Freedom of the press in Eritrea

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Eritrea became independent when it split from Ethiopia in 1991. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) promised at the time to build a democratic state, but it was not kept.

Eritrea is the only sub-Saharan African state that bans private media. The country ranks second to last on the list of press freedom .

Location of Eritrea

History of press freedom in Eritrea

Private newspapers were first allowed in 1998, after which eight newspapers were founded. They significantly influenced the formation of public opinion and made demands for democratization and criticism of the government possible. They sold more copies (around 45,000) than the pro-government press. However, on September 18, 2001, press liberalization ended abruptly. The independent newspapers had published a letter from the " G-15 " and commented positively. In the open letter, the G-15 accused the president, Isayas Afewerki , and the government of having acted illegally and violated the constitution.

President Isayas Afewerki

On the grounds of “violating the press law” and “endangering the unity and interests of the country”, all independent newspapers were banned and ten journalists were imprisoned. They were accused of being Ethiopian spies without any evidence.

Todays situation

In Eritrea today there are only state-controlled media. The daily newspaper Hadas Ertr, founded after independence, is published Tuesday through Saturday in Tigrinya and Arabic . The Eritrea Profile newspaper is in English and appears on Wednesdays and Thursdays. All newspapers can be read on the website of the Eritrean Ministry of Information. Eri-TV is the only TV station in Eritrea with two channels. The radio station in Eritrea is called Dimtzi Hafash. Because of the strict censorship , it is impossible for citizens to distinguish between truth and propaganda . The Eritrean population could get uncensored news via the internet, as there are some journalists in exile who provide independent coverage via websites, internet radio / television or videos. However, only 3% of Eritreans have internet access. Especially in rural areas, the population is dependent on the government's one-sided information and propaganda. Eritrea is often referred to in the literature as "Africa's North Korea" because these two countries are the only ones in the world without any free press. There are currently around 16 journalists held in Eritrean prisons. Four of them died or committed suicide as a result of the inhumane conditions.

In the ranking of press freedom , Eritrea has occupied the following places in recent years:

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011/12 2013 2014 2015 2016
Worldwide classification 132/139 162/166 163/167 166/167 166/168 169/169 173/173 175/175 178/178 179/179 179/179 180/180 180/180 180/180
Note from RSF 83.67 91.50 93.25 99.75 109 114.75 97.50 115.50 105.00 142.00 84.83 84.83 84.86 83.92

About Reporters Without Borders (ROG) grading : The higher the number, the worse the situation.

broadcast

The radio station Radio Erena, which was founded by Eritrean journalists in exile with the help of Reporters Without Borders and has been on the air from Paris since June 15, 2009, offers a free, independent program via satellite. The aim of the program is to make independent news available to the citizens of Eritrea. This is an effective way of reaching them as the illiteracy rate in Eritrea is very high at 41.4%. The station offers critical reporting, cultural programs up to a youth program and both Eritrean and international music.

literature

  • Ghirmai: Eritrea: Between one-party state and democracy . Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-8288-8922-0 .
  • Kibreab: Eritrea: A dream deferred . 1st edition. Currey, Oxford 2009, ISBN 978-1-84701-008-7 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johnson: Media and Civil Society. In: Information on political education. , No. 303, 2009, ISSN  0046-9408 , p. 14.
  2. ↑ https://www.reporter-ohne-grenzen.de/rangliste/2017/
  3. ↑ Ghirmai: Eritrea: Between one-party state and democracy . Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-8288-8922-0 . , P. 176
  4. ↑ Ghirmai: Eritrea: Between one-party state and democracy . Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-8288-8922-0 . , P. 176
  5. ↑ Kibreab: Eritrea: A dream deferred . 1st edition. Currey, Oxford 2009, ISBN 978-1-84701-008-7 . , P. 42
  6. ↑ Ghirmai: Eritrea: Between one-party state and democracy . Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-8288-8922-0 . , P. 176
  7. ^ Eritrean Ministry of Information: Eritrea Profile. In: [1] . Accessed November 5, 2011
  8. ↑ Ghirmai: Eritrea: Between one-party state and democracy . Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-8288-8922-0 . , P. 176
  9. ↑ Kibreab: Eritrea: A dream deferred . 1st edition. Currey, Oxford 2009, ISBN 978-1-84701-008-7 . , P. 60
  10. ^ Central Intelligence Agency: The World Fact Book - Eritrea. In: [2] . Accessed November 5, 2011
  11. ↑ Ghirmai: Eritrea: Between one-party state and democracy . Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-8288-8922-0 . , P. 177
  12. ^ Yohannes: The Role of Free Press in Democratic Process in Eritrea: When the protector becomes a censor. In: [3] . Accessed March 30, 2011
  13. ↑ Reporters Without Borders: Predators: Issaias Afeworki, President, Eritrea. In: Archived copy ( memorial from November 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). Accessed March 9, 2011
  14. ↑ Rapport RSF de 2002 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of October 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ↑ Report RSF de 2003 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of October 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ Report RSF de 2004 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of March 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  17. ↑ Report RSF de 2005 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of October 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ↑ Report RSF de 2006 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of March 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  19. ↑ Report RSF de 2007 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of March 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  20. ↑ Report RSF de 2008 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of April 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  21. ↑ Rapport RSF de 2009 sur l'Érythrée ( Memento of November 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  22. ↑ [4]
  23. ↑ World Report Eritrea 2012 ( Memento from August 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  24. ↑ World press freedom index 2013 ( Memento from October 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  25. ↑ ROG ranking list of press freedom 2014/15
  26. ↑ ROG ranking of press freedom 2015
  27. ↑ ROG ranking of press freedom 2016
  28. ^ Central Intelligence Agency: Eritrea. In: [5] Accessed November 7, 2011
  29. ^ Reporters Without Borders: Radio Erena - an independent news source for Eritrea. In: Archived copy ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Accessed June 22, 2011