Ethiopia’s Internet Censorship

Ethiopia understands the impact of long-lasting regime on the political process and the sacrifices made in the country to achieve this rule. The country, from 1977-1991, was ruled by Mengistu Haile Mariam, a communist leader who ruled Ethiopia  under very strict controls and who has sought refuge in Zimbabwe following his overthrow and conviction,in absentia, of genocide. However the government that replaced Mengistu; that of Meles Zenawi, first as President, then as Prime Minister, has ruled the country ever since 1991. In order to achieve this long rule the government has sacrificed total freedom of the press.

The government has had close controls over the written press, Ethiopian Television is the only television broadcast network and is owned by the state, and the state telecoms company has a monopoly on the phone network. Now Ethiopia’s government seeks to further this control by clamping down on the internet usage in the country.

It has implemented a system that blocks access to services such as Skype that allow cheaper and anonymous internet based phone calls. For many Ethiopians this has been a way to get around the censorship laws that are in place; however with the government now reportedly levying heavy sentences on those using internet phone services, this technological loop-hole could be cut off

For many these controls seem to show a worrying increase in censorship within the country and highlight the endemic problems of many of these ‘democracies’ around the world. In these regimes there is great disparity between what the political structure and world view appears to promote and what the reality of these regimes on an everyday level are.

Ethiopia is not the only nation in the region to experience strict censorship. It’s neighbour Eritrea has been labelled as the most heavily censored nation in the world and a dangerous country for reporters to work in. These are both nations in which leaders are scared of the internal, tribal divisions (divisions that have caused war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the past) that could damage their countries, possibly fearing what has happened in neighbouring Somalia. Censorship of the press and in Ethiopia, in particular the Internet, is the best tool these governments use to ensure stability and critically continued governmental control over the population.

In this era of protest and reform, when political regimes are being tested and social issues being challenged, can Ethiopia achieve censorship without reprisals from its population? Can Ethiopia, with the increasing globalisation of world society and prevalence for internet based technology, really achieve the control they desire or will they faced a new strand of anti-censorship protest?

Ethiopia is at a crossroads, appearing to want to got down a path of greater government control over the population, whilst the world around it seeks to break away from that control. This conflicting politics will test Ethiopia and it is regime, and only time will tell what the real impact of these new controls are.

By Peter Banham

See Also:

Where the Media Has Little Say: Eritrea’s Censorship Issue