In Ethiopia, if you publish what the government does not like, you will find yourself in Maekelawi. That is the name of a notorious prison in the capital which is home for torture and human rights abuse on prisoners. In its recent report, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has placed Ethiopia the third worst country in Africa for journalists. This report came about as the government arrested a group of political bloggers named "Zone 9 bloggers" on charges of terrorism. Recently, many award winning journalists have had their freedom confiscated to write and were put behind bars to hush their voices. These arrests show that Ethiopian writers are systematically silenced by the government through legislation, which is the key reason Ethiopia's democracy in not moving forward.
Despite the government's claim that the legislation is useful for the nation's security, the newly introduced anti-terrorism law is being used to silence journalists from telling all sides of the story in the country. This law has a broad definition of terrorism that makes it easier for the government to arrest anyone they deem a "terrorist." Since the introduction of this law, several journalists have been arrested. When asked about these arrests in an interview with BBC, the Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn said, "If you have any connections with terrorists don't think that the Ethiopian government will let you free because you are a journalist." In other words, he is claiming that these jailed journalists are involved in sedition to overthrow the government with help from terrorists. Though I concede that no terrorism should be tolerated in my country, I insist that the government does not abuse legislations to silence citizens' voices.
If the government does not move towards more freedom of speech, then Ethiopians will never be able to tell their stories. In his article "Why Africans Cannot Tell Their Own Stories," Sandile Memela argues that one's work should not be rejected just because it is different from the perspective of those in power.
