H.E. Kofi Annan
Secretary-General
Office of the Secretary-General
United Nations
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H.E. José Manuel Barroso
President
European Commission
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H.E. Paul Wolfowitz
President
World Bank
The World Bank
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Washington, DC 20433, USA
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H.E. Koichiro Matsuura
Director General
UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy
F-75352 Paris 07 SP, France
Fax: (+33-1) 45 68 55 55/58 11

Vienna, 14 November 2005

Your Excellencies,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 110 countries, is writing to express its grave concern at threats by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, to prosecute news editors for treason after recent violence in Ethiopia.

According to IPI’s information, on 9 November, Zenawi said that, together with leaders of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and members of civil society, several news editors would also be prosecuted. “For us, these are not just journalists. They will not be charged for violating the press laws. They will be charged like the CUD leaders, for treason,” Zenawi reportedly said.

Zenawi’s comments follow days of civil unrest and violence in Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa leading to the deaths of at least 42 people at the hands of the security forces who also wounded more than three times that number. The deaths occurred during fierce clashes between security forces and anti-government protestors claiming that the May 2005 parliamentary elections were rigged in the government’s favor.

During the confrontations, security forces also arrested and detained large numbers of protestors. These individuals are only now being released. Reuters reports that 1,721 detainees were released in the last few days, bringing the total number of protestors released to 4,435.

Since the start of the violent confrontations, the Ethiopian government has targeted the country’s private media. As a result, some journalists have been arrested while others have fled the country; foreign media have been accused of siding with the protestors and there are fears that the government is impeding the printing of private newspaper editions. The situation has caused international alarm and been condemned by press freedom organizations and other members of the international community.

When viewing the present situation, IPI is greatly concerned that the government’s actions risk undermining a media environment that has seen some hesitant, but encouraging improvements in recent years.

Treason is punishable by the death penalty and IPI believes that the decision to pursue this charge not only brings the rule of law into disrepute, it is also utterly disproportionate when applied against individuals exercising their right to comment on the country’s recent civil unrest. Such a right is not only guaranteed in domestic law, but also reinforced by Ethiopia’s commitments under international law.

IPI also fears that the government is using the civil unrest as an opportunity to curtail the country’s private press. Over the years, the government has been involved in a series of long running disputes with elements of the private media and numerous journalists have been arrested and detained.

The roll call of journalists who face prosecution, published in an Amharic bi-weekly newspaper over the weekend, often appears to be little more than a wish list of journalists who have irritated and angered members of the ruling party (As evidence, please find attached the list of journalists who face prosecution).

With the above in mind, IPI calls on Your Excellencies to intercede with the Ethiopian government and to issue strong public statements reminding the Ethiopian government that it is unacceptable to charge journalists with treason.

Such charges are deeply damaging to Ethiopia’s reputation and ignore the positive role played by the private media within a society that has need of independent voices when overcoming famine, poverty and corruption. IPI also wishes to point out that the Ethiopian government’s actions are contrary to what could be expected of a country housing United Nation’s offices, as well as the African Union’s headquarters.

In IPI’s opinion, a failure to speak out forcibly on this issue risks an eclipsing of the private media in much the same way that the private media disappeared from Ethiopia’s neighbor Eritrea. If this were allowed to happen, the suppression of the private media in a large part of eastern Africa could set a damaging precedent for other parts of the region and would be harmful to democracy’s progress.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director
CC.

Mr. Mogens Schmidt
Director
Division of Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace, UNESCO
1, rue Miollis
F-75732 Paris Cedex 15, France
Fax: (+33-1) 45 68 55 84