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Viewing cable 09ADDISABABA32, ETHIOPIA'S NEW PRESS LAW: BEWARE "OFFENSES"

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09ADDISABABA32 2009-01-06 13:51 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Addis Ababa
VZCZCXRO0507
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHDS #0032/01 0061351
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061351Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3308
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3282
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1841
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEPADJ/CJTF HOA
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 000032 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KPAO PHUM ET
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA'S NEW PRESS LAW: BEWARE "OFFENSES" 
THROUGH THE MASS MEDIA 
 
REF: A. ADDIS ABABA 890 
     B. ADDIS ABABA 2162 
 
1. (SBU) Ethiopia's new press law, the "Freedom of the Mass 
Media and Access to Information Proclamation," came into 
effect December 4, 2008 (although Part Three, the "Access to 
Information" portion, will enter into force on December 4, 
2009 unless that deadline is extended by Parliament).  The 
new press law affirms on paper Ethiopia's constitutional 
guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, 
regulates the registration, conduct and corporate governance 
of mass media (both print and broadcast) organizations and 
delineates citizens' rights to access information held by the 
government or other public entities.  Curiously, the press 
law requires the Ministry of Information, formally dissolved 
in November 2008, to register and otherwise provide 
regulatory oversight for mass media organizations.  Ethiopian 
Government (GoE) sources have told us that a new entity, to 
report to the Prime Minister's office, will replace the 
Ministry of Information, but has not been formally launched. 
The final version of the law contained few of the substantive 
changes requested by stakeholders at a USG-supported public 
stakeholder-government discussion of the draft law in March 
2008 (Ref A). 
 
2. (SBU) Although the press law largely addresses procedure, 
Part Five ("Taking Lawful Measures") allows for criminal 
liability for "criminal offense(s) committed through the mass 
media."  The press law further provides that "any person who 
is suspected of committing an offense shall be brought before 
the court" whether or not a police investigation into the 
potential offense has been conducted.  An "offense through 
the mass media" is not a defined term and although no 
government entity is designated with primary responsibility 
for bringing a suspect before the court, in the past the 
attorney general, the police and the court have exercised 
that authority in Ethiopia (and such authority generally 
encompasses detention as well).  As a result, the press law 
codifies the state's power to detain and prosecute mass media 
practitioners at will, although it does provide some explicit 
procedural recourse for the accused (such as the right to a 
hearing within 15 days of the filing of a charge, and the 
right to obtain a copy of the charge, along with any 
evidence, at least five days before the commencement of a 
trial). 
 
3. (SBU) Most mass media practitioners with whom we have 
spoken said they are disappointed with the law because they 
perceive the law to restrict their work rather than protect 
them.  Most journalists contend that, as a practical matter, 
the law will have little effect on the mass media's current 
practices because the state already keeps close tabs on 
journalists and has not hesitated to prosecute them under the 
penal code for any number of genuine or perceived affronts to 
the government or its agents (Ref B).  One prominent editor 
also lamented that the freedom of information provisions, if 
implemented to the letter, would be onerous and create 
significant delays in obtaining information from government 
sources.  The editor also raised concerns that provisions 
under which defamation cases can be brought are over-broad 
and therefore may be subject to abuse by either the state or 
individuals, both of whom have standing to bring defamation 
cases. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
4. (SBU) The threat contained in the new press law of 
criminal prosecution for ill-defined offenses "through" the 
mass media is yet another measure the Ethiopian government 
has introduced to consolidate and extend state authority, to 
the detriment of democratic and rule of law progress. 
Particularly concerning is the provision allowing the 
government to commence legal proceedings against media 
practitioners based solely on the "suspicion," rather than 
explicit evidence, that they have committed an offense.  Post 
will continue in our frequent interactions with relevant 
government interlocutors to encourage the government to 
revisit both the spirit and letter of the press law to better 
ensure freedom of the press and freedom of expression.  As of 
now, the "Fourth Estate" in Ethiopia faces the choice, when 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000032  002 OF 002 
 
 
reporting on anything related to the state, of 
self-censorship or possible arbitrary arrest and detention. 
End Comment. 
YAMAMOTO