Jan 3, (2013 (QOL) Qorahay Media Journalist Group condemns the on-going media blockade in the Ogaden and the silence of an entire population by the Ethiopian government.

The Ogaden has been completely isolated from the rest of the world as the Ethiopian government imposed a complete media blockade where independent journalists and free press are prohibited. The only media allowed in the Ogaden are the state owned television and radio, which serve as a propaganda tool for the regime.

The few privately owned media that exist such as Universal TV are not only heavily censored but also resort to illegal or unethical journalism such as cash for coverage and extorting money to conceal the atrocities in the Ogaden including mass murder, torture, rape, burning of villages, arbitrary arrests, extra Judicial killings, summary executions and mass displacements.

As the media blockade in the Ogaden continues our inside correspondents have sacrificed their lives to enter and report from the Ogaden at the risk of been caught and a possible long term imprisonment or death. Independent journalists often face the danger of been arrested and charged with terrorism to discourage reporting the realities on the ground.

Therefore Qorahay Media Journalist Group urges the international journalist organizations to join and follow the footsteps of our brave and courageous correspondents, and to enter the Ogaden to expose the hidden genocide.

Lastly we call upon the international community, donor nations as well as human rights groups to play an active role in achieving peace and stability in the Ogaden by pressuring the Ethiopian government lift the current media blockade and to also bring to justice those responsible of the crimes in the Ogaden.

Qorahay Media Journalist Group
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Head-quartered in Nairobi Kenya Qorahay Media Journalist Group is a national non-profit organization dedicated to reporting from the Ogaden and in the horn of Africa in general. Qolmedia@hotmail.com