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It has been a year since Ethiopia, the most populous country in East Africa, has undergone a political transformation; a change of leadership, after years of social unrest and demonstrations.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned unexpectedly, leading to the appointment of Abiy Ahmed, the country's largest ethnic group, the Oromo.
The reforms came quickly. Abiy filled his cabinet with a record number of women, he promised to address social tensions among Ethiopia's multiple ethnic groups and he forged a historic agreement to end the 20-year deadlock. with neighboring Eritrea.
Changes have also occurred rapidly in the media world. Dozens of new news sites have appeared, more than 20 new media publications are now online and many journalists jailed and smothered Hailemariam and his predecessor, were released.
But there is still a long way to go.
"We are dealing with a country that is in its own twilight zone.The transition is very fragile in many ways," said Tsedale Lemma, editor of Addis Standard. "If you want to request an interview with the Prime Minister, you're not getting this opportunity, we're seeing more and more government officials using social media, which makes them directly accessible to people … However, I'm very disappointed that the dissemination of this information is very choreographed … So it is very frustrating to see that we are limited to the type of information that government authorities want us to hear. "
The Ethiopian media have years of control and censorship to free themselves, and the opportunities in this country are still working to build professional links to strengthen their sector.
"The media must come together, discuss what should be, how can we help the transition without compromising our journalistic principles? If we do, we can help but, hoping that the media do not take sides, do not defend not an interest just not realistic, " explains Jawar Mohammed, founder of Oromia Media Network.
He says that one year after the Abiy era, "tThere are still doubts about whether the country can access democracy or fall back under dictatorship, or aggravate it and become a war.
Tamrat Giorgis is the editor of the newspaper Addis Fortune, a pillar of the media that has covered the revolution and the transition of 2018. But according to him, it is a very delicate, sensitive and emotional challenge that awaits this country.
"The media has continued to be an instrument of power, the instrumentalization of the media continues.When there is so much at stake … What do people want media? that the media is a verification force, a force, a place, a platform for rational discourse, "says Giorgis.
Last year, we spoke to four journalists from different media circles about the role that social media has played in the political transition. About nine months later, we returned to these voices to see how the news space is developing in Ethiopia's Abi Ahmed.
Source: Al Jazeera News
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