Ethiopia: Zenawi threatens to jam VOA signal

  1. Posted on Friday 19 March 2010 - 09:15
    Sanday
    Image of Sanday
    Sanday Chongo Kabange, AfricaNews reporter in Lusaka, Zambia
    Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said he is prepared to order jamming of Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts in Amharic, the country's main official language. Meles compared VOA Amharic to the hate media that incited the Rwanda genocide in 1994.
    radio station
    He denies having authorized the interference VOA Amharic listeners have been experiencing since February 22.

    But speaking to reporters on Thursday, he acknowledged ordering preparations for jamming and said as soon as the equipment is working properly, he would give the go ahead.

    He said: "We have to know before we make the decision to jam, whether we have the capacity to do it. But I assure you if they assure me at some future date that they have the capacity to jam it, I will give them the clear guideline to jam it. But so far there has not been that formal decision to jam."

    The Ethiopian premier said what listeners may have been experiencing for the past four weeks is testing of the jamming equipment.

    He compared VOA's Amharic Service to Radio Mille Collines, which broadcast hate messages blamed for inciting the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

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