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Letters Editor, Newsweek, 444 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. l0022 |
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Dear Sirs: " ERITREA BOYCOTT " I write this letter not in reference to what Newsweek have printed but to what it never writes about. Newsweek's do-not-write attitude to events in Eritrea amount to a boycott. This is my observation after reading it for over 12 years. By any standard of editorial screening in a free press, the events in Eritrea surpass most events Newsweek covers in terms of military operations, political gravity, strategic importance, economic repercussions, level of superpower involvement, casualty figures, and the magnitude of human suffering. The desperate involvement of the Soviet Union to dominate the region and the successful resistance by a small peasant nation, exclusively on its own resources, is unprecedented in contemporary history and a valuable source of material for the free media. During the last 10 Years many internationally significant and super dramatic events have taken place. The authenticity of these events are substantiated by various European MP's, TV and press reporters, and relief workers who have visited the liberated areas of Eritrea. In March this year a number of Ethiopian garrisons have been knocked out by the EPLF resulting in the death of about 7000 soldiers including 4 Soviet advisors, 3000 prisoners of war among them 2 colonels, captured arms of l00 million dollars value, and mass suicide performed by the conscript army in the Read Sea shores. In the night of may 20, an EPLF commando penetrated Ethiopian defences and destroyed 33 aircrafts in one single attack. As far as Newsweek is concerned, it looks, these are non-events. As to why the Soviet press and the Ethiopian official media do not make coverage of Eritrea, it is not difficult to understand. But what about Newsweek? I think your readers deserve an explanation. Best regards, Emnetu Tesfay Stavanger, Norway Comment
Sir:- I am writing this letter after having discussed with friends, who are subscribers of Newsweek of long standing about the continued absence of Eritrea coverage despite the fact that many things are happening. No one of us could even guess what the reasons could be. I therefore volunteered to write the letter hoping that you will print it and provide explanation. Letters Editor
Newsweek 444
Madison Avenue 22.09.89 Dear Sir: In the September 18 issue (Putting out the brush fires) Newsweek referred to the Eritrean negotiators as separatists. It is about time for Newsweek to cope with the prevailing realities. In Atlanta the Ethiopians did not sit to negotiate with Eritrean separatists but with the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. The name was clearly visible on the negotiation table. Best regards,
Emnetu Tesfay,
NEWSWEEK - LETTERS AFRICAS WARS Your cover story on the Horn of Africa was timely. But your inside pages hardly discussed the seventeen-year-old struggle for Eritrean independence. The downfall of former Emperor Haile Selassie' s regime and the inability of the military junta's government to rule are direct results of their failure to find a just solution to the Eritrean problem.
Emnetu Tesfay
NEWSWEEK
Emnetu Tesfay Dear Reader: Naturally, we were disturbed to hear that you feel we've turned our back on Eritrea or dismissed the importance of its affairs, becauise nothing could be further from our intention. We don't pretend, of course, to cover local events with the scope or detail found in the daily press, but were you to review our past coverage of the region, we think you'd see that we have followed Eritrea's tenacious struggle for independence and examined what war had done to a people already debilitated by sickness and drought. As a news magazine, we have a responsibility to discuss major events taking place in every corner of the world and a very limited number of pages in which to do so. We hope you can understand that, with so much news competing for so little space, we can rarely report on a stalemate or yet one more offensive in a continuing war; and that holds true, of course, no matter how much concern the conflict may evoke. Instead, we must wait until some development --a shift in policy, the appearance of a new leader or a decisive military victory -- significantly alters the complexion of the situation. At this point, we will focus on both the event it self and what led up to it. Meanwhile, our correspondents are keeping a close eye on Eritrea and will certainly alert us to any turn of events that demands the attention of our reader. We appreciate the concern that prompted you to write and hope we have been able to reassure you about our intentions as a responsible news magazine. Sincerely.
Madeleine Edmondson
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