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Protect media freedoms
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
April 13, 2012

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition is shocked and outraged by today's attack on the staff of the Daily News by a self-proclaimed ZANU PF supporter identified as Sheila Svesve who threatened to bomb the newspaper offices because of its coverage of the alleged illness of President Robert Mugabe. The Coalition calls upon the police to arrest and hold accountable the hooligan for her reprehensible actions. The Ministries of Home Affairs and Information must publicly deplore such acts of hooliganism and disregard for the constitution.

According to eyewitness reports from The Daily News, Svesve entered the newspaper's offices in Harare's Central Business District at around 11am claiming to have a story for the paper. Upon entry, the misguided Zanu PF supporter threatened to bomb the offices and to beat up staffers whom she accused of disrespecting President Mugabe by reporting on his alleged ill-health. Svesve claimed that she had brought back-up in the form of the infamous Mbare based Chipangano terror group before taking off her pants and shamelessly urinating on the floor inside the offices. She exited the offices an hour later after management at the private media house contacted the police.

If the ZANU PF supporter had grievances, she should have followed proper channels to register her concerns including filing a formal complaint with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ).

This is not the first time that ZANU PF supporters have attacked the private press this year. In March, alleged ZANU PF supporters effected a 'ban' on The Daily News in Mutoko and Murehwa while alleged ZANU PF youths tore up copies of the newspaper in Kadoma. Members of the Zimbabwe National War Veterans Association also threatened to shut down Newsday. The culprits in the above criminal acts have not been apprehended. Such criminal acts should be frowned upon and perpetrators arrested as a step towards curbing the growing impunity among ZANU PF supporters and militia groups who attack private newspaper personnel and pro- democracy advocates.

The Coalition wishes to remind the inclusive government that they have an obligation to protect and ensure that every Zimbabwean enjoys their fundamental freedoms. The attacks on the media infringe on the freedom of expression enshrined in Article 20 of the Zimbabwean constitution and the rights of all citizens to receive and impart information. The government of Zimbabwe is a state party to the Windhoek Declaration on Press Freedom (1991) which states that,

'Consistent with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.'

To that end, the government should take all necessary steps to ensure that the media is protected and they operate in an environment free from unnecessary hindrances on political, economic, social or cultural grounds. Political parties should also reign in their supporters and dismantle militia groups which are causing grief to ordinary Zimbabweans.

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