Voice of America Director David S. Jackson issued the following statement today:
"We have learned that the Ethiopian government's Ministry of Information has revoked the credentials of three Voice of America reporters in Addis Ababa, along with those of two Deutsche Welle reporters, for what the government calls 'illegal journalistic activities' and 'unbalanced reporting' on the recent demonstrations in Ethiopia. All three VOA reporters are Ethiopian citizens.
"We deplore this unwarranted action by Ethiopian authorities against our reporters who were engaged in legitimate news coverage. VOA's reporting from Africa has been balanced, objective, and consistent with our internationally respected journalistic standards.
"We call upon the government of Ethiopia to immediately restore accreditation to our reporters so that they can continue their job of bringing uncensored news and information to Voice of America's audiences in Africa and around the world."
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages, including English.
