Mass media in Eritrea

There are no current independent mass media in Eritrea. All media outlets in Eritrea are from the Ministry of Information, a government source.

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Western media was brought to the country during Italian and British colonialism. The media is Eritrea played a role in its war against Ethiopia. Independent Eritrea has one of the harshest media regimes, with private and foreign ownership being banned since the early 2000s. As of 2018, the government controlled four newspapers, one television channel and two radio stations. International organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House have consistently labelled the media in Eritrea as "not free", ranking it as the lowest or one of the lowest countries in press freedom indices.[1][2] Access to the internet is very limited.[3]

History

Italian and British colonialism brought western journalism to the region. It then fell into the hands of the Ethiopian rulers. During Eritrea's independence movement, media such as radio Dmtsi Hafash (transl. Voice of the Broad Masses), first broadcast in early 1979 from Fah and Sahel, played a revolutionary role.[4] Dmtsi Hafash continues to broadcast till date.[5]

In 1996, the Eritrean government passed a law banning private broadcast media and requiring licenses for journalists and newspapers. The law barred the reprinting of works from banned publications, outlawed foreign ownership of media, and required all publications to be submitted to the government for approval prior to publication.[6] In 2001, in an effort to quell burgeoning dissent about the future of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the government closed down eight independent newspapers and arrested an undisclosed number of journalists.

Onwards from 18 September 2001, the government banned all private media.[7] The newspapers affected included Meqaleh, Setit, Tiganay, Zemen, Wintana, Admas, Keste Debena, and Mana.[7][8] Official reasons for the ban included national security, and failure to comply with media laws and regulations.[8] 2001 also saw an unknown number of journalists being detained, some who are still thought to be imprisoned.[9] Even before the arrests, journalists were facing conscription, which HRW explained as an attempt to clamp down on the media.[10]

Print

There are two daily print newspapers:

  • Al-Hadisa (Arabic language)
  • Haddas Eritrea (Tigrinya language)

There are also two other papers:

  • Eritrea Profile, twice weekly (Wednesday & Saturday) (English language)
  • Eritrea Haddas, weekly (Wednesday) (Tigre language)

A defunct newspaper:

Radio

There are three radio stations in Eritrea. Radio Bana is an educational radio broadcast in five languages. Radio Zara is available only in Tigrinya, while Dimtsi Hafash is available in nine languages: Afar, Arabic, Beja, Blin, Kunama, Nara, Saho, Tigre, Tigrinya.

Dimtsi Hafash and Radio Zara are available via satellite dish.

Radio Erena is a Paris-based radio station that broadcasts news in Eritrea.

Television

There are two television stations in the country, with a third having been announced in 2006.[11] Eri-TV1, more commonly known as Eri-TV, is available globally through satellite while Eri-TV2 is only available in Eritrea; both are operated by the Ministry of Information from Asmara. Eri-TV has fully featured programming in four languages: Arabic, English, Tigre, Tigrinya; as well as some programming in other languages including Amharic, Oromo and Somali.

Eri-TV is available within Eritrea and abroad via satellite dish 24 hours a day. Many of the television owners in Eritrea use satellite dishes.

Diaspora online media

Online media of the Eritrean diaspora play a major role in Eritrean politics according to researcher Victoria Bernal.[12]

See also

References
  1. Whitten-Woodring & Belle 2019, p. 171.
  2. Merskin 2019, Eritrea.
  3. Katlic, Tim (2014-08-01). "Understanding Eritrea's Exceptionally Limited Internet Access". ICTworks. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  4. Weldemichael, Simon (13 January 2018). "Role of Eritrean Mass Media in Nation Building". Eritrean Center for Strategic Studies. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  5. "Dimsti Hafash, the Radio of the People". Eritrea Ministry Of Information. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  6. "Freedom of the Press". Retrieved 2006-09-04.
  7. "Attacks on the Press 2001: Eritrea". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2002-03-26. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  8. "Article 19 v. Eritrea, Decision, Comm. 275/2003 (ACmHPR, May. 30, 2007)". www.worldcourts.com. Retrieved 2021-10-11. ...on 18th September 2001, the Eritrean government banned the entire private press comprising of the following newspapers -: Meqaleh, Setit, Tiganay, Zemen, Wintana, Admas, Keste Debena and Mana.
  9. "Eritrea: A dictatorship in which the media have no rights | Reporters without borders". RSF. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  10. "Escalating Crackdown in Eritrea". Human Rights Watch. 2001-09-20. Retrieved 2021-10-11. Prior to the closure of the independent press, a number of journalists were sent to the mandatory national service in what appeared to be an attempt to silence them.
  11. "Ministry of Information Graduates 22 EDF Members". All Africa. Shabait.com. 2006-05-13. Retrieved 2006-06-08.
  12. Bernal, Victoria (2013). "Civil Society and Cyberspace: Reflections on Dehai, Asmarino, and Awate". Africa Today. 60 (2): 22. doi:10.2979/africatoday.60.2.21. eISSN 1527-1978. ISSN 0001-9887. Archived from the original on 2021-03-21. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
Bibliography
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