Media of Eritrea

Eritrea became independent with the spin-off from Ethiopia in 1991. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front ( EPLF ) promised at that time to build a democratic state, but this was not observed.

Eritrea is the only African country south of the Sahara, the private media bans. On the ranking of press freedom, the country occupies the last place worldwide.

History of press freedom in Eritrea

Privately owned newspapers were first allowed in 1998. Eight newspapers were founded then. They influenced the formation of public opinion significantly and the demand for democratization and criticism of the government was made possible by them. They sold more copies ( approximately 45 000 ) than the pro-government press. On 18 September 2001, however, the liberalization of the press ended abruptly. The independent newspapers had published a letter of "G -15" and commented positively. In the open letter, the G -15 the president, Isaias Afewerki, and accused the government of having illegally traded and violated the Constitution.

On the grounds " the press law to violate " and " endangering the unity and the interests of the country" then all the independent newspapers were banned and imprisoned ten journalists. They were accused without any evidence of being Ethiopian spies.

Current situation

In Eritrea there are only government-controlled media today. The daily Hadas ERTR founded after independence appear Tuesday through Saturday in Tigrinya and Arabic. The newspaper Eritrea profiles is in English, and appears every Wednesday and Thursday. All papers are to be read on the website of the Eritrean Ministry of Information. Eri - TV is the only television station with two channels of Eritrea. The radio station is called Eritrea Dimtzi Hafash. Due to the strict censorship, it is impossible for citizens to distinguish between truth and propaganda. Via the Internet, the Eritrean population could get uncensored news, because there are some journalists in exile, which provide independent reporting on websites, Internet radio / television or videos. However, only 3% of Eritreans have Internet access. Especially in rural areas, the population is dependent on the one-sided information and propaganda of the government. Eritrea is often referred to in the literature as "Africa's North Korea ", since these two countries are the only ones without any free press worldwide. Currently, about 16 journalists are being held in prisons in Eritrea. Four of them have died because of the inhumane conditions or have committed suicide.

On the ranking of press freedom occupied Eritrea in recent years, the following places:

About the grading of Reporters Without Borders (RSF ): The higher the number, the worse the situation is ( See also the website of ROG for the precision of the methodology).

Broadcasting

The radio station Radio Erena, which was founded by Eritrean journalists in exile with the help of Reporters Without Borders and since 15 June 2009 from Paris is on the air, via satellite offers a free, independent program. The goal of the program is to provide citizens of Eritrea to make independent news available. This is an effective way to reach them because the illiteracy rate in Eritrea at 41.4%, is very high. The transmitter provides critical reporting, cultural parcels up to a youth program and both Eritrean and international music.