Ethiopia Hits Back at Foreign Embassies on Press Freedom Day

Ethiopia foreign ministry and foreign embassies based in Addis Ababa exchanged strong statements on World Press Freedom Day. The foreign embassies urged the Ethiopian government to respect press freedom while Ethiopia termed their attitude “unhelpful”.

Today, a group of 18 diplomatic missions from the EU, US, UK, Germany, and other countries issued a joint call. They are asking for the release of Ethiopian journalists who have been unfairly detained for doing their jobs. 15 journalists are currently detained in Ethiopia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia responded to this call by issuing a counter statement.

“Ethiopia upholds the freedom of the press. This right must be exercised and protected within the confines of the rule of law. Ethiopia values the unprecedented growth of traditional and digital media outlets in the country demonstrating the full enjoyment of this fundamental right”, the statement reads.

Ethiopian foreign ministry criticized the foreign embassies by saying, “Ethiopia welcomes constructive engagement with partners and all stakeholders. Resorting to paternalistic joint statements is unhelpful for bilateral relations and undermines the rule of law in the country. Such a manner of conducting relations with the host state is unhelpful and discordant with acceptable bilateral diplomatic norms and practices”.

According to the latest report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the ranking of Ethiopia on the press freedom index has dropped. In its 2024 report, Ethiopia is placed at 141. While Ethiopian neighbor Eritrea is ranked at the very end of the list i.e. 180. In 2023, Ethiopia was ranked 131. In 2022, it was placed at 114.

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