December 17, 2016
Press Statement – False Reporting by Al-Mayadeen
In its evening programme, “Maydania”, of current news analysis (7:00p.m.-8:00p.m.) yesterday, the Beirut-based Arabic Tv channel, Al-Mayadeen, wrongly asserts, that the “United Arab Emirates has acquired a 30-year lease for a military base in the Port of Assab”.
This is not the first time for Al-Mayadeen to broadcast wild and speculative news on Eritrea in a highly dramatized manner and without rudimentary verification.
On 20th June this year, Al-Mayadeen had falsely claimed that “Israel has completed the construction of its largest listening post at Emba-Soira, Eritrea… to monitor maritime movements in the Bab-el Mendeb and eavesdrop on Iran”.
The Tv channel was requested by Eritrea at the time to explain its sources, rectify the false news, and desist from unwittingly serving as a gullible mouthpiece for sinister forces who harbour hostile agendas against Eritrea.
The false story broadcast by the same channel yesterday is evidently curved from the same mould. Periodic disinformation on Eritrea will not serve the interests of Al-Mayadeen’s audiences and only dent the reputation of the TV channel.
Ministry of Information
Asmara
14 December 2016
