Many people say that it would not be sufficient for the premier to hold only two press conferences in a year as people would like to see their prime minster express his views on the evolving situation and answer to certain questions more often. This becomes all the more important when one considers that the current tendency is that social media are casting doubts on the way conventional media are operating. They are becoming more than a simple alternative media but a source of information influence on the audience.
One can see how embarrassing it could be for a government public relations official or some press attaché not being in a position to clear things immediately before damages are done by certain, at times highly irresponsible and inflammatory, assertions based on fake facts. In the end, there is the admission that government offices and not necessarily the prime minister in person need to catch up with what is on the air among social media followers and immediately address certain thorny issues before they are manipulated or abused.
When the prime minister gave his second press conference the other day he mentioned the fact that there is a shortcoming in the way information is provided by his government and that soon there will be a serious evaluation and measure to address this weakness. Of course from the point of view of media professionals, the fact that there is such a serious lack in the way information is provided creates the fertile ground to elements that
thrive on such vacuum. They enjoy speculating in a sinister manner drawing their own conclusions. At times they not only mislead the population but could as well instigate them to violence and disorder. The economic situation in the country especially among the youth could be a potential stimulus to such reaction.
The situation becomes even more alarming when we consider that there are now several political forces not least so called activists who in their own right are engaged in disseminating not only what they believe is their truth but also what should and what should not be.
As rightly commented by the PM himself, the boundary between political parties and activists is getting more and more blurred. Some political parties speak as if they were activists and the day might come when they regret what they have said today.
Parties that want to contend for an office should be more careful in their political statements or declarations. The people are more intelligent and wiser than many politicians or activists are ready to admit. Activists of any sort may have their own agenda to promote in the name of this or that cause, but their statements as well must be based on facts and figures and not mere speculations or narratives that have no proof or historical evidence.
The government of course cannot be in the business of continuous denials and counterstatements whenever some irresponsible person or body disseminates fake news and assertions. It must be the responsibility of the reader or follower to first of all check and countercheck with facts because at times photos and videos are montaged to suit the assertions of the writers and they could originate from another country or another epoch in time. This is preposterous and dangerous. Until such time when the right precautionary measures have been adopted to safeguard the public from the fake assertions made on social media, it would be wise to always consider news posted on social media before liking or sharing it or contribute comments. There are so many such postings and in the end the result could be uncontrollable.
The problem usually is when these activists create an agenda, may not be so comfortable with many people, and then make of it a huge and controversial issue. There have been various instances of such activism in the past months here in the country and with the help of the social media these opinions have travelled fast, wide and far, becoming a sort of ‘government within the government’.
In a transition period such as what the country is now undergoing, the position of the government is not very easy and with the population’s expectations at its highest, any false or distorted information in one way or another becomes critical for the peace and harmony of the population.
That is why among other things that many observers are heard arguing that the government must be easily available to the media and clarify any speculations that invade the social media, and of course take severe measures based on the law. The perception that one can do whatever they want is eroding the rule of law and this is unacceptable, according to these observers.
Whenever there are misleading and dangerous outgoings made by the social media created and controlled by certain antiestablishment or antireform elements, it has to become the duty of the government’s relevant office to give explanations refuting the allegation and present the truth to citizens.
In a period when fake news and invented stories are the order of the day, for a society such as Ethiopia with a multiplicity of interests and beliefs, the way information is managed, the way the media is managed and the way the social media is administered becomes crucial.
It will take some time before the transition period establishes itself solidly on the ground in a way that it cannot be reversed and these days we have seen so many of these critics of reform whose simple intention has appeared to have been to discredit whatever has been accomplished. The premier has commented expressing his disappointment on the way some of their works were simplistically downplayed or criticized while it would have been more appropriate to constructively comment on the same. It could be natural to expect great things from the government but as the prime minister himself indicated there should also be the full cooperation of all real Ethiopians to advance the cause of the country and the people and not one particular interest group, be it ethnic, linguistic or regional.
Many of the issues that are now constantly raised by many political parties and activists are issues that have their origin from the historical background of the country. Some of them date back even to three or more past governments. If there were historical errors or wrongs committed and following them there have been other developments which have determined the shape and form of this country, (including the way regions have been organized, cities have been established), this would not be the time to address them all.
According to critics of those who wrote the constitution some of the thorny issues were left for further consideration in the future and issues of identity and ethnic composition have been given solution in an arbitrary manner.
In the first place, there are challenges as to how the constitution was drafted and approved because critics consider it as a manifesto of the ruling coalition. The only thing that has been unanimously admired by observers was the chapter that dealt with the human and democratic rights of the people.
The prime minister has reiterated that there is need of new and full mandate through an electoral process to deal with constitutional issues including the amendment. For the moment, what the government opted to do was to assign a group of experts on several subjects and do some research and studies as input to any sort of future legislation and amendments.
The Ethiopian Herald April 7/2019
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
