The Voice of America (VOA) has been accused of censoring itself and suspending its Horn of Africa Chief, David Arnold, over fallout with the Ethiopian government. The suspension of Mr Arnold was directly related to his comments in a news report that was broadcast on VOA Amharic service on 23 June, informed sources have told Addis Voice.
Mr Arnold was part of a seven-member delegation headed by three members of the Board of Broadcasting Governors (BBG), Susan McCue, Dana Perino, and Michael Meehan, who met officials in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Southern Sudan from June 21 to June 28.
Mr Arnold had revealed on the VOA Amharic service that the Ethiopian government demanded that VOA deny a platform to its vocal critics as a precondition of cooperation with VOA. He said that the mission of the BBG delegation was “to make sure that they address some of the issues in Ethiopia concerning free press because for many years the government has objected to some of our broadcasts.” He also pointed out that the BBG governors discussed with Ethiopian officials the constant jamming of VOA transmissions in Amharic, Oromiffa and Tigrigna.
In what appears to be an unprecedented move in VOA’s history, bosses ordered the removal of the audio as well as text files of the news report in question from VOA’s website and archive pages in less than 24 hours after Ethiopian officials lodged complaints about the report on “confidential” matters, it was learned.
In an email sent to Addis Voice, VOA’s Director of Public Relations, David Borgida denied allegations of censorship. “VOA always strives to be accurate in its reporting. That includes material on our websites. There was a misinterpretation of what went on during a recent meeting between Ethiopian government officials and visiting BBG Governors, and so the recent item you cite, which appeared on the website of the VOA Amharic service, was taken down.”
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