Mar 18 2013
AlJazeera: Ethiopia ‘blocks’ Al Jazeera websites
Al Jazeera’s English and Arabic websites are reported to have been blocked in Ethiopia, raising fresh fears that the government is continuing its efforts to silence the media.
Though the authorities in Addis Ababa have refused to comment on the reported censorship, Google Analytics data accessed by Al Jazeera shows that traffic from Ethiopia to the English website had plummeted from 50,000 hits in July 2012 to just 114 in September.
Traffic data revealed a similar drop for the Arabic website, with visits to the site dropping to 2 in September from 5,371 in July.
A blogger, who cannot be identified for his own safety, said Ethiopian censors had been targeting Al Jazeera since the Qatar-based network began airing coverage of ongoing protests against the way in which spiritual leaders are elected in the Horn of African nation.
The steep decline in web traffic began on August 2 last year, the same day that Al Jazeera Mubasher aired a forum with guests denouncing the government’s “interference” with Muslim religious affairs, and three days after Al Jazeera English published an article detailing deadly ethnic clashes between two of the country’s southern tribes.
Attempts by Al Jazeera to get an official response from authorities failed.
Poor track record
Ethiopia is ranked 137 out of 179 surveyed nations on the latest Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international advocacy group for press rights.
Both RSF and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have tied Ethiopia’s deteriorating media environment, in part, to a 2009 anti-terrorism law that has been used to jail 11 journalists since its ratification.
“The usage and practice of this law is illegal. It has a clause that makes whoever writes about so-called terrorist groups, which are mostly normal opposition groups, a terrorist,” CPJ’s East Africa Consultant Thom Rhodes told Al Jazeera.
“Now it’s got to the point that the law is being used to label those in the Muslim community conducting peaceful protests to defend their right to choose their spiritual leaders as terrorists. It’s a sad state of affairs.”
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2 Responses to “AlJazeera: Ethiopia ‘blocks’ Al Jazeera websites”
The Ethiopian government did
the right thing to block Al
jezeera. AL jezeera just like
CNN , Press TV and all major
media outlets are not truthfull
and honest. Al Jejeezera is
Qatar owned and is the face of
the Sunni muslim’s media
outlets, that’s why they were
reporting 24 hours from Cairo
even after the Mubarek regime
banned them to see it that he
is overthrown, now when Mursi
with the help of Qatar is in
power, Al Jezeera changed and
wouldn’t cover all the crises in
Egypt, just even to report it
they had b/c other media
outlets were covereing it and
they don’t want to lose
audience.
For all you guys crying foul, I
didn’t hear a voice when Al
Jezeera was banned from the
US. Press TV is being droped
from US and EU countries and
banned. Why is it when
western countries ban them it
is ok but when we do it, it is a
crime. Al jezeera until recently
were not allowed in the US,
they are trying to enter the
market again, thanks to the
liberal good for nothing Al Gore
who sold them his fake
channel. Al jezeera is biased
aganist Ethiopia and are not
fair at all. I am happy they
banned them. Keep it up the
Ethiopian government. Good
job and acutally it is late.
Al Jazeera isn’t covering the
news of Arab Spring inside
Bahrain. However, it covers
the news of Arab Spring inside
Syria with all updates.
Look at Press TV which covers
Arab Spring detailed News
inside Bahrain, report Syria
with little bias & also report
protest new of Saudi Arabia.
Comparing Aljazeera & Press
TV, Press TV covers both side
of Syria war news. Al Jazeera
don’t report protest in Bahrain
& Saudi Arabia. Updated news
report regarding Syria ” The
War Within”.
Why Al Jazeera Jumped
reporting news inside Bahrain
& Saudi Arabia ???
Don’t say the Arab Spring news
report is based on Islamic sect,
Sunni News, Shiaaa News, Sufi,
Salafi, Western sided
reporting, …
Ethiopia did the right thing by
blocking this biased news
reporter website.