With several offices across the globe, Ethiopian Satellite Television ( ESAT) and Radio have been in operation for nine years and now risks being disbanded.

For nearly a decade ESAT has worked as a mouthpiece for the Amhara Rebel movement known as Patriotic Ginbot 7. The media outlet was formed two years after the creation of the exiled rebel movement.

Several weeks ago the Rebel movement (Ginbot 7) issued a press release revealing Ginbot 7 would no longer oversee the media outlet (ESAT) and that it would be run by a publicly elected board.

As of recently there have been reports circulating that the broadcasting organization has been rattled from within due to political differences. This week it came to the open that there is indeed a difference between the board and a number of journalists, mostly those based in Washington DC studio.

This became clear from the latest statement of 10 journalists published on the 1st of June. The  journalists who decided to go their own separate ways, and they are ten in numbers including Ermias Legesse, Reyot Alemu and Habtamu Ayalewu who were both prisoners of conscience as well, following the board’s decision to lay off five journalists, they claim that their reports on the displacement of Gedeo and demolition of houses in Legatafo which reduced tens of thousands of residents were stifled.

The layoff affected five journalists namely, Menalachew Simachew, Getachew Abdi, Liyu Tsegaye, Eyerusalem Tekletsadik, Habtamu Ayalewu. The Journalists says that the layoff is due to the political differences. They also allege that the opening of a new studio on Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was not procedural and that many journalists in the DC studio did not know about it.

The board, on the other hand, says that the layoff is due to financial problem that is affecting ESAT and the need to reorganize it for the next phase of the struggle – something the journalists, who seem to think that the board as ill intent, are rejecting. The statement from the board says that ESAT is not a political organization and journalists could have their own political views.

What is not stated in the statement is an alleged question of ownership by Ginbot 7 – political organization whose existence ceased to exist recently following a recent merger with a group of other political organizations in Ethiopia that formed a new party in mid-May of this year- Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Party.

In a statement issued on June 1, ten journalists stated that they have decided to make the issue public and intend to have a public consultation and disclose decision about next steps.

The thoughts in this piece represent the views of the Halgan Media editorial staff only and no other third party.

Halgan Media (HM)