By hastily heeding a communication from a lowly office within the Ethiopia Somali Regional State (ESRS) under the Federal government of Ethiopia to close HCTV, THAICOM, a satellite provider for almost all the satellite Somali TV stations, may have inadvertently paved the way for a massive loss of revenue as Somali media moguls begin to communicate on a proper course of response.
Based on a letter from an officer from a department called the ‘Government Communication Affairs, Culture and Tourism’ of the ESRS, THAICOM unplugged the Somaliland-owned Horn Cable TV without further ado.
Letter from this office claimed that Horn Cable TV was ‘managed and operated from the self-declared state of Somaliland that has no proper media regulation’- thus, on the same breath attacking both the TV station and the republic of Somaliland in direct defiance of the budding, cordial relations between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
Following the unilateral closure of HCTV by THAICOM on the behest of a regional state that is, itself, investigated for wanton genocide of unarmed women, children and old men and women at Jama Dubbad village on June 5, Somali media outlets started to confer among themselves on what course of action to take – and when.
Somali practitioners have also begun reaching out to regional and international media bodies for consultation and support.
It is not yet known how the Federal Government of Ethiopia would this blatant denigration of its responsibilities to the AU and the international community as is manifested by the run-away, criminal activities of a clique not that different from the one the EPRDF liberated Ethiopia from in 1991. If not checked, regional security may further be compromised by ESRS excesses including an armed wing – the Liyuu Police – who is trained to subjugate citizens to complete submission .
If not checked, political analysts believe, regional security may further be compromised by ESRS excesses including an armed wing – the Liyuu Police – who is trained to subjugate citizens to complete submission
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