Eritrean-born journalist Dawit Isaakhas been jailed and detained without trial since 2001, when Asmara bannedindependent newspapers in a crackdown on the media. On Monday, the editors offour major papers in Sweden, where Isaak fled as a refugee in 1987, delivered apetition bearing 200-thousand Swedish signatures to the Eritrean embassy inStockholm, calling for Isaak's release. Isaak was writing for an Eritrean paper at the time of his arrest,speaking out for greater press freedom in his country of birth. International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)General Secretary Aidan White explains that advocacy groups are seeking to focus attention on the case to persuadeAsmara to end its media crackdown and allow society to become more open tofreedom of expression.
"Wehave a government here which appears to be immune to international pressure,absolutely resistant to notions of appeal for justice and fair play. And in this instance, we feel very stronglythat Dawit Isaak is being used as an instrument of defiant foreign policy bythe Eritrean authorities. But we hopevery much that we can have a new dialogue with the Eritrean authorities inwhich it will be possible to discuss whether or not journalists and otherpeople in civil society, people who are striving to promote a sense ofdemocracy, should be able to express themselves. So we in the IFJ have been working with ourSwedish colleagues about whether or not we can visit Eritrea as a possibilityfor opening up a new dialogue," he said.
Nineother journalists have also been unduly detained in Eritrean prisons, and worldpress groups estimate that at least four others have died there. White says Asmara's detached lack of responseto urgent inquiries about the jailings has prompted the journalism watchdoggroups to seek international diplomatic intervention.
"Theproblem is that there is very little cooperation from the authorities ingaining access to these journalists. That's why we actually think that it's very important to try to usediplomatic means to create the circumstances for a new and fresh dialogue withthe authorities. Because there is an obstinateness on the part of theauthorities to engage in dialogue, we are very pessimistic about theoutcome. We have asked for the EuropeanUnion, the United Nations Secretary General to intervene with the Eritreanauthorities to try to get them to recognize that having discussions about therights of journalists, and in particular about the rights of these individuals,is actually the correct way to address this problem," he explained.
Eritrea'soverall treatment of journalists, currently cited at 173 by theParis based watchdog group Reporters without Borders, is inevitably ranked lastin the world every year, and Sweden's five-week petition campaign this year wastimed strategically to end one day after Sunday's annual observance of WorldPress Freedom Day. Aidan White of theBrussels-based IFJ sees many difficulties ahead to transform freedom of thepress in a war-plagued society like Eritrea's that he says has faced internaldiscontent for such a long period of time.
"Noone's saying that Eritrea is an easy beat for journalists. Of course, it's not. It's a country which faces tremendousproblems of poverty, social dislocation, and also tremendous problems regardingthe right of people to be able to express themselves and engage in public life,and so on. So it's not easy. But it's all too easy just to sort of say,'Eritrea, the country which is last, we can do nothing about it.' We have to constantly say to the governmentand the authorities that they have responsibilities, they have power, and theyhave the capacity to change the direction in which the country not only isperceived by the outside world, but also the direction in which the country isgoing," he argued.
Forpress freedom advocates, lifting the media ban requires Eritrean officials toacknowledge that they have an important, positive role to play as a regionalpower and as a significant force on the continent of Africa. White suggests that if those in powerearnestly pursue these values for the good of the country, then relaxing thepress restrictions and limits on expression will follow and contribute toimproving Eritrea's position.