Albright in Africa
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Re “In Africa, Albright Vows ‘New Chapter’ in Ties,” Dec. 10:
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I reached at the last paragraph: “Still, when [Secretary of State Madeleine] Albright met privately with [the Ethiopian prime minister] earlier in the day, she agreed to the Ethiopian leader’s policy of refusing to allow representatives of opposition newspapers to cover events at his office.”
The regime calls the independent press “opposition newspapers” because they report what they obtain. They routinely send questions to the regime for response and they are absolutely ignored. The fledgling Ethiopian free press is in a Catch-22 situation. To add insult to injury, Albright agrees with the regime!
Her predecessor, Warren Christopher, on his visit of Ethiopia in late 1996, admonished the Ethiopian regime to be inclusive and allow the free press access. Albright turns everything upside down and cuddles with dictators. Small wonder only a handful of emerging nations show hopeful signs for a promising democracy in the post-Cold War world.
SOLOMON GEBRE-SELASSIE
Duarte
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