Wolfowitz champions freedom of press while in Ethiopia
July 12, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz championed freedom of the press during a visit Wednesday to Ethiopia, where journalists are standing trial alongside opposition leaders in a case rights groups have said is politically motivated.
In the case stemming from protests over alleged election fraud, 111 independent journalists, opposition leaders and aid workers have been charged with treason and attempted genocide – charges that could bring life in prison or death. London-based human rights group Amnesty International has called the defendants “prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence.”
Speaking to reporters after meeting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Wolfowitz said Wednesday: “I can’t, as an outsider, judge the fairness of the charges against them. But in regard to the journalists, a free press is one of the ways to guarantee that the people know what’s going on.”
Wolfowitz said his visit with Meles was productive considering the political turmoil the country had undergone in the past year. The World Bank recently resumed its activities in Ethiopia after elections Meles’s party won in May 2005 were marred by protests and riots that left 88 citizens dead at the hands of police.
“The events of the last year required us to step back a little bit,” Wolfowitz said at a press conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “My impression is that over the last few months compromises have been made on both sides.”
Wolfowitz said though Ethiopia had been through some difficult times, economic progress was being made. He said there was a long way to go in terms of scaling up aid in Ethiopia, but if “peace and harmony” were to remain consistent, then the talents of the Ethiopian people could lift it out of poverty.
Wolfowitz spent Tuesday in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia touring schools and meeting with locals about protection of basic services to residents and how services could be improved. He left for Tanzania late Wednesday before taking a break in his African tour to attend the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.
(ST/AP)