddy Afro is one of the leading young singers in Ethiopian music scene. He was accused of hit-and-run manslaughter and was imprisoned for six years in 2008. The appellate court reduced his sentence to two years in February 2009. However, Afro was released from prison eight months early on account of good behaviour. Ethiopian activists maintain that his imprisonment was a result of political nature of his music.

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The Earth, image by Esparta Palma CCBy on Flickr

Culture

India: The Last Handwritten Newspaper in the World

The earliest forms of newspaper were handwritten and now ‘The Musalman‘ probably is the last handwritten newspaper in the world. This Urdu language newspaper was established in 1927 by Chenab Syed Asmadullah Sahi and has been published daily in the Chennai city of India ever since.

Azerbaijan: Novruz Bayram

Alongside Iran and elsewhere, Azerbaijan once again celebrated Novruz, the Zoroastrian or Persian New Year. Usually celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox, Novruz marks the first day of Spring, and is one of the most important dates in the Azerbaijani calendar.

This next promotional video prepared for Eurovision shows how the holiday is celebrated in Azerbaijan.

Human rights and videos

Ethiopia: Child Abuse Caught on Mobile Phone Camera

Ethiopian Facebook users have reacted to a mobile phone recorded YouTube video which shows a little girl constantly being abused by her mother. Shortly after the upload of the video, netizens on Facebook organized an online campaign for justice by starting a Facebook group called “Ethiopians Against Child Abuse”:

Warning: the video shows situations of child abuse.

This month also saw other reactions in Ethiopia regarding human rights abuses, in the next case, an Ethiopian domestic worker was beaten by her employers in front of the Ethiopian Embassy in Lebanon, and it was captured on video. Sadly, she committed suicide shortly after.

Ethiopia: Outrage Over Abuse of Ethiopian Domestic Worker in Lebanon

Ethiopia Lebanon: Online Outrage Over Death of Domestic Worker Turns into Activism

The graphic nature of the video together with the tragic end of the plot left Ethiopians netizens outraged. Ethiopians have been using Facebook and online petition sites to mourn her death and campaign for justice for domestic workers in the Middle East.

Online activism

Kony 2012 Special Coverage Page

With the Kony 2012 campaign, discussions increased online on the topics of online activism, its efficiency and how media portrays the conflicts and situations lived in different African countries. A Special Coverage page was created to follow the reactions on the polemic video with Ugandans weighing in on the topic:

Uganda: Kony 2012 Video Response from Ugandan Prime Minister

On the YouTube comments for the previous video, Ugacentricity gives credit to the intentions behind the Invisible Children's video, but defends the need for an accurate portrayal:

No doubt, Jason's intentions MAY have been good, but he threw truth and fact out in favour of drama and innuendo. True, he may not have got the 100 million+ viewers, but the end doesn't always justify the means. As a Ugandan who was affected by Kony, I'd rather have had 100 people listening to the truth in my story than 100 million believing the untruths in it.

A series of video responses made by people inspired by the original Kony 2012 video can be found in the post Uganda: Yes We Kony!.

Other examples of online activism:

Online activism continues in the following examples of stories posted during the month of March 2012:

In Puerto Rico, an organization is seeking to raise awareness on the dangers and risks of planning unnecessary C-sections on women expecting babies through a music video.

In Russia, sex and videos were used as a means for political support by Putin supporters and detractors during the Election season, and this article walks us through some different examples.

In Latin America, women who had breast surgery with faulty implants are taking to the web to get their stories out and gather support. Through blogs, online forums, Facebook groups and online videos [es], women are talking about the high incidence of cosmetic breast enhancements, on financial responsibility for the removal of faulty implants and on the legal aspects of dealing with medical procedures that go wrong.

Crowdsourcing

Nicaragua: Film on the Consequences of a Leaked Sex Video Seeks Crowdfunding

An award-winning team of producers and actors is coming together in rural Nicaragua to make a movie based on actual events exploring the consequences of a couple of young people in love who make an intimate video of themselves which then becomes public by mistake, and how they deal with the backlash of their actions. They are looking for extra funding to cover costs on location in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and all the money raised will be spent locally.

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what happened to this little girl is an eye opening experience to all of us. Let's all stand up for other invisible children, and bring awareness to stop child abuse in ETHIOPIA. We are the next generation that can change our country let's start today

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As we closely monitor the case of the little girl, we also want to think about on how we can keep on making such great diffrence by very small gestures as we have just done, in these past two days. This community (Ethiopians Against Child Abuse), is a group dedicated to bringing awareness to child abuse in Ethiopia. We are inviting all and any individuals who already work in charity, people who are interested in charity work, and individuals who are ready to make a difference to join our movement.

The following video contains upsetting content:

This update was posted on the group's wall:

BREAKING NEWS: we just got off the phone with Saifu Fantahun and we have learned that: 1. after the reporters left the house, the child got beat again, there are new marks on her body to prove that :( 2. The woman is not her mother, she is her grandmother. 3. The child is 4 years old now and they claim these happened 3 years ago, which is clearly a lie. Because the child was not 1 years old in the video. 4. both the mother and the girl who was recording the incident are both in custody. 4. The child is staying with her aunt for now. 5. The grandmother is claiming that she get's possessed by the devil sometimes and that is why she commits such act.

Another Facebook group is called “Stop child abuse In Ethiopia”:

This is group is dedicated to those children who have been victims of physical assault,mental torture,sexual harassment,abduction, and early marriage. The immediate cause for its existence is the brutal physical torture committed on a little girl by her parents.
The group bears the responsibility to spread the information as wide as possible so as to make the issue the concern of responsible bodies.
Thus Let us try to change the situation by inviting our friends to this group, at least invite two of your friends. tnx

Tsedi Lemma, one of the most active Ethiopian social media activist wrote on her Facebook page:

Watch this video and weep. I have nothing to say….this has gutted my ability to speak as a mother and a woman. I didn't know this was the limit of my big mouth…i am just speechless!!

Another Ethiopian netizen, Muson Abdo, left a message on the ‘Stop child abuse In Ethiopia' Facebook page:

Let's do the simplest possible effort to stop the brutal child right abuse in our country by echoing the message so that the issue will become the concern of our leaders. There are so many similar cases taking place in the country which hampers the natural and healthy growth of the coming generation. You are the one who can stop this disaster from the land. So don't overlook it, it is our responsibility too. We have the ability in our hands to halt it right now. Let say enough is enough. We have suffered/they have suffered/ our country suffered a lot from this epidemic. Speared it as wide as you can.

Ethiopians Against Child Abuse logo. Image source: Group's Facebook page.

Dawit Nida [am] said on Facebook:

ለዚህ ምን ይባላል!!! እያንዳንዱ ጥፊ በስለት የተወጋሁ ያህል ነው የተስማኝ:: የቀራጯ ሳቅ ደግሞ…..ውይ ያሰቃያል!!! STOP CHILD ABUSE!!

A woman wearing a t-shirt with the message "በአዲሱ ሚሊኒየም የሕፃናት ደህንነት የሁላችን ኃላፊነት ነው" (In the new millennium, the safety of children is our common responsibility). Photo courtesy of ethiopianreporter.com.

One local radio station has offered a 10,000 Ethiopian Birr (about US$ 600) reward for any one with information leading to the arrest of the abusive “mother”. The girl laughing in the background who recorded the video has finally gave her side of the story.

A local online newsletter [am] reports that the mother has now been identified.

Social media helped Ethiopian netizens discover the video and spread it among themselves. Facebook penetration in Ethiopia is at 111.19%. The country ranks number 93 in the ranking of Facebook statistics by country. According to Internet World Stats, as of 31 December, 2011 there were 622,122 Internet users in Ethiopia.

Recently, mobile phone video footage showing an Ethiopian domestic worker being beaten and dragged by force into a car outside the Ethiopian consulate in Beirut, Lebanon caused angry reactions amongst Ethiopian netizens.

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Amidst reports of Ethiopia’s second assault on Eretria, Abe Tokichaw, Ethiopian columnist and exiled blogger, set the tone for most netizens as he satirized Ethiopia’s attack on Eretria in his regular blog post in Amharic:

እንግዲህ ዳግም ጦርነት ሊጀመር ይመስላል… በርግጥ ኤርትራ “ጦርነት የሚፈልገው የጦርነትን ዋጋ የማያውቅ ነው” ብላ የጦርነት ‘ሀፒታይት” እንደሌላት ብትገልፅም ኢህአዴግ ግን ጦር አውርድ እያለ ነው። ከዚሁ ጋር ተያይዞ “ውድ እና ጉድ የሆናችሁት የኢህአዴግ ባለስልጣኖች ሆይ ይቅርታ አድርጉልንና “ከሽራሮ ያቺው የማትረባ ሽሮ ትሻለናለች!” እና ዝመቱ በላችሁ እንዳትጠሩን አደራ! (በማለት አንዳንድ የህብረተሰብ ክፍሎች መልዕክታቸውን አስተላልፈዋል)

We Want Peace - a painting by Eritrean student Filmon Measfun. Image source: Habesha People Facebook page.

Writing at Merkato Blog, Yilma Bekele argues that war defines the Ethiopian government:

War is upon us again. War defines the Ethiopian Government. Since it came to power it has been at war with its citizens. No region or ethnic group has been spared from this infection. The regime is always at war with opposition politicians, journalists, publishers, intellectuals, and business people to mention a few. The regime has fought in Gambella, Hawasa, Ambo, Arba Minch and other localities against its own people. The Ethiopian Government is at war with our Somali-Ethiopians in the Ogaden and has been accused of war crimes.

Ethiopia's attack on Eritrea is a tactic for distracting Ethiopia's public opinion:

In an ideal world no country will sell weapons to this rogue regime. The people of Ethiopia and Eritrea have seen too many wars. The generation that cultivated and nurtured hatred and animosity is on its way out. This is its last gasp to save itself from its internal enemies. The Ethiopian government is using the Eritrean threat to justify its war on all Ethiopian people. The two poorest economies on planet earth are wasting their precious resource to kill each other. There is no one closer to an Ethiopian than an Eritrea. Eritreans have no one closer to heart than Ethiopians. Instead of building a great East African trade and technology Zone we are listening to those that peddle hate and violence. It is a new day. It is a new generation void of hate and violence.

A regular Facebook user, Zelelem, mocks Ethiopia’s government by sharing news from government’s news agency site [in Amharic]:

የአገር መከላከያ ሠራዊት በወሰደው የማጥቃት እርምጃ የኤርትራ መንግሥትና ተላላኪዎቹን የጥፋት ተልዕኮ ማዕከላትን ዛሬ ማውደሙን አስታወቀ።

Zelalem continues:

What ? But, What does ሠራዊቱ በወሰደው የማጥቃት እርምጃ የኤርትራ መንግሥትና ተላላኪዎቹን የጥፋት ተልዕኮ ማዕከላትን አወደመ mean? Anyway አስታጥቁን አታስጨርሱን እኔ በበኩሌ ጦር እና ጋሻየን አራግፌያለው፡፡
ዝማሬየንም ወደ፡ ኧረ ጎበዝ ይሙት፣ ፈሪ ይሩጥ ቢሻው፣ አተላ መሸከም ይችላል ትከሻው፡፡ ቀይሬአለሁ hahaha እኔም ብሎ ጎበዘ

The same user comments:

If it happen, I think this one is not (http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/57223/gail-m-gerhart/brothers-at-war-making-sense-of-the-eritrean-ethiopian-war)'Brothers War' rather “Dictators War.' At least for me because I have no relationship with Meles's Ethiopia. He ruins my life, he ruin million's life. So what a war is am supposed to fight? I have No Deal with a Dictator. I hope most of you also…

Kiflu Hussein, a human right defender based in Kampala, cites the Greek poet Homer:

No one is so foolish as to desire war more than peace. For in peace, sons bury their fathers but in war fathers bury their sons.

Another comment on Facebook reads:

We don't need war, we don't need unification, we just be a normal neighbors like Sudan. War is not good and those who advocate for unity have never understood the mentality of Eritrean. Eritrean nationalism is built on anti-Ethiopia, period.

Some Facebook users even even decided to create a community page called “Habesha people can’t live with them can’t live without them.” Most people leaving comment on the page reject the talk of war by illustrating the brotherhood of the two nations. One community member shared a picture drawn by an Eritrean kid and wrote:

“we need peace” painted by filmon measfun.. zagre junior school (eritrea). i decided to poste this pic cause I am sick and tired of seeing people starting political SHIT in Facebook and YouTube.. we need to celebrate our similarities and respect our differences !! hate leads to nothing so stop hating !! one love y'all

Ethiopians online refuse to get carried away Ethiopian government's reasons for attacking Eritrea. Reports are repeatedly emerging from Eritrea accusing Ethiopia of planning to remove the current Eritrean government. Eritrea has also accused the United States for being behind Ethiopia’s provocative attacks.

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The graphic nature of the video together with the tragic end of the plot left Ethiopians netizens outraged. Ethiopians have been using Facebook and online petition sites to mourn her death and campaign for justice for domestic workers in the Middle East.

Clip art illustration of a maid mopping a floor. Image source: http://jontambek.wordpress.com/.

Zelalem updates his Facebook status with:

All of we share her plight to be dragged in the floor, all of we roar as a relief for our anger but, sadly and badly none of US can save HER life. Forget our government, we have no such.

Shame on Ws ALL!!!

May Peace be Up on You Alem!

Abiye Teklemariam says:

I have no words. Tragic, tragic, tragic.

Another Facebook user comments:

Last week I watched ETV reporting that Ethiopians in UAE pledged to contribute $22million for the renaissance dam. While our sisters are being abused and killed day in, day out in the Middle East, our ETV is delighted to tell us that these same destitute girls have pledged to contribute. Lord, have mercy!!!

Her controversial death has forced netizens to take the opportunity to put the abuse of many Ethiopians domestic workers in Middle East countries on spotlight.

Concerned Ethiopian netizens have created an online petition to stop the abuse of Ethiopian women in Middle-East and seek justice for abused workers such as Alem and Shewaye.

The petition says:

Due to the lack of prospects of a livelihood, lack of education and wrong perceptions of overseas work, thousands of young Ethiopian women continue to go to the Middle East countries every year to work as domestic workers. These young women are full of hope of bettering their lives and the lives of their families. However, once they arrive in their destination country, the hopes of the majority are shattered by what awaits them. In most cases, their passports are confiscated from them, their salaries withheld, they’re beaten and even prone to rape. In addition to ratifying almost all of the international human rights instruments pertinent to the issue at hand, the Ethiopian government has also put some policy and legislative frameworks for protecting the rights of these women. However, enforcement of these laws are very minimal and weak. Thus, until the Ethiopian government upholds its national and international obligations, issue appropriate policies to ensure the protection of human rights as well as re-integration of these women into the society, Ethiopian migrant and trafficked women will continue to commit suicides, face abuses, and remain trapped on foreign soil.

Another campaign page that seeks to stop the abuse of Ethiopian women in Middle East says:

Alem didn’t committed suicide. But she was abused & murdered. She was seeking for help but help did not arrive. Let us stop this abuse and let the killer and the abuser punished

A candlelight vigil is set to take place at Mesqel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 17 March, to mourn the death of Alem and express solidarity with all abused Ethiopian domestic workers in the Middle East. One of the organizers announced on Facebook:

Dear Friends, because of the absence of a Lebanese Embassy or Consulate in Addis, the initiators of the ‘Candlelight Vigil for Alem Dechasa' have decided to conduct the Vigil at Meskel Square. Please spread the news and be there on time so that we can remember our sister and say ‘never again’. tomorrow Saturday March 17 @ 5:05pm.

While the campaign is raging online, Saudi Arabia plans is reported to be in need of 45,000 Ethiopian nationals every month in order to meet its requirement for domestic workers.

Ali Mahfouz - the man seen in the video abusing Alem Dechasa. Photo source: http://www.lbcgroup.tv/.

On 16 March, Ethiopians gathered in front of the Embassy of Lebanon in Washington DC in a silent protest to mourn Alem Dechasa. First Secretary of the Lebanese embassy, Mr Toni Frangie spoke with the protesters.

Mobile phone video footage that shows Alem Dechasa being beaten and dragged by force into a car under the gaze of bystanders outside the Ethiopian consulate in Beirut, Lebanon, sparked outrage online.

Ethiopians organised a social media campaign for justice last year after a CNN journalist, Dan Rivers, revealed the horrifying abuse of Shweya Mullah who was brutally injured after the wife of Gaddafi’s son poured boiling water on her whole body for allegedly failing to keep a crying child quiet.

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The video shows her laying on her back on the side of the road surrounded by the perpetrators who are speaking in Arabic. One of them is seen dragging her by the arms and hair. She was resisting while saying in Amharic “I will not go. I will not go.”

Instantly, Ethiopian netizens left hundreds of comments on YouTube. Many netizens shared the controversial video on their Facebook pages, the most frequented social media platform in Ethiopia, which in turn produced hundreds of comments. The silence of the Lebanese onlookers on the side of the road and most importantly the inability of members of the Ethiopian consulate in Lebanon to keep the girl away from her perpetrators has angered many Ethiopians.

Most netizens expressed anger at the perpetrators by stereotyping them as Arabs and Muslims.

One of the comments on YouTube from fisu2011 reads:

I want you to watch the video footage of “Barbarism in Lebanon” against defenseless Ethiopian woman. Someone has to be held accountable for this crime sooner or later. Shame on you barbaric Lebanese and Arabs. I hope once Syria is cleansed from Bashar Al Assad Lebanon might be expunged by the Israelites. Ethiopians who watched this video will never forget this brutality and will revenge soon or later.

The exchange of comments even became hostile towards Arabic culture and Muslims. One particular remark reads:

This is nothing compared to what many Arabs do to most emigrant workers…I have personally seen and witnessed some gruesome accounts of abuse and even death that happened to a number of Ethiopian woman, but as an EthiopianI feel for my sisters and as a human being I just can’t help but detest the Arabs and their barbaric culture…call it being racist or ignorant but this is the fact…..they are evil…

Yet, the conversation also included more moderate views from Ethiopians who insisted that Ethiopians must not stereotype people and must start to stand for themselves. For example, mamelo4us says:

I am not an Arab I am Ethiopian like you & I am proud to be a Muslim, if you had a brain you shouldn't give a comment like that blaming all Arabs for what happen to our sister. Cruel, insane & criminals have no faith, race or color they are all over the world & we should fight them as a person not as race, faith or as a society. I know your comment will not reflect as all Ethiopians because we Ethiopians know the difference between one person & a society. They brought the criminal to justice

Ali Mahfouz - the man seen in the video abusing the Ethiopian domestic worker. Photo courtesy of http://www.lbcgroup.tv/.

Mahlet Solomon, a prominent opinion leader, wrote on her Facebook:

I don't want to share the video of the Ethiopian domestic worker being kidnapped in front of the Ethiopian embassy in Lebanon. I don't want to share it because I am TIRED of the trivial question - why do Ethiopians suffer in every part of the world? And because there is nothing I can do about it or I have tried to do where as father(a white American) with the aspiration of giving a better world to his son wages a war on Uganda in the name of bring Joseph Kony to justice with the determination of stopping at nothing.

Being confined by our limitation must stop, it must stop. Our expectation shouldn't also be limited, they should not. And even if they are, we should exceed them yes we should exceed our limitation. We just have to start thinking, THINK!!!”

De Birahan blog contextualized the wide-ranging human right abuse in the country by giving a detailed perspective:

Maids in Ethiopia are mostly women who come to Addis Abeba from the rural to work in urban houses. They live with the people sheltered and fed, and paid a meagre monthly salary for their services. They often do the cooking, cleaning, washing, all houses chores; guard the house at times and also as nannies. Although there exists a symbiotic relationship between the employer and the maid; the intricacies of it shows that it is more of feudalistic and elitist. Some could argue that Ethiopian maids who export themselves to Arab countries face even the worst type of abuse there, so better that they be anyway here. No “Injustice anywhere, is injustice everywhere”, in most middle eastern countries and Ethiopia maids work long hours, seven days a week and month, no or sporadic vacations, no legal recourse in the case of disagreement with their employer. Maids most often maids eat leftovers or she cooks special food poor in quality and content from the rest of the household members for herself, sleeps in a separate building and room from the family (service bet). In most cases teenage maids that come from rural areas to help themselves and poor families are made to go to evening class (if ever allowed). They are forced to sex or raped by the men in the household (husband, son or relatives).

While many Ethiopian domestic workers flock to the Middle East, the Ethiopian government has not taken a leading role in protecting Ethiopian citizens enduring horrendous human right abuse in the region. Social media platforms continue to be a media outlet for Ethiopians to express their views and opinions about human rights abuse of domestic workers.

LBCI identified the man seen in the video, Ali Mahfouz, through his plate number.

Ethiopians organised a social media campaign for justice last year after a CNN journalist, Dan Rivers, revealed the horrifying abuse of Shweya Mullah who was brutally injured after the wife of Gaddafi’s son poured boiling water on her whole body for allegedly failing to keep a crying child quiet.

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Mohamed Keita (MK): I run the Africa desk of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which is based in New-York.

AB: What are the aims of CPJ?

MK: CPJ is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide since 1981. CPJ was founded by a group of eminent American journalists, including the late Walter Cronkyte and Dan Rather, to support their colleagues around the world during a period of kidnappings and murders of journalists in Lebanon and Latin America in the 1980s. CPJ cherishes its independence from any government and does not take any contributions from any state.

Logo of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Image source: http://cpj.org/.

AB: What are the African countries where freedom of expression is most at risk?

MK: Eritrea: President Isaias Afewerki brutally closed down the independent press in this Red Sea nation in a September 2001 crackdown on dissent. Since then, Isaias' information minister Ali Abdu runs and directs the propaganda machine of the state-controlled press. The government directs journalists what and how to report on. It is the African country whose prisons are holding the largest number of journalists (at least 28). All the journalists are held in secret prisons without charge or trial and without contact with their families, with many of them thought to have died in custody. Only Iran is imprisoning more journalists worldwide.

Ethiopia: In February 2011, Ethiopian police threatened to throw into prison dissident blogger Eskinder Nega if he did not stop comparing the Arab Spring uprisings to Ethiopia’s 2005 pro-democracy protests. Eskinder was arrested 9 months later on terrorism charges and faces a possible life sentence in a politicized case based on his critical online writings. Ethiopia operates sub-saharan Africa’s most extensive snd sophisticated Internet censorship infrasctructure and was ranked among CPJ’s top 10 Online Oppressors.

The government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is trailing only Eritrea in imprisonment of journalists. Almost all the journalists, including two Swedish reporters, have been charged with terrorism for reporting on opposition and rebel groups. With a series of restrictive laws, Meles' ruling EPRDF has tightned absolute grip over media licensing and regulation, the public state media and all public institutions. The independent press is limited to a handful of private newspapers and one radio station. The government also jams radio programs from Voice of America and Deutsche Welle and bans journalists’ access to the Ogaden where a rebellion is taking place. Meles' government has driven into exile the largest number of journalists in the world over the last decade.

Gambia: President Yahya Jammeh's years of intimidation of the press, a series of arson attacks on media houses, the closure of newspapers and radio stations, the unsolved murder of Deyda Hydara and the disappearance in government custody of reporter Ebrima Chief Manneh, have created a climate of terror for journalists in Gambia and forced the best journalists into exile.

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe arrested and prosecuted a man last year for posting a political comment on Facebook. President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF has allowed only a handful of independent newspapers to operate in Zimbabwe while retaining absolute grip over media licensing and regulation and national airwaves. Journalists operate under some of the world's most restrictive security and media laws.

Equatorial Guinea: President Teodoro Obiang's grip on the oil-rich nation is based on strict control of news and information. The president and his associates control all the media outlets in the country and no journalist is able to report independently about national priorities or spending or corruption.

Rwanda: Paul Kagame justifies restrictions on the press by invoking Radio Milles Collines, which in fact was a government-sponsored radio station, not an independent station. Kagame's government also abuses laws against “genocide ideology” and “ethnic divisionism” to prosecute and jail critical journalists and opinions contradicting the official version of the 1994 genocide.

Somalia: all belligerents in Somalia's conflict target journalists who are caught in the crossfire between rival militias, warlords, government and insurgents. Somalia is the deadliest country for the press in Africa: at least 40 journalists have been killed since 1992.

South Africa: President Jacob Zuma's ruling African National Congress has faced press criticism over its record on corruption, crime and poverty. To silence the critics, the government has introduced a series of legislative proposals that would criminalize investigative journalists, including the controversial Protection of State Information Bill, which critics have called the secrecy bill. Verbal and physical intimidation of journalists, particularly by the ANC’s youth league is on the rise.

Angola: President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and his associates of the ruling MPLA control most of Angola's media outlets and enforce censorship of news and information. only 2 newspapers and 2 radio stations were not controlled by the government. Journalists reporting about official corruption are prosecuted and given prison sentences. Security forces attacked and intimidated journalists reporting on anti-government protests by youths calling for Dos Santos to step down.

Angola and Cameroon have introduced legislative measures to combat “internet crime” but the laws punish the electronic dissemination of photos and videos of public events with prison terms.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Journalists operate at the mercy of security forces, rebel groups and powerful politicians who abuse journalists in total impunity. at least 8 journalists have been murdered since 2005 with justice falling short of solving the murders.

Ethiopia's dissident blogger Eskinder Nega. Photo courtesy of Lennart Kjörling.

AB: Bloggers from North Africa have contributed significantly to the success of revolts in the countries of North Africa. Is it conceivable that in sub-Saharan Africa bloggers play a similar role?

MK: Social media tools have become platforms for the kind of dissent that is repressed offline and they are used to organize protests offline. Some governments, such as Ethiopia, Angola, and Cameroon, are beginning to crack down on this use of the Internet, by passing laws against “cyber crime” or intimidating bloggers. In addition, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube users who are posting photos and videos from the streets using their cell phones are breaking some of the biggest news in Africa these days, and traditional media is trying to keep up with them.

AB: In Mozambique, in 2008 and 2010, well before the revolutions in the Arab world, the civil society was able to organize a demonstration against the rising cost of living using SMS. In Ghana, in 2010, citizens participated massively in constitutional review by using Facebook and mobile phones. Should these examples be regarded as exceptional cases or other similar events may occur elsewhere?

MK: Social media in the hands of young citizen journalists is fueling protest movements in Angola, Nigeria and Senegal.

The cover of CPJ

AB: What role do you attribute to social media in Africa and what are the obstacles?

MK: They have democratized news and information - making it more difficult for governments and the enemies of press freedom to keep a nation into the dark. it has created a virtual bridge between Africans in the Diaspora and those in the home countries. but the users are still largely unprepared to the dangers lurking online. Zimbabwe arrested and prosecuted a man last year for posting a political comment on Facebook. and many governments regularly demand email passwords of journalists in custody. Data security is the next challenge for journalists as more of them start to mostly work online.

AB: What can we expect from the African Union?

MK: The AU has a Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression but she works only part time and lacks the resource to do her job. AU member states still lack the political will to respect press freedom and protect journalists. Regional human rights instruments like the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) give us hope. The court issued landmark rulings against the Gambia on cases of disappearance and torture of journalists, but the problem is enforcement.

AB: The year 2011 was difficult for the press freedom in Africa, how do you see the year 2012?

MK: Each new year brings new challenges in this battle to keep the press free. The secrecy bill in South Africa has to be defeated, because South Africa is a model of democracy and free press for the continent, and this bill threatens to undo 18 years of progress since the end of Apartheid. South Sudan, the world's newest nation, is already abusing press freedom, this is also worrying. Ethiopia and Burundi's abuse of terrorism laws to prosecute and jail critical journalists is a disturbing new trend that has to be stopped. Press freedom is on the brink of extinction in Ethiopia, Angola, Gambia and Rwanda. Niger is probably the best example of a country where press freedom has advanced.

You can follow Mohamed Keita on Twitter @africamedia_CPJ and also read his articles on CPJ blog.

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