Eritrea arrests dozens of journalists – Watchdog
March 11, 2009 (PARIS) — Press watchdog, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) – which continuously monitors attacks against press freedom all over the world last week said that, Eritrea has arrested up to 54 journalists in a new media crackdown.
“Eritrean authorities on 22 February 2009 ordered a raid on the premises of Radio Bana, a small station in the heart of the capital that puts out educational programmes under the sponsorship of the Education Ministry. Its entire staff of around 50 journalists were arrested” RSF said.
The Paris-based body also known as Reporters Without Borders said that Asmara had arrested four other journalists in another incident. “It is not known where they are being held.” Isaac Abraham, a journalist on public Eri TV and Girmay Abraham, a journalist on radio Dimtsi Hafash, are among them.
The media body said some of Radio Bana journalists had been released without specifying how many. Also it did not say where it had received the information on the arrests and no independent confirmation was available.
RSF also asked the European Union not to hand over 122 million euro worth of aid due to worsening conditions for political prisoners.
“Once again the EU is preparing to support the Eritrean regime when the country has shown no progress in respect for freedoms, quite the contrary,” the press freedom group said.
The organization has listed Eritrea below North Korea as the world’s worst violator of press freedom.
Asmara routinely denies claims by foreign rights groups, accusing them of working for foreign intelligence services to undermine the government of President Isaias Afwerki.
Eritrea’s Ministry of Information says foreign media are pawns of western powers and lauds what it says is the fairness of its own government-controlled press.
After Eritrea went a 1998-2000 border war with neighboring Ethiopia. Dozens of journalists have been arrested and newspapers banned since it began a crackdown on media and opposition in 2001.
(ST)