Reporters Without Borders deplores the Eritrean government's censorship of the Qatari TV news network Al Jazeera since 1 February.
According to the Qatar-based newspaper Al-Sharq, the Eritrean authorities were annoyed with Al Jazeera for carrying reports about demonstrations by Eritrean exiles outside Eritrean diplomatic missions in Cairo, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Stockholm and other capitals in opposition to the government and in support of the soldiers who stormed the information ministry in Asmara during a brief mutiny on 21 January.
The information ministry issued a decree on 1 February forbidding anyone in Eritrea to provide access to Al Jazeera. Public places such as restaurants, cafés and hotels were specifically targeted. To ensure compliance, Al Jazeera's English-language channels were jammed.
"In a country with no privately-owned media and where national news broadcast in the local language is strictly controlled by the government, the foreign media are only 'tolerated' and it is clear that the line that cannot be crossed is coverage of Eritrean news," Reporters Without Borders said.
Amanuel Ghirmai, a journalist with the Paris-based independent Eritrean radio station Radio Erena, told Reporters Without Borders: "This blocking reflects the determination manifested by the Eritrean government in recent months to prevent foreign media carrying reports about Eritrea from broadcasting inside the country."
Ghirmai added: "After Radio Erena, Al Jazeera is the second broadcaster to be subjected to such censorship."
Launched in 2009 by Eritrean exile journalists and supported by Reporters Without Borders, Radio Erena has been the target of jamming and cyber-attacks by President Issaias Afeworki's government since August 2012.
Reporters Without Borders has filed a complaint with the French public prosecutor's officer requesting an investigation into these acts of piracy against an independent radio station. All the information about Eritrea and Radio Erena.
Eritrea was cut off from the world when the regime took an ultra-authoritarian turn and rounded up journalists in September 2001. It is now Africa's biggest prison for media personnel and is ranked last in the world press freedom index that Reporters Without Borders published on 30 January.
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It should be block from all Africa too This company need to be recognize by all African leaders and ppl they don't went as to grow by any mins so weak up ppl
I am very sorry to see aljazeera in the rdcongo as well it as not been impatial in the congolese conflict at all this is another tools of the imperialism in the A frican sole real we don't like such media to be in around africans countries why because it as been working in destructive ways for people in africa actually in the d.r.congo because it have a stronger role to play in the war destabilising the congo in eastern part of the kivu province it was advocating for the former warlord the rwandese refugee nkunda when they where raping women the so-called aljazeera news was reporting about the warlord rebel leader nkunda and praising them if I have an authority in the d.r.congo the aljazeera media will be give 24 hours to leave the country and go where it is was found we don't want the trator qatar to come in africa at all for cost and many people will agree with me in this context they are not a good media at all let africans dispatch they own media in any conflict with impatiality and methodology to counter product the facke aljazeera in africa, wait and see in the future of Africa media consultant those are people doing business in the rich region in the congo and pretending to be media one day one time . Thanks