Eritrea summons German ambassador over DW coverage
October 23, 2019
The German Foreign Ministry has defended the importance of press freedom after Berlin's ambassador to Eritrea was summoned over DW's media coverage of the country. Eritrea says it is being misrepresented.
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The Eritrean foreign ministry summoned Germany's ambassador to its offices earlier this week over DW's reporting on the country.
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel on Monday claimed that DW — Germany's state-owned international broadcaster — was engaged in an "unbridled smear campaign" against Eritrea.
In its response, the German Foreign Ministry described the broadcaster as "an independent media outlet that works to high journalistic standards."
"Press freedom is a valuable asset and prerequisite for a functioning democracy," the ministry, which gave no further details about the ambassador's meeting, said in a statement on Wednesday.
DW has not issued a formal response on the matter.
Meskel had criticized the way the country's peace process with neighboring Ethiopia was portrayed. He also criticized the reporting of the country's system of national service, which conscripts most citizens into the military and workforce indefinitely.
Meskel said the German ambassador had been summoned to seek clarification.
The small country in the Horn of Africa has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since 1993, when it became independent from Ethiopia.
A United Nations inquiry commission in 2016 accused the country's government of crimes against humanity, including slavery, torture, rape and murder.
Where freedom of the press doesn't exist
Many states routinely attack and intimidate journalists and bloggers to keep them in check. In its 2015 press freedom index, Reporters Without Borders ranks the performance of 180 countries. These states come in last.
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Africa's very own North Korea: Eritrea
Eritrea ranks second-last in the World Press Freedom Index. Reports from the disastrous state of affairs in Eritrea are rare, and many journalists have been forced to leave the country. Radio Erena is the only one to broadcast independent information to the people of Eritrea — from Paris.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Juinen
Dictated by the dictator
Press freedom is also non-existent in North Korea. Sealed off from the rest of the world, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un keeps a check on what the media publish. State TV and radio are available, nothing more. People who express their opinions vanish in political prison camps — along with their entire families.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Yonhap/Kcna
Keeping tabs in Turkmenistan
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov owns almost all of the country's media corporations. The newspaper Rysgal is the only exception, and even here, every edition needs state approval before it can go to press. A new law against media monopolies gives the people of Turkmenistan access to foreign news, but the government still keeps tabs on the Internet, and blocks most websites.
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Culling the critics
Independent media do not exist in Vietnam. The ruling Communist Party tells journalists what to publish. For the most part, publishers, editors and the reporters themselves are party members. Authorities have recently taken a greater interest in bloggers who challenge the authoritarian Communist Party's opinion monopoly - and try to silence them by sending them to jail.
Image: picture alliance/ZB/A. Burgi
China's non-freedom
China, Reporters Without Borders says, is the world's biggest prison for bloggers and journalists. The authoritarian regime takes massive steps against unwelcome news coverage; pressure on foreign reporters is also on the rise. Entire regions are taboo to them, their work is closely monitored and Chinese assistants or interview partners can quite simply be imprisoned.
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Under fire in Syria
Many journalists have been persecuted and killed since the uprising against Bashar al-Assad, whom Reporters Without Borders has ranked as an enemy of press freedom for years. The al-Nusra front, which fights against Assad, and the Islamic State group in turn attack Syrian state media reporters, kidnapping or publicly executing the journalists and correspondents.
