Information and Media in Eritrea
Internet facilities were introduced in Eritrea in 2000 and the capital Asmara is now full of Internet cafes with users queueing at all hours of the day and night. Similar services are being extended to other cities like Massawa, Mendafera, Karen, and Decamerah. An estimate shows that about 5000 people from all walks of life daily use the Internet. However, to respect cultural sanctity, the government has strictly prohibited browsing pornographic websites.
There are more than 50 computer centers in Asmara alone, offering various advanced computer courses. In increasing numbers of schools, computer training is available. The University in Asmara and the newly established Eritrea Institute of Technology in Mainefhi both offer advanced computer education and almost every ministry is training its personnel. Thus an IT culture is rapidly propagating, thereby connecting Eritrea with rest of world and diminishing the digital divide.
Cellphones were introduced in March 2004 and, although somewhat expensive, are used in profusion especially in areas where there are no landlines. However, such services are yet to be provided in rural Eritrea. Two TV channels, ERITV1 and ERITV2, have broadcast their programs worldwide since 2004, a weekly “Eritrea profile” with editions in Tigrignya and Arabic. More accessible is the country radio station with SM channels broadcasting variety of programs in Tigrignya, Arabic, English and other local languages.
There are more than 50 computer centers in Asmara alone, offering various advanced computer courses. In increasing numbers of schools, computer training is available. The University in Asmara and the newly established Eritrea Institute of Technology in Mainefhi both offer advanced computer education and almost every ministry is training its personnel. Thus an IT culture is rapidly propagating, thereby connecting Eritrea with rest of world and diminishing the digital divide.
Cellphones were introduced in March 2004 and, although somewhat expensive, are used in profusion especially in areas where there are no landlines. However, such services are yet to be provided in rural Eritrea. Two TV channels, ERITV1 and ERITV2, have broadcast their programs worldwide since 2004, a weekly “Eritrea profile” with editions in Tigrignya and Arabic. More accessible is the country radio station with SM channels broadcasting variety of programs in Tigrignya, Arabic, English and other local languages.
There is no privately owned press in Eritrea and more journalists are imprisoned than in any other African country. Freedom of expression appears to have no place in the country's development model.
more...From: Reporters Without Borders |
A BBC Radio journalist expelled for "negative reporting" in September 2004 is described as the last permanent foreign correspondent working in Eritrea.
more...From: Reporters Without Borders |
The status of media in Eritrea has not changed in a long time. More than a dozen journalists most of them from the private press, who have been blamed of spying for the enemy state, Ethiopia, are still in prison and their fate is unknown. At present not a single private paper is published from Eritrea.
more...From: Human Rights Watch Related topics/regions: [Africa] [West Africa] [Eritrea] [Human rights] [Information & media] [Freedom of expression] [Media] |
Fifteen journalists are still languishing in Eritrean prisons nearly two years after a crackdown on the independent media, according to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Association of Eritrean Journalists in Exile (AEJE).
more...Related topics/regions: [Africa] [East Africa] [Eritrea] [Information & media] [Freedom of expression] [Media] |
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