There are no current independent mass media in Eritrea. All media outlets in Eritrea are from the Ministry of Information, a government source. Western media was brought to the country during Italian and British colonialism. The media is Eritrea played a role in its war against Ethiopia. Independent Eritrea has one of the harshest media regimes, with private and foreign ownership being banned since the early 2000s. As of 2018, the government controlled four newspapers, one television channel and two radio stations. International organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House have consistently labelled the media in Eritrea as "not free", ranking it as the lowest or one of the lowest countries in press freedom indices. Access to the internet is very limited. History Italian and British colonialism brought western journalism to the region. It then fell into the hands of the Ethiopian rulers. During Eritrea's independence movement, media such as radio Dmtsi Hafash (), first broadcast in early 1979 from Fah and Sahel, played a revolutionary role. Dmtsi Hafash continues to broadcast till date. In 1996, the Eritrean government passed a law banning private broadcast media and requiring licenses for journalists and newspapers. The law barred the reprinting of works from banned publications, outlawed foreign ownership of media, and required all publications to be submitted to the government for approval prior to publication. In 2001, in an effort to quell burgeoning dissent about the future of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the government closed down eight independent newspapers and arrested an undisclosed number of journalists. Onwards from 18 September 2001, the government banned all private media. The newspapers affected included Meqaleh, Setit, Tiganay, Zemen, Wintana, Admas, Keste Debena, and Mana. Official reasons for the ban included national security, and failure to comply with media laws and regulations. 2001 also saw an unknown number of journalists being detained, some who are still thought to be imprisoned. Even before the arrests, journalists were facing conscription, which HRW explained as an attempt to clamp down on the media. Print There are two daily print newspapers: Al-Hadisa (Arabic language) Haddas Eritrea (Tigrinya language) There are also two other papers: Eritrea Profile, twice weekly (Wednesday & Saturday) (English language) Eritrea Haddas, weekly (Wednesday) (Tigre language) A defunct newspaper: Nay Eretra Sämunawi Gazét'a (1942–1953) Radio There are three radio stations in Eritrea. Radio Bana is an educational radio broadcast in five languages.