Federal regulator suspends Tigrai TV the day after the alliance's broadcast

The Ethiopian Media Authority suspended Tigrai TV indefinitely on 21 September, the day after the station carried the Alliance for Survival's founding proclamation, and ordered other Ethiopian broadcast, print and digital outlets not to rebroadcast or cite its content. The authority announced the decision in an Amharic statement published on its Facebook page, saying the suspension would remain in force indefinitely.

The regulator accused the station of repeated violations of Ethiopia's broadcasting law and professional standards and of airing material that incited conflict, encouraged extremism and threatened public safety and national interests. It did not publish the broadcasts it was responding to, and set no date for reviewing the order. The Reporter, an Ethiopian outlet, recorded the timing without embellishment: the suspension came immediately in the wake of the 20 September announcement of the seven-group alliance.

Tigrai TV is the principal broadcast outlet of the Tigray authorities. With the order in force, the founding declaration that had been read on the station on 20 September can no longer be rebroadcast by any Ethiopian outlet.