Internet intrusion and increased repression in Ethiopia
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By <
http://www.redress.cc/about/writers#gpeebles_bio> Graham Peebles
21 June 2012
Graham Peebles views the Meles Zenawi regime's chronic suppression of the
internet and media freedoms in Ethiopia and asks how long will Addis Ababa's
allies in the US, Britain and the European Union tolerate the regime's
flagrant violations of rights enshrined in domestic and international law.
Freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are basic
human rights and are enshrined in the
<
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/> Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. It is not for a government - whose function is to serve the people -
to decide who or indeed if these freedoms should be allowed. Although etched
into the Ethiopian constitution, freedom in its various democratic
manifestations remains a fantasy for the people, who are increasingly
controlled, inhibited and impoverished. The Ethiopian government under the
leadership of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is imposing ever more stringent
and repressive measures of subjugation. If it could it would control and
restrict the very air the people breath.
Internet control and privacy
In its latest assault on the human rights of the people, the governing
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) decreed certain
activities on the internet to be illegal. Access to the internet inside
Ethiopia is very poor. According to Open Net Initiative (ONI) Ethiopia "has
the second lowest internet penetration rate in sub-Saharan Africa (only
Sierra Leone's is lower). Only 360,000 people had internet access in June
2009, a penetration rate of 0.4 per cent."
The Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC), a government owned and
run body, and the Ethiopian Telecommunication Agency (ETA) have exclusive
control over internet access in the country. According to the media watchdog
<
http://en.rsf.org/> Reporters Without Borders (RWB) on 7 June, "Ethiopia's
only ISP [Internet Service Provider], state-owned Ethio-Telecom, has just
installed a system for blocking access to the Tor network, which lets users
browse anonymously and access blocked websites". In order to achieve such
selective blocking, according to RWB, "Ethio-Telecom must be using Deep
Packet Inspection (DPI), an advanced network filtering method" that is used
by repressive states, such as China and Iran. This sophisticated system, RWB
says, "allows governments to easily target politically sensitive websites
and quickly censor any expression of opposition views".
Internet filtering in Ethiopia has been in place for some years, according
to <
http://www.freedomhouse.org/> Freedom House. Its report, "
<
http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/freedom-net-2011> Freedom on
the Net 2011", states: "Tests conducted by Freedom House found that in
mid-2010 the websites of Freedom House, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International were inaccessible. In March 2010, Voice of America reported
that its website was blocked in Ethiopia." The BBC reported that in June
2010 emails sent from Ethiopia to the Committee to Protect Journalists were
also blocked.
This latest invasion of privacy and restriction of freedoms comes on the
back of a new law passed on 24 May which, among other things, bans the use
of Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) hardware and software, such as
Skype, which enables people to use the internet as the transmission medium
for telephone calls, and imposes a penalty of up to 15 years imprisonment
for the heinous crime of making a telephone call to a family member or
friend.
Internet access, and national and international calls, which have to be made
through the state telecommunications provider, the ETC, are extremely
expensive. A 2010 study by the <
http://www.itu.int/en/Pages/default.aspx>
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) found that Ethiopia's broadband
internet connections were among the most expensive in the world when
compared with monthly income, and come second only to those in the Central
African Republic.
The new legislation also allows the government to inspect any imports of
voice communication equipment and accessories, and to ban such imported
shipments without prior notification. One suspects this may well simply be
the first step in establishing total government control over access and use
of the internet, leading to monitoring of emails, social network sites, chat
platforms and so on, all of which could now be targeted and monitored.
Indeed, RWB has already voiced its fears that the DPI "will be misused for
surveillance purposes by a government that already subjects the political
opposition and privately-owned media to a great deal of harassment".
Up until now government acts of repression have been mainly targeted at
independent journalists, political activists and opposition supporters
living and working outside the country. Journalists working abroad and
publishing online find themselves attacked in print by comments from
government stooges, as Freedom House states in its report. It said: "In
addition to censorship, the authorities use regime apologists, paid
commentators and pro-government websites to proactively manipulate the
online news and information landscape." This new move, however, throws a
noose around all internet users. As ONI states, "Ethiopia is increasingly
jailing journalists, and the government has shown a growing propensity
toward repressive behaviour both off- and online. It seems likely that
censorship will become more extensive as internet access expands across the
country." Such is democracy under Meles Zenawi.
Unlawful laws of control
The reasons offered for the new legislation by the regime are the
well-trodden justifications of the unjust, made by the unlawful. RWB quotes
the authorities, as saying that "the ban was needed on national security
grounds and because VoIP posed a threat to the state's monopoly of telephone
communications". Duplicitous at best, such actions of extreme repression are
born out of paranoia. And let us point out there should be no such state
telecommunications monopoly anyway.
These measures fit into a broader pattern of restrictions of freedom, all of
which violate human rights laws. The Anti Terrorist Proclamation that came
into effect in 2009, to a chorus of international criticism and fury, set
the tone of repression and is being followed with ever-greater ferocity. The
Ethiopian constitution, a legally binding document, of course proclaims
universally recognized freedoms - all of which the government contravenes.
As ONI states, "The Ethiopian government maintains strict control over
access to the internet and online media, despite constitutional guarantees
of freedom of the press and free access to information."
What the constitution says
Relevant constitutional statements of intent specifically relating to the
media; include Article 29on the "Right of Freedom of Thought, Opinion and
Expression". This states:
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression without any interference.
This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in
print, in the form of art, or through any media of his choice.
It also says: "Freedom of the press and other mass media, and freedom of
artistic creativity, is guaranteed."
Regarding the right to privacy, Article 26 makes plain that "Everyone has
the right to the inviolability of his notes and correspondence, including
postal letters, and communications made by means of telephone,
telecommunications and electronic devices. It adds that "Public officials
shall respect and protect these rights."
Censorship by the printing presses
In tandem with the current illegal attacks on internet freedom, the
state-owned printing presses are tightening the screws of suppression and
are, according to RWB, "demanding the right to censor the newspapers they
print".
Not only is there a state monopoly on telecommunications, but the press are
also state owned. There is only one Amharic-language daily national paper,
with around 32,000 readers, in a country of 85 million people.
Both television and radio are firmly under the control of the Meles regime.
Berhanena Selam is the main state printer, and has a virtual monopoly on
newspaper and magazine printing. Along with other state-owned printers, it
is trying to impose political censorship on media content before
publication. According to RWB, "In a proposed 'standard contract for
printing' recently circulated by state printers, they [the printers] assume
the right to vet and reject articles prior to printing." Article 10 of the
proposed contract, entitled "Declining to print content violating the law",
states "the printer has the right to refuse to print any text if he has
'adequate reason' to think it breaks the law". This in itself breaks the law
as it contravenes Article 29 of the constitution, which prohibits any form
of press censorship.
Not only do the actions of the Meles regime - a centralist government in the
extreme - contravene the Ethiopian constitution, but the the grave breaches
of human rights contravene numerous legally binding international treaties
signed by the government. Internet access is a human right and is covered by
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This has been
clearly emphasized by the United Nations special rapporteur on the promotion
and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La
Rue, who has reminded "all states of their positive obligation to promote or
to facilitate the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression and the
means necessary to exercise this right, including the internet". He also
stresses that "there should be as little restriction as possible to the flow
of information via the internet".
Complete control of the media pertains inside Ethiopia, and these controls
are becoming ever more intense with greater disinformation and manipulation
of the press and the primary source of news, television.
The Meles regime exercises a brutal and deeply repressive dictatorship. How
long will the West, whose dollars, pounds and euros support the needy
throughout Ethiopia, continue to turn a blind eye to the myriad human rights
violations and a deaf ear to the cries of the people for justice and
freedom? Sit not in silence America and Britain as your strategic,
undemocratic "ally" in the Horn of Africa suppresses and controls the people
of Ethiopia while claiming to act in their interest. Demand that
international law is observed, federal law honoured and human rights upheld.
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Received on Thu Jun 21 2012 - 19:05:56 EDT
