The new newspapers slated to become Ethiopia’s first independent papers since the unrest following the 2005 elections have been prevented from being launched by the Ethiopian government, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Journalists Serkalem Fasil and Eskinder Nega and publisher Sisay Agena told CPJ that the government blocked their applications to launch two Amharic-language newsweeklies. All three journalists were among the media professionals imprisoned following the 2005 elections; they each spent 17 months in prison.

“Despite public assurances in July that it would allow former[ly imprisoned journalists] to resume their work, the Ethiopian government instead is using bureaucratic tactics to deny independent journalists an outlet,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon has said. “We call on the government to remove such obstacles and allow our colleagues the right to publish newspapers.” According to CPJ, the Ethiopian ministry is required to “facilitate conditions for the expansion of the country’s media both in variety and in numbers.”

To read more, visit http://cpj.org/news/2008/africa/ethiopia02jan08na.html.