On Monday, July 30, evening the opposition media, ESAT, claimed that the Ethiopian Premier is dead.
The brief news stated nothing but that ESAT’s sources from the International Crisis Group (ICG) and diplomatic community confirmed Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s death, according to several outlets which relayed the story.
The news immediately went viral on social networking sites as well as Ethiopian-diaspora opposition outlets.
However, at about the same time, the official twitter account of the International Crisis Group (ICG) was in a frantic effort to distance the organization from the news.
Just 2 hours after ESAT aired the news, around mid-night, ICG tweeted: “Crisis Group is not in a position to speculate about the fate of PM Meles Zenawi, nor have we commented on it to date.”
Crisis Group is not in a position to speculate about the fate of PM Meles Zenawi, nor have we commented on it to date.
As Ethiopians at home woke up, on Tuesday morning, social networking sites were flooded with ESAT’s news as well as ICG’s statement.
Some argued that since ESAT didn’t get the info officially, ICG’s denial is to expected. However, ICG’s reaction appeared far more intense than a standard denial customary in similar cases.
The statement, quoted above, went as far as saying that “[ICG] is not in a position to speculate about the fate of PM Meles Zenawi”.
In fact, ICG tweeted that same text at least 18 times, from Monday midnight to Monday noon, whenever somebody mentions ICG’s name alongside ESAT’s news. They only stooped after this blogger wittily pointed the number of tweets and suggested a press conference. Few hours later, however, they issued a statement on their official website saying:
International Crisis Group has no direct knowledge about the state of health of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Crisis Group has never commented on Mr Zenawi’s health or his fate, and is not in a position to speculate about it. Crisis Group categorically denies any media claims to the contrary.
ESAT’s claim was not credible regardless of ICG’s statement, however.
For one, ESAT is known for exaggerating, at times even making up, stories, including massaging video footages.
Second, ESAT is a media with explicit political agenda. Though some western organizations extol ESAT and its journalists as ‘independent’ and ‘critical’, the US State Dep. Human Rights report described it, last year, as:
Ethiopian Satellite Television, based in Amsterdam and supported by the Ginbot 7 group, which espouses violent overthrow of the government, reported periodic jamming of its service in Ethiopia, beginning in May, at the start of broadcasting.
Worse, the State Department ignored ESAT in its report this year, though the alleged jamming continued.
Third, it was doubtful that he could die so suddenly, as the Premier’s condition was widely reported as stable or recovering and given the types of illness suggested thus far.
Well, the last point was based on the assumption that ESAT was talking about a recent development, as the news didn’t indicate the date of the alleged death.
The hoax became evident by Tuesday evening, however.
Hoping to tackle doubts raised in the social media as well as by ICG’s statement, ESAT’s editor, Abebe Belew, wrote on his website:
ESAT’s decision to report that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is dead, according to reliable sources, has never been easy. It was two weeks ago that we received the news from highly credible sources in Brussels. Our sources that want to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak to the media on this sensitive matter told us that the International Crisis Group (ICG) concluded that Mr. Zenawi was deceased. Headquartered in Brussels, with offices around the world, ICG is the leading independent think tank on conflict prevention and resolution around the world. It was hard to ignore information from such a highly reputable international organization.
As a responsible media outlet, ESAT tried to investigate and verify the tip meticulously before it decided to broadcast the news. To be fair to the facts, we have alsoscrutinized the conflicting and contradictory information coming out from the ruling TPLF clique. We have examined not only the statements and stories put out for public consumption by the TPLF, but also their conducts that tell their own stories.
What the editor ended up doing was confirming the suspicion that the news is based on hunches and conjectures.
The most important point revealed by the editor was that the news is nothing but a repeat of the two-weeks old claim that the Premier is dead. As reported in this blog at the time, the claim was made on July 15 by the Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC), an opposition party formed weeks earlier.
One of the major problem with ESAT’s news is that European media, including AFP, The Telegraph and BBC, reported the Premier as ill but alive as recent as July 19, citing diplomats in Brussels. Obviously, the man couldn’t have been both alive and dead at the same time.
Not to forget that, in the last week of July, ESAT and affiliated news outlets have been claiming to have spotted the Premier’s colleagues and family members in Saint Luc University Hospital, Brussels – where the PM is said to be under medical treatment.
Some observers claim that ESAT’s short-lived story must have been prepared and aired in rash, as it damages whatever credibility it has left.
Indeed, that is not unlikely. After all, such blunders would either be forgotten soon or justified as a political tactic by the extreme section of the Ethiopian diaspora, which often raises funds for ESAT as well as for other political groupings, regardless of reports of embezzlement and non-performance.
Other observers, however,
argue that ESAT’s decision to air the claim was based on institutional considerations. Given that, off all the dates ESAT could have picked up, it chose to confirm the date claimed by the Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC).
As ESAT’s financial backer Ginbot 7 is suffering from a terminal infighting as well as loss of confidence as it failed to deliver a regime-change as fast as it pledged, the newly-formed ENTC appears to be the major recipient of donations from the diaspora. Thus, ESAT might have felt the need to submit to the new land lord in town.
While that is something to be seen in the future, the fact that no mainstream media picked up ESAT’s news was a major blow.
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Related: Meles Zenawi: Ethiopian leader ‘getting better (BBC – Aug. 1, 2012)
Check the Meles Zenawi archive for previous and forthcoming posts.
If trashes should have been shut down the very trash meles andhis gangsters would have been. Believe me ESAT, not ETV or ebs, was shut because it catered a new pespective of electronics media to Ethiopians where you are not afread to say what you want to say and this was in a head on collision with the TPLF whose laws-of-the-bush state that no body tell unless what and when i say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear the commenter above
Which TV are you trying to compare ESAT with? ETV? you must be creazy. If you tagged ESAT with lack of capacity and irrisponsibility what words will explain the very 13th century Tv broadcaster known as ETV?
Time have clearly shown that ESAT was telling the truth, That Meles was dead at the time and most importantly that EPRDF and its paid mouths like you were lying…………….as you always did for the past 21 years of power
What are you going to say now? At the end of the day the news that was reported by ESAT become true. I am sure you are now not saying Meles is not dead. The problem with some people here is, they only trust what ETV told them. The majority of Ethiopians knows ETV is just a propaganda machine. Please read this report and judge for yourselves. http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/horn-of-africa/ethiopia-eritrea/b089-ethiopia-after-meles.pdf
for i can’t belive it.
it looks like i lost my father.the person
who i belive it.
he left but his idea is change our countery
and he is live for ever in my heart.
Waqayyo lubbu isaa jannat galchi
Shouldn’t such a trash broadcast be jammed?… the “Real” Ethiopians are busy building a nation, they don’t need destruction of focus…
Hey, birgid,
Meles never rediculed Ethiopia. Rather your favorites like Tamagn (Ginbot 7), came out with “Don’t go Ethiopia” motive, rediculing Ethiopia, while they drive their Hummer in the streets of America. Please think deeper and be honest with yourself before blubbing. if at all you are an Ethiopian, there is no more Tigray republic, though I don’t deny there was the intention when they were in the Bush. Development is all over Ethiopia, if you can’t see. Stereotyping will never take us nowhere. As all other Ethiopians there are Tigres that may be ‘Gotegna’. By the way I’m not tigrean.
well said. thanks for good report.
Dinsoh
Do you have to bark every time, when someone comments???
I am baffled by people who take ESAT seriously. I also thought EPRDF should provide evidence and disprove ESAT’s and Oppositions claim, then again why bring a sick person to TV show and relief the rumor. Granted by the time PM comes to full force ESAT will bring another lie which is enough to make his followers forget this lie and engage in another enka selantaya
The death of meles zenawi already accepted based the information available .some supporters swept and made hidden cermony. Now it is not the time to say dead alive, It is the time to investigate that what killed and where is the corpus locked ?
Ethiopians where withot own government for 25 years,TPLF was unable to act as a gov locally ,So the death of meles zenawi is the death of 25 years racism
Although it is difficult to dismiss the information coming from either from Esat or EPDRF, It is disconcerting that the EPDRF is not able to disprove the rumor with tangible evidence. This is going to be a good opportunity for the public to find out who is lying and who is telling the truth and an accurate and reliable information source.
tigray people don’t talk about ethiopia; bitch please! we know what u and ur thugs were upto. they fought hard to create the tigray republic, realized that it will not be to their advantage to separate and decided to stay and exploit us instead. and u r the ones telling us about ethiopianism??? meles repeteatedly ridicules ethiopia and evertything it stands for and tigrean morons never said a word; oh no i know what they r capable of. if tplf continued with it’s agenda of creating a tigrean republic and did a massive propoganda about it, tigriyan people would have no problem throwing away their ethiopianism and adopting a new tigriyan identity. look at what has happened to the eritreans and u know all the story. bitch please get lost.
u need some treatment; a sycho tigre
ESAT, backed up by useless fit-for nothing Ginbot 7 and a funny wish council formed recently, is the same as Godanaw, a news paper in the 1990’s in Ethiopia. Godanaw, only with a vision of sale (shortsighted), was intentionally producing hoax news like ESAT. We used to call chronic liars in Addis then Godanaw. Now it is time to call such liars ESAT.
Pm Meles zenawi is adynamic person, He is VIP for Ethopia and AfricaThere fore please leave him. We wish to recover soon and to return to his work.God bless him.
Bezaget
Here you go!! ESAT already say that the frog death is real. But reporter, ETV and Berket Simon lies yesterday, today and keep lying in the future. One thing you (Woyane gangster) need to understand is that no one will listen you anymore.We are tired of woyane “wonbede” 21 years crazy lies and looting. Now, what are you going to tell us. you woyane gangster, leave our country peacefully otherwise you will join your frog in hell soon.Now it’s time for real Ethiopians to administer their own country.No more Ertreans and bandas.
yes, the enemy of the crime minister is *ding ding* Ethiopia.
No surprise, because Meles and his Gorillas waged war on Ethiopia trying to tear away Tigrai.
What are you babbling about? It seems you’re having nightmares.
Yeah genius, and so neither can VOA nor DW, right? Your genocidal regime is jamming their broadcast too. I guess they are opposition kkkkkk
By the way, wasn’t ICG supposed to be unreliable? So why are supporters of the regime running to say “oh ICG denied this and that”?? Oh I see, when it fits your purposes you believe kkkkkkk No surprise.
Those like you only believe in the gun, like some uncivilized cliff monkey.
Don’t worry, you will be dragged kicking and screaming out of the TPLF annals to the daylight. You will be thought the meaning of democracy and due process and civility and you will no longer be savage.
Until proven that Meles is Alive,
Then everyone will take it that he’s either incapacitated or dead.
The genocidal regime has once again shown contempt for the Ethiopian people by refusing to do its job. Talking about ESAT is foolish. That is hardly the issue.
We Peary for Ethiopia and Melese.
The day is very very !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!long when he came back to the screen . Please when you lave your country Every body pray to Melese.
Ethiopia
Yes we know every body this. God be with us and also Ethiopia Pr. Melese is a Human body God protect him and he came back to Ethiopia We Expect him
Please leave him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is the only one person? Why do you talk an expected or frecreseck talk.
He is the only gentle person no body replace him for ever.
‘nafaki’, your name tells it all. If you really think of yourself as a politician, or if you have a genuine interest to your country and people, you shouldn’t just be wishing a natural death to some one you think is an enemy of your country and people. Benaftkot bicha yemimeta netsanet weym lewt yelem… yengna nafaki
As a father, i sympathize the kids and the would be widow….but in all aspects Meles deserves death as he destroyed many families that shouldn’t have been…he should have faced justice and face capital punishment…he is the most cruel man second to none- even Hitler!
Hey !! let them continue with thier dream and ultimately decieve them selves. I am sure one day not too far they find themselves in gail for the tones of lie they poured to the public and for thier bad media ethics. But the biggest advantage perhaps they have is that even if they talk much nonesense thing there is some thing the public can learn from ESAT .e.i who are the real enemy of the ethiopian people ? who are the people behind ESAT? how much they are viulating media ethics , who are they ? who else is behind them ? Why they are so ambitios to come to power and need to oppress the poor Ethiopian people? . One day they will face justice equal to what they are doing, this country only needs thos who devote thier time but not talk to much. Lastly I belive that, the illness of our PM made us to learn who is the emny of our country and who is not.
Thanks
Solomon – Ethio -Somali Border
Come on ESAT follows an ugly strategy and realy violating that media that should be neutrality , impartiality , Hounesty , credibilty and truth to serve the public. I used to watch ESAT TV but hate due to lack of the above mentioned principles. Truely speaking, it is not ESAT which surprises me much but the people who are wasting thier time and energy to trust its information. You cannot fight a goverment by this way, if you fight follow good strategy and be hounest to your people other wise you westing time and the money from the contributors. Woman have access to information in variuos ways and imagine I live 250 m away from the center of the goverment palace here in Addis and I can tell you not only that the PM is healthy but what he is doing right now. Soo those who funding ESAT please stop this ugly propaganda, your time has gone 20 years ago you can never decieve Ethiopian people ever again to get to the Minilik’s palace and to put them under slavery. Enough is enough what your ancesters has looted and killed is enoough your day has gone loooooooooooooong ago !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks
Marta. H. from Arat Killo
“…ESAT’s editor, Abebe Belew, wrote on his website..”, do you mean Abebe Gelaw or it is really Abebe Belew Daniel? I have the problem to differentiate between the two. But, I think Abebe Belew is the guy that run a radio station, and Abebe Gelaw is the Guy that shouted on Meles. Help!
What a great lie. ESAT should have to change its media policy. ESTA cannot be opposition faction and source of credible information to the public at the same time which can never happen.
Bye
Moges from Miami
Dear esteemed Ethiopian’s in the Diaspora
Lack of capacity and irresponsibility of ESAT in the eyes of international community tells me that we have to relay on other credble mideas. This is realy a great shame.
ICG is a research institute not an inteligence agency. Why in the world would they be considered a reliable source on the PM health situation to begin with? They conduct in-depth reseach based on either desk-study or field work.
I mean if it was something like the Council on Foreign Relations or Chatham House, that are, although formally independent, in a way part of the foreign service of the US and UK, and therefore have extensive links to diplomats and politicians around the world, it would be fair to assume that they MIGHT have access to sensitive information.
In anyway, announcing that a leader is dead based on what an anonymous “source” in a research institute has said, simply show the immature nature of ESAT, and that all just have to accept what ESAT really is, nothing other than the mouthpiece of opposition factions, rather than a news agency with a professional editorial policy. Which is ok, as long as they dont try pose as the former.
Please note that the article referred here is Ethiopia time zone(GMT+3)