DO NOT INTERVENT IN OUR AFFAIRS: GOE LAYS DOWN A MARKER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 002208

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID KDEM ET
SUBJECT: DO NOT INTERVENT IN OUR AFFAIRS: GOE LAYS DOWN A MARKER

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Mike Gonzales and Public
Affairs Officer Alyson Grunder met with the Director of the Office
of Government Communications Affairs, Minister BEREKET Simon, on
September 4 to discuss two opinion pieces published in the
state-owned Amharic language Addis Zemen newspaper condemning
USAID's interventions in Ethiopia's internal affairs. The op-eds
claimed that USAID had been engaged in illegally providing support
to Ethiopian media organizations, among other allegations. While
BEREKET, and his associate Shimelis Kemal, claimed that they did not
have advance knowledge of the Addis Zemen articles, they voiced
their strong objections to what they deemed to be USAID's
"unwarranted intervention" with the media. BEREKET stated that
foreign governments must inform and receive permission from the
Government of Ethiopia (GoE) regarding any assistance provided to
media organizations -- or any Ethiopian entity -- and stressed that
assistance to media outlets beyond the scope of "capacity building"
is prohibited by law. Most media and diplomatic contacts feel the
ruling party used the op-eds to send a message to Ethiopians that
they should not seek the assistance of the international community
to open political space and to warn donors as the country moves
closer to elections in 2010. Post prepared "if asked" guidance to
respond, which has been used almost in its entirety in both the
English and Amharic versions of the private newspaper The Reporter.
END SUMMARY.

--------------
BACKGROUND
--------------


2. (U) On August 29 and September 1, the state-owned Addis Zemen
newspaper ran a two-part opinion editorial, "USAID's Shameful
Interference in the Ethiopian Media" under a pseudonymous byline
alleging that the U.S. Agency for International Development had
convened a group of journalists representing exclusively private
media organizations and offered financial support for coverage of
the 2010 Ethiopian elections. According to the articles, a
representative of USAID had expressed concern that the elections
would not be free and fair because of the narrowing of democratic
space in Ethiopia, and encouraged the press to focus urgently on the
upcoming election. According to the article, the USAID
representative, said that "money was no object as long as well
presented project proposals are submitted to USAID." The articles
implied that USAID is trying to foment another "Orange Revolution,"
such as foreign agencies had successfully supported in the Ukraine.
Private media outlets were portrayed as traitors to their country,
greedy for "alms in return for the sale of the pride and sovereignty
of Ethiopia." This criticism mirrored earlier leveled at local
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that were accused of providing
false information for the 2009 State Department Human Rights
Report.


3. (U) The Media Forum (MF),that hosted the meetings condemned in
the Addis Zemen pieces, was first convened in late 2006 by the U.S.
Mission with the strong support of the GoE; it has been supported
since by USAID through the Constructive Dialogue Initiative of Pact,
a USAID-funded NGO. Representatives from USAID and the UK Foreign
Office participated in two donor meetings with the Media Forum on
August 19 and 26, as follow-ups to commitments to focus resources on
election media issues at a donors' workshop on the elections in late
May 2009. USAID contacted the MF Steering Committee (SC) to discuss
when and how to bring consideration of possible donor
election-related capacity building assistance to the broader Forum
membership. It was agreed that the SC would invite a select group
to a lunch meeting and circulate a set of questions beforehand to
help focus preparatory thinking. At the first meeting, both USAID
and UK representatives said that resources were available to both
government and private media professionals, outlets and associations
to support capacity building for improved coverage of the 2010
elections. After the August 19 meeting, the UK circulated a list of
possible program support areas; a UK Embassy PolOff also met
Minister BEREKET to discuss working with the media on election
issues and advised him that we had begun discussions with
stakeholders.


4. (U) At the second meeting with the Media Forum membership on
August 26, UK and U.S. representatives were joined by a
representative of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, a
non-profit German political and pubic policy foundation. Each of
the media participants reported on their needs and the support that
interested them, ranging from training to funding, and from pure
reporting skills improvement to the management of candidate debates.
All three funding agencies clarified that direct cash transfers

ADDIS ABAB 00002208 002 OF 003


would not be possible and that technical assistance and support for
trainings and media events could only be provided through in-kind
donations.

--------------
MEETING WITH BEREKET
--------------


5. (SBU) In the September 4 meeting, after initial courtesies
Minister BEREKET noted GoE concerns about U.S. involvement with the
media, as highlighted in the Addis Zemen op-eds. While stating that
he had had nothing to do with the publication of the Addis Zemen
articles, BEREKET claimed to have investigated the MF meetings and
found the allegations in the op-eds to be based in fact. The
Minister stressed that foreign agencies are not permitted to suggest
content or topics for coverage to Ethiopian media, and accused USAID
of explicitly pushing for Ethiopian media to cover the elections
which he called an "unwarranted intervention" into Ethiopian
affairs. Furthermore, BEREKET elaborated that financial assistance
by foreign agents to the media is prohibited by the 2008 Media Law
and violates the sovereignty of the Ethiopian state. Finally,
BEREKET stated that any interaction or associations between the
media -- or any Ethiopian entity -- and foreign governments must be
approved by the Ethiopian government. He asked the A/DCM and PAO to
convey his message to our superiors.


6. (SBU) The A/DCM thanked BEREKET for his message but noted that
neither USAID nor the U.S. Mission had committed any of the
violations that BEREKET had detailed. He clarified that the Media
Forum, not USAID, called the meeting to discuss election coverage;
USAID and other donors simply offered technical assistance and
training to facilitate reporting that is accurate, non-partisan and
issue-based. When A/DCM noted that all donors at the two meetings
in question had stressed that cash transfers were not possible,
BEREKET's associate Shimelis Kemal, the Director for Media Affairs,
stated that even training counts as illegal financial assistance
since training costs money. BEREKET corrected his colleague noting
that "capacity building" is permissible but must be vetted in
principle and in substance with the relevant GoE ministry before any
such assistance may be commenced. A/DCM noted that UK Embassy
PolOff had met with BEREKET to brief him on these discussions on
engagement with the media, but BEREKET asserted he had never
discussed such issues with the UK officer. A/DCM further emphasized
that despite BEREKET's protest that the GoE had not been consulted,
two officials from the National Electoral Board and three
representatives from state media -- including the MF's chairman --
participated in the meetings.


7. (SBU) A/DCM suggested that in the future, even when we are
working in tandem with other donor partners, we would make sure to
inform the GOE directly of our capacity building projects. PAO
added that given our many channels of open communication with the
GoE, if there are any concerns about USG activities in the country,
we can surely find productive ways to discuss them. A/DCM and PAO
both noted that the U.S. Mission had been taken aback by the tone of
the state-run Addis Zemen articles and the aspersions cast on our
intentions. BEREKET responded that the U.S. is clearly not used to
criticism from others, reminding that the GoE had endured many
attacks from the U.S. Congress and NGOs, and had for the most part
chosen to ignore them.

8. (U) Post prepared "if asked" guidance coordinated with th
Department in response to the Addis Zemen articles and associated
coverage. The full text is in para 9 below. The Reporter, a
privately-owned publication, used much of the guidance in articles
printed in the English and Amharic versions of their paper on
September 12 and 13 (English headline: Embassy says concerned about
"allegations" on meetings between donors, media).

COMMENT
--------------


9. (SBU) Minister BEREKET has a reputation for being among the
hard-liners in ruling circles. The rhetoric of the Addis Zemen
articles, and the references to foreign instigation of the Orange
Revolution, matched the tone and content of GoE public commentary in
the aftermath of the disputed 2005 elections, as well as private
explanationa for the related expulsions of the National Democratic
Institute, the International Republican Institute, and IFES.
Embassy contacts have suggested that the vitriolic language and tone
of the Amharic language used in the pieces were strikingly similar
to past pieces penned by senior ruling party officials. The
supposed op-ed pieces underscore GoE sensitivity to any criticism or
external involvement associated with democracy and governance issues
generally, and specifically the 2010 elections. The apparent
warning may succees in fostering greater media self-censorship and

ADDIS ABAB 00002208 003 OF 003


caution, the limited reporting of the Mission response
notwithstanding. BEREKET's concluding threat that "if something
like this happens again, we will have to take action" presumably was
intended as a threat to us and other donors that support for a more
open and inclusive political environment as elections approach will
not be welcome. Along with the earlier strong reaction to the Human
Rights Report, this incident may portend a much more aggressive
response by the GoE more generally to U.S. efforts to promote
democratic reform and respect for human rights in Ethiopia. END
COMMENT.

MEECE