Tough new laws for the media in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Sunday

Ethiopian government has issued a new regulation barring newspapers and magazines publishers and property owners from holding positions of editor or deputy editor in their media houses.

Ethiopian Broadcasting Agency (EBA), initially established to regulate broadcast sector, but has recently been mandated to regulate all press operations in Ethiopia, ordered all existing newspapers and magazines to re-register within three months time.

Diverse opinions

Mr Desta Tesfaw, the deputy director of EBA, said the intention of the new regulation was to guard against media monopoly and ensure diverse opinions in the industry, which, he said, was a basic for democratic culture.

According to Mr Desta, individuals registered as having more than two per cent stake in a media house, cannot be an editor-in-chief or deputy editor.

Dr Haile Ayale, who specialises on Ethiopian media ethics at Vienna University, Austria said the theoretical aspect of the law may be valid, but practically, it was another blow for Ethiopia media.

Meanwhile, Ethiopians today commemorate the historic March 2, 1896 date of the Battle of Adowa, when the Ethiopian army decisively defeated the Italian Army, to remain the only independent nation in Africa during Europe’s Scramble for Africa.