Ethiopia PM Hailemariam Desalegn 'open to criticism'

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Image captionHailemariam Desalegn's party won a landslide victory in May's elections

Ethiopia's prime minister has told the BBC he is not afraid of criticism from journalists, despite the country's reputation for stifling free speech.

"Free media is very essential for the democratic process and... development," Hailemariam Desalegn said.

He insisted some bloggers and reporters arrested last year were not real journalists and had terror links.

Charges of terrorism have been dropped against all of the so-called Zone 9 bloggers.

Five were freed in July after more than a year in jail ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit; the other four were acquitted of terrorism charges by a court last month.

The Zone 9 website had carried pieces critical of the government.

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'We are not perfect'

But Mr Hailemariam said that their profession had not prompted their arrests, rather evidence linking them to groups wanting to destabilise the government.

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Media captionEthiopia PM on Al-Shabab and Human Rights

"This has to be very clearly underlined because that shouldn't be confused with the noble profession, journalism and the work that journalists do in this country," he told BBC World Service Africa editor Mary Harper.

"We are ready to be criticised by any journalists because we know we are not perfect," he said.

The diversity of Ethiopia meant that democracy and human rights were central to its survival and success.

"There is a a young, dynamic population in this country, with all the social media information flow - so without democratic discourse it's not possible to continue as a country - we believe we're on the right track."

Source: BBC