The atrocious murder of at least 20 people by the Kouachi brothers in Paris and the coordinated action taken by the French police forces had griped the whole world by surprise. The two brothers had gone to the publication office of Charile Hebdo , a satirical private magazine, which had made a name and fame for itself by freely expressing its views in caricatures, also known as cartoons, on topics intending to transmit messages to its readers.
It makes no distinction between positions, ideologies, religions or opinions. Not everybody liked it, though.
The Kouachi brothers wanted to take revenge, so it was assumed, to Charlie’s alleged blasphemy about their faith. They shot and killed 11 of the employees and one security guard before they tried to make an escape.
The French government deployed over 80,000 police for the man hunt. The fugitives could not travel much when they were trapped in a publishing store.
What prompted me to write this is the stance of the whole world to protect the democratic right of free press, be it by way of publication, voice or social media. Last Sunday, world leaders had gathered in France to express their solidarity with the French government in a march to demonstrate their support for the freedom of expression that is very basic to the prevalence of democracy.
Some of us wonder why the same world leaders give deaf ears or turn their face away when jornalists or bloggers are tortured, beaten and imprisoned without any charge or even when students are gunned down while trying to peacefully demonstrate? Could there be any change?
In a run up to the fifth national election, which is only four months away, politicians seem to be warming up to be ready for their race, though a few politicians seem to start with the wrong foot. By some ironic coincidence, a heavyweight in the ANDM, Alemneh Makonnen, has reappeared to make headlines by condemning Voice of America(VOA), Amharic service being transmitted from Washington D.C.
Alemneh was controversial for his alleged comments against the people of the very region he presides over. Of course, he eventually denied that he did not commit such an act. He blamed others for cutting and pasting his voice to accuse him falsely.
This time, he seemed to be lurking to attack the foreign media to take revenge. He alleged that the foreign media was promoting the idea of deregulation of the telecommunications. He argues that the corporation is a lactating cow which the government can easily milk over six billion Birr annually.
But Alemneh does not seem to get it right what politics actually is. Any government has the responsibility to ensure sustainable, reliable and efficient communications service to its people, first, rather than looking for making profits at the expense of denying service to the people. Alemneh’s calculation of annual gross income does not consider the opportunity cost lost as a result of service breakdown.
One can make a simple arithmetic by going to any bank at any time and see how many people are sitting idle waiting for the coming of the network. Last year, at the Bole Airport, we were about to miss the plane for the same reason.
Alemneh may not have overlooked the fact that the billing system of the three utility services has been outsourced. This consolidation is yet to make the system effective.
To the dismay of people, such as Alemneh, internet-based services, including Viber, have now reached Ethiopia. For one, The government can form a joint venture with private companies to give efficient service and make more profit.
In a political game of relaying the ball from one party to the better one every five years, it appears that the ball seems to be too hot to hold and keep in the hands of the ruling party and hence has to throw the ball back to the owners the people of Ethiopia.
On the other hand, the responsibility to build a democratic country fully rests on the shoulders of the government and through the electoral board. If the ruling party tries to ridicule the members of the alternative party, it has only itself to blame.
There cannot be any illusion on this point. Similarly, the electoral board is also responsible in creating conducive situations and level ground for free, fair and democratic elections. As things stand now, the board seems to be doing what it is blamed for doing. It is finding every reason in every corner to create hurdles on the running race to prevent the prevalence of democratic election.
Be it in elections, debates over public service or lay time, the presence of free press is the most basic pillar of building a democratic system in a developing country, like Ethiopia. The free press is the power of the people. It is a means of checking and guiding the political systems in the country.
Politicians, such as Alemneh, should also learn that they have to be objective enough in their discussion of issues in media. World leaders, on the other hand, should extend their fight for liberty to the horizons of developing countries since free press is under threat there too.
Talking about the case of Charlie Hebdo only would not serve the purpose. Despite the difference in orientation, the challenges of free press are prevalent across the world. No doubt that the sources differ.
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