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Statement by VOA Director on Ethiopian Government Charges Against VOA Journalists


Jackson says charges are false and 'an attempt to intimidate'

Washington, D.C., December 22, 2005 - Voice of America Director David S. Jackson issued the following statement today in response to Ethiopian government charges of treason against five VOA journalists: "These charges are false and are an obvious attempt to intimidate our broadcasters. The Voice of America has a worldwide reputation for the quality and reliability of our journalism, and we stand by our reporters."

One of the most popular international broadcasters into Ethiopia, the Voice of America has been broadcasting in Amharic since 1982. VOA recently added two additional broadcast frequencies for Amharic after learning that its broadcasts into Ethiopia were being jammed.

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 203-4959, or by e-mail to publicaffairs@voa.gov.

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