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The MDC must denounce violence against the media
Zimbabwe Journalists for Human Rights
November 19, 2007

THE Zimbabwe Journalists for Human Rights is shocked by the thuggish behaviour of youths aligned to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) under Morgan Tsvangirai after they beat up freelancer Frank Chikowore and South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reporter John Nyashanu at Harvest House while carrying out their journalistic mandate on Sunday 18 November 2007.

The overzealous youths accused the two journalists of negative reportage on Tsvangirai in respect of the ongoing disputes within the Women's Assembly.

The journalists were among a dozen others who were at Harvest House to cover Tsvangirai's meeting with his provincial executives to brief them on the ongoing talks with Zanu PF and the preparedness of the party ahead of the 2008 elections. It is ironic that during the meeting he reiterated his party's demands for access to the public media while demanding that the independent media must be allowed to operate.

It is alarming that a party that constantly denounce the ruling Zanu PF, the police, and other security apparatus of the Robert Mugabe regime for being violent with its opponents, the MDC has become an equal partner in attacking the freedoms of the media.

The ZJHR holds no brief for the MDC or Zanu PF but stands for the rights of journalists to discharge their mandate without fear or favour. An attack on any journalist carrying out his duties is an attack on the freedom of the press. That is unacceptable and we denounce the use of violence to settle differences in opinion.

The MDC President and his National Executive Council must discipline their youths and all other structures to respect the independence of journalists to write factual and truthful news without resorting to violence to coerce our members to write favourable articles. That is not our responsibility to create positives out of negatives. Journalists, working for the State-controlled or private media should denounce whoever wants to coerce them to write favourable articles about certain issues.

As the nation prepares for the harmonised Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections, the safety of the media is paramount. Both Zanu PF and the MDC cannot be entrusted to guarantee the safety of the press. The ZJHR urges journalists to maintain their neutrality in cases of intra-party disputes as this trend creates unnecessary divisions within the media and the party concerned.

We therefore recommend that journalists take a principled stand against political violence and avoid risky political situations. The ZJHR will continue to lobby all stakeholders to seriously look into the issue of the security and safety of journalists ahead of the harmonised elections in 2008.

Options available for the media include;

• Boycotting the MDC press briefings until the party makes a firm commitment to the security of journalists attending their functions.
• Continue to play a watchdog role of all political parties without being silenced by acts of thuggery and intimidation.
• Advocate and lobby Parliament for a policy framework that guarantees the safety of journalists covering the 2008 elections.

For more information and comments please write to thezjhr@yahoo.co.uk or call us on +263 912 869 294 or +263 912 266 430.

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