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ZANU PF militia forces teachers to abandon schools
ZimOnline
January 22, 2007

http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=766

HARARE - At least 10 teachers from Mashonaland East province have fled their schools in fear for their lives after ruling ZANU PF party militias stormed schools in the area to confiscate radios donated by a non-governmental organisation, ZimOnline has learnt.

The solar powered radios were donated by an unnamed non-governmental organisation to teachers to enable them to listen to alternative radio stations broadcast from outside the country.

But the government says the radios will corrupt villagers, that it deems a key constituency loyal to ZANU PF, as they would be able to listen to channels critical of the government.

There are no independent broadcasters in Zimbabwe.

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), which operates four radio stations that are all controlled by the government, is well known for its sycophancy in churning virulent government propaganda forcing most Zimbabweans to tune in to radio stations that broadcast from outside the country.

The Voice of America's Studio 7 and SW Radio Africa, which broadcast from Washington and London respectively, are run by exiled Zimbabwean journalists.

A teacher who claimed to have fled the militias - notorious for harassing and torturing opposition supporters - yesterday told ZimOnline that the militias were conducting violent searches at teachers' houses beating up teachers and confiscating all the donated short-wave radios.

"The situation is tense in Mash East. The youths and the police have teamed up and act on information provided by ZANU PF supporters in the district.

"People are being rounded up and given lecturers on the dangers of listening to the radios. Those suspected of being behind the distribution are also beaten up," said the teacher who refused to be named for fear of victimisation.

At a meeting held in Marondera town last Tuesday, Mashonaland East governor Ray Kaukonde is said to have told state security agents and ZANU PF supporters to be vigilant saying the radios should not be allowed to circulate in the province.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Kaukonde confirmed that the government was confiscating the radios "in the national interest."

"It is a peaceful exercise (confiscation of radios) in the national interest. Villagers need food not radios or harmful information," said Kaukonde.

"Those radios are propaganda tools so that villagers can listen to hostile stations such as Voice of America and turn against the government.

"The security agents are only confiscating the radios and carrying out awareness campaigns so that villagers can report anyone seen listening to the radios or distributing them," he said.

The secretary general of the militant Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Raymond Majongwe, condemned the confiscation of the radios.

"Teachers and villagers are being beaten up and harassed for accepting the radios. At least 10 teachers have fled Mash East province over the past week.

"There is something terribly wrong with a government when it uses violence to stop people from listening to a radio station of their choice," said Majongwe.

The Zimbabwe government has maintained grip on information dissemination over the past seven years. Apart from shutting down private radio stations which were operating in Zimbabwe, Harare has also banned four independent newspapers during the past four years.

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