The following statement was issued today by National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price.
Having welcomed developments in Ethiopia
earlier this year--including the release of several detained bloggers--that
suggested increased protections for the fundamental right of free expression,
we are deeply concerned by the recent arrests of other journalists in Ethiopia.
We continue to urge the Ethiopian Government to build on earlier developments
by strengthening free speech protections and broadening democratic progress,
and note that the continued stifling of independent voices will only inhibit
such progress as well as development and economic growth.
The United States has consistently
applauded Ethiopia for being a model and a voice for development in Africa, but
such gains must rest on a foundation of democratic governance and respect for
human rights if they are to be sustainable. We urge the Ethiopian
Government to release journalists and all others imprisoned for exercising
their right to free expression, to refrain from using its Anti-Terrorism
Proclamation as a mechanism to silence dissent, and to protect the rights of
journalists, bloggers, and dissidents to write and speak freely as voices of a
diverse nation.
Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
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