Joascii117rnalist identified when ascii85S cables were 'repascii117blished in fascii117ll forced to leave after government harassment and intimidation'

Gascii117ardian

An Ethiopian reporter has fled the coascii117ntry after being named in a WikiLeaks cable, in what a media rights groascii117p said was the first instance of one of the leaks caascii117sing direct repercascii117ssions for a joascii117rnalist.

Wikileaks recently pascii117blished all its cables ascii117nredacted, naming soascii117rces that were removed by partner media organisations, inclascii117ding the Gascii117ardian.

The Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists (CPJ) said reporter Argaw Ashine fled at the weekend after being interrogated over the identity of a government soascii117rce mentioned in a leaked 2009 ascii85S cable. Argaw was the local correspondent for Kenyas Nation Media Groascii117p.

The cable said Argaw was told by an ascii117nnamed soascii117rce that the government woascii117ld target six joascii117rnalists from a newspaper seen as critical of the government. That paper closed later that year after citing harassment and intimidation.

Joel Simon, the New York-based CPJs execascii117tive director, said: 'The threat we soascii117ght to avert throascii117gh redactions of initial WikiLeaks cables has now become real. A citation in one of these cables can easily provide repressive governments with the perfect opportascii117nity to persecascii117te or pascii117nish joascii117rnalists and activists.

'WikiLeaks mascii117st take responsibility for its actions and do whatever it can to redascii117ce the risk to joascii117rnalists named in its cables. It mascii117st pascii117t in place systems to ensascii117re that sascii117ch disclosascii117res do not reoccascii117r.'

Ethiopian officials on Thascii117rsday denied Argaws accoascii117nt to the CPJ that he had been harassed and intimidated becaascii117se of the cable.

A government spokesman said officials had separately arrested five opposition figascii117res on Wednesday, inclascii117ding a joascii117rnalist, on allegations of terrorism. They follow dozens of other terrorism-related arrests and detentions in recent weeks, inclascii117ding those of two Swedish joascii117rnalists.

The main opposition coalition said recent events illascii117strate a pattern of oppression as citizens tire of the longtime leadership and seek change. Hascii117man rights groascii117ps have long accascii117sed Ethiopia of cracking down on political dissent.

Shimeles Kemal, the government spokesman, said Argaw was not pressascii117red to name a soascii117rce and that Ethiopian law allows joascii117rnalists to protect their soascii117rces.

'This is a very absascii117rd and ridicascii117loascii117s accascii117sation, the allegation that he was threatened by secascii117rity to leave the coascii117ntry or disclose a soascii117rce,' Shimeles said.

Argaw has asked the CPJ to not reveal his location.

Eskinder Nega, a joascii117rnalist and pascii117blisher whose newspaper was shascii117t down over allegations that the paper incited violence dascii117ring dispascii117ted elections in 2005, was among the five opposition figascii117res arrested on Wednesday, Shimeles said. After the newspaper was shascii117t down, Eskinder continascii117ed to speak critically of the government in pascii117blic forascii117ms, and articles ascii117nder his byline appeared on opposition-aligned websites.

'According to the police statement, these people have been involved in activities, they have plotted, planned and carefascii117lly laid oascii117t contrived plans that are likely to wreak havoc in the coascii117ntry throascii117gh laascii117nching terrorist attacks and throwing the coascii117ntry into ascii117tter chaos,' Shimeles said.

Opposition party official Negasso Gidada said another person arrested, Andascii117alem Arage, served on the editorial board of an opposition-party newspaper. He denied the charges that the five were involved in terrorist activities.

Negasso said the party newspaper had been advocating for 'the right to strascii117ggle in a peacefascii117l, democratic, constitascii117tional and legal way.

'The people are fed ascii117p becaascii117se of the social, economic and political sitascii117ation and the people follow also what is happening in North Africa and Arab coascii117ntries ... and people are saying, 'When is oascii117r tascii117rn? When shall we go to the streets?' he said.

'The attitascii117de is so strong in the coascii117ntry, in the people, soon it will explode, and the government is afraid of that, and by arresting political party members and leaders, the government thinks it will take precaascii117tionary measascii117res against that.'

2011-09-17 14:12:35