According to sources, Ethiopia’s AP reporter Les Nehaus has been sacked by Voice of America, following inflammatory comments recently made public on Ethiopian Review.
As one of two foreign correspondents permanently stationed in Ethiopa (following the expulsion of his predecessor Anthony Mitchell) he has been often criticized here for evading such great responsibility by failing to accurately report the current political landscape and escalating EPRDF brutality.
However, thanks to his charming opinions on the Somalian invasion and factions of the diaspora (as “the sons and daughters of the Derg officials who now live comfortably in Georgetown”) his critics now include his former employer and many abroad. Though the provocative statements were admittedly taken somewhat out of context, they were nonetheless entirely unacceptable for a profesisonal journalist—both suprisingly inaccurate and offensive—and I am glad to see that he is being held accountable, thanks to those (and I quote)“hell-bent and crazed Ethiopian Diaspora in Washington D.C.” who raised a fuss.
While I am not ready to roll out the welcome wagon for this guy anytime soon, I must admit that I have been slightly encouraged by his latest articles (regarding the recent Amnesty appeals and the current cholera epidemic). Perhaps he only needed a little reminder that, despite being stationd in the ‘forgotten’ Horn of Africa, as a journalist he remains accountable not to the national government but (*gasp!) THE PEOPLE first and foremost, both here and abroad…?
I suppose only time will tell. Here’s hoping, Les!
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10 comments:
what the hell are you talking about?? Ethiopianreview and kifle are the real enemies of ethiopia. kifle has stored a ton of lies and dangerous propaganda. that is why everybody is running away from him.
by the way, i don't even know why i am on your filthy website. sorry bye bye!
I don't know why this individual has become a center of attention to many specially of those who are particpating on ER Forum.
Who the hell is he? We shouldn't be going after indiviuals.
ER is the best Ethiopian website today.It has its own reporters from Ethiopia.It has been in business for about 15 years.It deserves a special thanks.ER continue your work.
Les Neuhaus is a guy? Good news. But, let's waite for the official announcement before high-fiving.
You are getting mader and mader as time goes on Mr Kifle
Easy woaynes! if your frifari lekame ferenji is sacked by VOA don't take it out on Elias, he just posted the e-mail the dumbo wrote. This only tells you that everyone close to woyane ain't got much gray matter. Les was vomiting the woyane lies and he got clobbered.
I appreciate all that you do in the name of freedom. I will give you a kiss if you could send me a picture of Les.
www.flickr.com/photos/ethioinfo
Thanks for the flickr pics.
Do you have any pics of the wealth families in ET and the former Derge in DC?
Spot ON about Les. His journalism priorities seem quite subordinate to his wanting to stay EMPLOYED or he would have written long ago about the plight of the CUD prisoners, the arrested journalists, the students beaten up, the personal struggles of those fighting for freedom of speech, assemply or...gasp...freedom of the PRESS.
I wish, as one of the few journalists in Ethiopia attached to a large wire service, he displayed some courage about writing on the 'sensative' issues regarding human rights in Ethiopia. After all, it is part of what's going on there.
Thank you, Levit, for contributing to our awareness.
Thank you Levit,
You rock. Particularly regarding the joint US/Ethiopian intervention in the domestic affairs of Somalia, it is saddening to know that the US once more is creating enemies among otherwise friendly foreign communities, all in it's misguided band-aid reaction to SYMPTOMS of anti-American terrorism. The causes, again, are ignored.
One small example of this is the Bush administration's shameful apathy to the human rights abuses in Ethiopia. One can simply look to the international credentials of the the CUD leaders currently in prison, such as Dr. Berhanu Nega, to understand why official America is seen as a huge hypocrite when it comes to protecting 'freedom'. What a lie. I wish more was written from the mainstream media on this small, but illustrative example of US foreign policy and its effects on 'foreign' public opinion.
Thanks, Levit
Don Baseman
Portland, Oregon
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