Ethiopia is also trying to silence critics from Germany

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the Ethiopian government is trying to silence local and foreign politicians and critics of the regime by preventing their interviews from being broadcasted. Among others, Thilo Hoppe (Green Party) – member of the German Bundestag – and Ethiopian human rights activist living in Germany are listed on a 42-page index.

Ethiopian Information Minister Bereket Simon demanded that the U.S. radio station "Voice of America" (VOA) will stop broadcasting interviews with regime critics. If VOA should refuse, jamming transmitters will be set up to interfere with the program in Ethiopia, reported the STP's expert on questions regarding Africa, Ulrich Delius in Göttingen. Similar problems have cropped up for the "Deutsche Welle" – which is popular in Ethiopia because of the informative programs – after repeatedly featuring Hoppe, who sent out warnings about local farmers being impoverished.

"This massive violation of press freedom and freedom of expression must have consequences for the German development aid to Ethiopia", demanded Delius. "It cannot be accepted that critical reports on relocation and land loss of the rural population in Ethiopia are suppressed, while Germany is investing millions trying to organize educational programs. Before the money is transferred, the Ethiopian Government must agree to an open information policy." On 30th June 2011, Federal Development Minister Dirk Niebel had announced that Ethiopia will be granted 38 million Euros for educational projects within the next three years.

David Arnold – head of VOA's service for the Horn of Africa – is the one who disclosed the facts about the use of jamming transmitters against critical broadcasts in Ethiopia. He had reported about a debate between VOA's board-members and the Ethiopian government in June 2011 in Addis Ababa. During the debate, representatives of Voice of America had tried to achieve a deactivation of the jamming transmitters. However, they were given a 42-page document with numerous names of regime-critics that should not be interviewed any more – including, next to Hoppe, human rights activists Ato Seyoum H. Mariam and Asayesh Tamiru of the Ethiopian Human Rights Committee (who both live in Germany), various leading opposition politicians and representatives of the discriminated population of the Oromo (Bekele Gerba, Merera Gudina, Negasso Gidada, Seye Abraha, Beyana Soba) and the Somali (Hamdi Ali Regae).

Arnold was at first suspended after broadcasting this critical information in early July 2011 – but this punitive measure was withdrawn just a few days later due to public protests.