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Media
Update January 7th - 13th, 2002
Media
Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
January 18, 2002
Contents
1. Countdown to the presidential elections
2. Armed forces statement
3. Political violence - poor sourcing messes up coverage
4. State media smear campaign
1. Countdown to the presidential election TOP
In the week that the dates of the presidential election were announced,
statistical evidence gathered by MMPZ serves to consign the government
controlled media to the dustbin of partisan propaganda. During the
week Zimpapers and ZBC featured unrelenting promotional stories
about the ruling party's political campaign and unsupported accusations
that the opposition MDC was linked to anthrax-mail terror tactics
and the biggest robbery in South African history. And their reports
on the threat of interference by the armed forces in the democratic
process escaped any sensible analysis, especially with regard to
its unconstitutionality. Nor did the state media provide its audiences
with any useful information about the introduction of repressive
new legislation
Instead, the national public broadcaster and Zimpapers worked closely
to suffocate the MDC campaign and reinforce the ruling party's continued
portrayal of the opposition as a violent, unpatriotic terrorist
organization, and then used this figment of their disinformation
department to justify the introduction of tyrannical security laws.
In the week ZBC1 news bulletins carried 23 political campaign stories,
22 (96%) of them pro-ZANU PF with just one that could be described
as neutral. Radio 3FM followed a similar pattern, reporting 27 campaign
stories, 25 (93%) of them in favour of the ruling party. The other
two campaign stories featured Zanu Ndonga. Neither ZBC1 nor radio
carried a single story of the MDC's presidential campaign, thus
perpetuating ZBC's appalling reputation established during the constitutional
referendum and the parliamentary elections in the year 2000 as being
a shameless propaganda outlet for the ruling party. Once again,
ZBC's public service mandate to provide fair and accurate coverage
of all mainstream political opinion is being grossly abused.
In addition, ZBC1 (television) has refined a tactic that it only
made limited use of during the parliamentary election. During the
week, ZBC1's campaign stories carried a total of 59 voices, 11 (18.6%)
of which were ruling party officials; five others were from the
Registrar-General's office or professional commentators inclined
towards favouring the ruling party. The remaining 42 voices (71%)
were of ordinary Zimbabweans, but in every case they made their
political affiliation to ZANU PF clear, even going so far as to
name President Mugabe as their candidate of choice. Such figures
unmistakably expose the grossly biased selectivity practiced by
the national broadcaster in sourcing the voice of the Zimbabwean
public. MMPZ condemns such crude and blatant prejudice.
2. Armed forces statement: 3FM fails to cover
statement TOP
On Wednesday (9/1) General Vitalis Zvinavashe, commander of the
armed forces, issued a statement on behalf of all Zimbabwe's security
services that implied they would not accept the result of the presidential
election if the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai won. ZBC1 broke the
story in its main bulletin that evening, carrying footage of Zvinavashe,
flanked by all the service chiefs and the head of the CIO, saying
that the country's security organizations would only support political
leaders who "pursue Zimbabwean values, traditions (and) beliefs
for which thousands of lives were lost in pursuit of Zimbabwe's
hard-won independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national
interest. To this end, let it be known that the highest office on
(sic) the land is a 'straightjacket' whose occupant is expected
to observe the objectives of the liberation struggle.
"We will, therefore, not accept, let alone support or salute anyone
with a different agenda that threatens (the) very existence of our
sovereignty, our country and our people".
Surprisingly, Radio 3FM didn't cover the story until its 7am bulletin
the next morning when all the print media reported the story. The
Herald and The Chronicle (10/1) also pointed out that the service
chiefs' stance comes as a big blow to the MDC, which is known to
be bankrolled by the country's colonial master, Britain, and commercial
farmers."
The Herald (11/1) added the bizarre assertion that the armed forces
had been pressured into making the statement by the British government,
which, according to the report, had planted stories in the local
privately owned Press "alleging the top brass had urged President
Mugabe to quit and appoint a successor".
This appeared to be a follow-up to a statement carried by ZBC1 (8pm)
the previous evening by Home Affairs Minister, John Nkomo, who welcomed
the security forces' statement as "long overdue" because the private
Press had been "demonizing" the security forces and putting them
into disrepute "in the hope that as they did that, that would put
ZANU PF and its government in bad light".
In the same bulletin, Youth Minister, Elliot Manyika, also defended
the security forces' threat by saying they "were just spelling out
the values of our nation. This is what any right-thinking Zimbabwean
should know."
ZBC failed to ask either of them whether Zvinavashe's comments constituted
an unacceptably dangerous interference by the military in the civilian
affairs of a democracy, or even whether the comments amounted to
the threat of a military dictatorship.
But Friday's editions of the privately owned papers (The Daily News
and The Zimbabwe Independent 11/1) carried a storm of protest from
the MDC and domestic organizations representing a broad cross section
of civic society condemning the statement as "dangerous", "unconstitutional",
"treasonous" and a clear attempt to intimidate the electorate by
indirectly threatening a military take-over should the MDC leader
win the election.Both papers' editorials reflected these sentiments,
and The Daily News the next day reported South Africa's presidential
spokesman as describing the statement as "..not acceptable. You
can't have a situation where the security forces are trying to pre-empt
an election."
The Herald edition of the same day carried a confused editorial
attempting to distance Zvinavashe's statement from the MDC's candidate
despite its earlier efforts to bind them together when it stated
that "..at no point did the generals disqualify anyone, let alone
name Mr. Tsvangirai, or even suggest that only candidates with liberation
struggle credentials would be recognized by the military and security
forces".
And although it challenged Tsvangirai to reconfirm his patriotism,
it also labeled him a "traitor" to the country.
The next day The Sunday Mail's editorial echoed The Herald's thoughts
when it stressed the point that the service chiefs did not name
Tsvangirai, but that any reaction from the MDC proved that "..the
guilty are always afraid".
Neither paper made the connection that they have vigorously defended
government's persistent efforts over the past 24 months to portray
Tsvangirai and the MDC as exactly the sort of candidate that Zvinavashe's
statement alludes to.
The Zimbabwe Standard (13/1) added a new dimension to the story
when it reported a number of middle ranking military officers warning
the armed forces chiefs that they would find themselves isolated
if they attempted to stage a coup.
3. Political violence: Poor sourcing messes up
coverage TOP
All the media continued to report an upsurge in the incidence of
political violence that has plagued the country since President
Mugabe urged ZANU PF supporters to wage a real war against the MDC
at the party's Congress in mid-December.
But the media are sharply divided over who is responsible. The privately-owned
Press have only reported attacks on villagers, urban dwellers and
MDC supporters, while the government-controlled media have carried
stories almost exclusively of MDC supporters' attacks on ruling
party supporters.
In the state media's on-going efforts to portray MDC as a violent
organization, ZBC1 has adopted a 'Violence Update' in its main evening
bulletins and relies heavily on police reports and unattributed
sources for its stories.
During the week it carried 25 reports of political violence, 20
(80%) of them accusing the MDC of being responsible, while three
(12%) were attributed to the ruling party and two to unknown assailants
who had attacked MDC supporters. But ZBC1 reported that those incidents
sparked by ZANU PF supporters were only committed in retaliation
for violence initiated by MDC supporters.
In its section on political violence, which has now been dubbed,
"Campaign for Peace Update", television carried 13 stories on political
violence without any attribution beyond the broadcaster's claims.
The 12 other stories originated from police information and carried
the voice of ZANU PF officials and sympathizers 17 times. Not once
was the MDC accessed for comment.
Radio 3FM 's 12 stories on political violence followed a similar
pattern.
ZBC and Zimpapers' reports of violence regularly conflict with reports
of the same incidents in the privately owned Press over who is responsible
for initiating the incidents. The state media consistently fail
to address persistent reports in the privately owned Press of widespread
violence against communities around the country committed by ZANU
PF militias and even the military. But the denials by government
authorities and the claim by the Ministers of Home Affairs and Information
that the MDC is manufacturing National Service uniforms and giving
them to its supporters to disguise the perpetrators of violence
without providing a shred of evidence for this, is stretching credibility
to the extreme. It should be noted that the privately owned Press
also rarely follow up reports of violence reported in the state
media.
TV has also resorted to flighting what amounts to ZANU PF advertisements
in the advertising sections of its 8pm bulletins by airing clips
of President Mugabe, Elliot Manyika and Police Commissioner Augustine
Chihuri, calling for an end to political violence and a peaceful
election. Nowhere does the MDC get a chance to do the same, and
carried in the context of the station's reports of violence blaming
the MDC, the images serve as a powerful portrayal of a peaceful
ZANU PF fighting a violent challenger. Hard evidence in the privately
owned Press of murdered and beaten MDC supporters and terrorized
urban and rural communities, proves this to be a gross distortion
of the truth and demonstrates the extent to which ZBC's news broadcasts
have been so thoroughly corrupted.
On Tuesday (8/1) ZBC reinforced this distortion by airing in its
8pm news bulletins (TV and 3FM) selective incidents of violence
from last year, all of which the state has accused the MDC of committing
but for which there have still been no convictions. There was no
new angle to any of the reviewed stories, and TV gratuitously re-ran
footage of the discovery and exhumation of the bodies of Cain Nkala
and Limukani Luphahla who were murdered in Matabeleland last year.
The bulletins described their deaths as being the result of a "clear
and deep-seated terrorism which has become fully blown." and then
used this to justify the government's plan to introduce the Public
Order and Security Bill to "deal with political violence".
Nowhere has the national broadcaster provided details of this Draconian
law, which invests so much power in the police that it even indemnifies
them against the killing of civilians in certain circumstances.
It also gives them total discretion over who can and who may not
hold public gatherings and political rallies. But ZBC has not asked
government officials or the police how these provisions will help
reduce political violence.
The Daily News carried 12 stories on political violence during the
week, but was unable to obtain a comment from the police for any
of them, although it reported trying to. As a result, the paper
was obliged to rely on reports from the victims, usually MDC supporters.
None of its stories however, accessed comment from ZANU PF whose
supporters, the paper claimed, were to blame for most of the violence
it reported. It is important for the paper to be seen attempting
to obtain comment from all parties alleged to be involved in the
violence for the sake of its credibility. MMPZ condemns the refusal
by the police to co-operate with The Daily News.
By comparison, The Herald carried six stories on political violence
- all of which blamed the MDC - and accessed police comment five
times.
In its story on violence in Mbare, The Herald (8/1) reported that
both MDC and ZANU PF supporters had been arrested, which was corroborated
by the police. But in its follow-up of their court appearance (11/1),
The Herald simply reported that, "six members of the MDC youth wing
accused of unleashing violence in Mbare have been placed on remand
by a Harare magistrates' court."
There was no mention of the ruling party supporters arrested. Readers
were left to puzzle over the mystery with the inference being that
either the paper overlooked their appearance in court, or that the
police had released them.
The same edition of The Herald reported the murder of a senior Zaka-based
ZANU PF official, Gibson Masarira, and blamed it squarely on MDC
youths. Although it quoted the police as saying his death was "a
clear case of political violence", the police were not quoted actually
naming the MDC.
The Herald however, simply stated that, "This brings to two the
number of ruling party supporters who have been murdered by the
opposition party this week."
The paper then reminded its readers that their deaths came "in the
wake of similar terrorist murders" of Nkala and Lupaphla in Matabeleland
"as the MDC steps up its terror campaign to win the election." in
March.
By using the passive past tense, the story avoided quoting anybody
when it reported that "Suspected MDC terrorists are said" to have
attacked Masarira his family and other villagers in broad daylight.
So the story actually carried no tangible evidence that the MDC
was responsible for the murder. Nor did the paper identify the murder
of the other ZANU PF supporter, which it had ascribed to the MDC.
Earlier in the week, The Daily News (7/1) reported that an MDC official's
home in Zaka had been looted in an "orgy of terror" by war veterans
and ZANU PF militias. But it too, provided no corroborating evidence
for these claims, although it accessed comment from a provincial
MDC official.
The paper also appeared to get its news priorities in a muddle by
tacking on a report about the murder of a bus conductor in Gokwe
by "ZANU PF militia" to the end of its story about violence in Zaka.
And although the report said the man had died in hospital, it only
quoted "witnesses" describing the incident.
MMPZ condemns the blatantly unsubstantiated claims of both papers
in these cases.
4. State media smear campaign: An assault on
readers' intelligence TOP
At the beginning of the week, The Herald (7/1) used its front-page
headline, 'MDC linked to $2bn SA heist', to discredit the opposition
party without providing a shred of evidence to support this claim.
It picked up a story from the South African Sunday Times reporting
that Zimbabweans had been involved in the robbery at Jan Smuts airport
and then simply stated that "sources" in Johannesburg said they
"could be MDC members living in that country".
Later in the story The Herald deepened this fiction by stating that,
"Police sources in Harare said the MDC had politicized criminal
elements and fugitives in South Africa.", and marked the point where
the story descended into undisguised propaganda discrediting the
MDC.
Notably, ZBC (13/1 - 7am and 8pm respectively) carried a follow-up
story simply reporting that four of the 13 robbery suspects arrested
had been picked up in Bulawayo and deported to South Africa. There
was no suggestion of any political connotation in the report.
In another carefully coordinated assault on the credentials of the
MDC by the state-controlled media, the MDC was blamed for launching
germ warfare in its "terror campaign" to win the presidential election.
Under the headline, 'Anthrax scare', The Herald (8/1) broke the
story that "a suspected anthrax attack had been detected at Causeway
Post Office."
According to "authoritative sources" The Herald said "alarm bells
were raised after powder (in two suspicious-looking envelopes) was
discovered and the letter (sic) had all the signs of an anthrax
attack". But it provided no information about what these signs were.
That evening, TV (8pm) followed up the story by announcing that
Zimbabwe had "become the latest victim of the current bio-terrorism
attack," and carried footage of the closure of the Post Office and
the search by Ministry of Health officials wearing germ protection
clothing. Like The Herald it reported that one of the envelopes
had been addressed to a senior government official and unlike The
Herald, referred to the anthrax-mail attacks in the United States
of America last year.
This clearly gave the impression that Zimbabwe was under siege from
as yet unidentified enemies of the state and provided ZBC's Reuben
Barwe with the opportunity to remind his audiences that Rhodesian
security forces had, with the collusion of their South African colleagues,
had used anthrax to infect black people during the liberation war.
True to form, the next morning The Herald (9/1) announced that the
MDC was linked to the anthrax mail and that ex-Rhodesians were involved
under the banner headline, 'MDC terror mounts'.
But its only evidence for these claims was a statement from the
Minister of Home Affairs John Nkomo. According to The Herald, ".Nkomo
said in an interview. that the suspected anthrax attacks were part
of terrorist activities perpetrated by the MDC and its white founders
who were bitter about the land reform programme."
And his evidence for claiming this? "It is obvious that former Rhodesians
are involved in these dastardly acts as they have done so before,"
the paper quoted the Minister as saying.
The paper reported that laboratory tests on the offending envelopes
had confirmed the presence of bacteria, which had yet to be identified.
So if specialists still had to identify the bacteria, where did
Zimpapers and ZBC get the idea that the envelopes contained anthrax?
The authenticity of this story collapses at this point and is exposed
as a creation of those in control of the government media as a ploy
to further discredit the opposition. MMPZ condemns in the strongest
terms this deliberate, cynical and crude abuse of the state media.
But despite discrediting itself as a tool of the ruling party, The
Herald (10/1) continued to destroy any shred of credibility with
another story on the topic headlined, 'Anthrax mail targeted at
(Information Minister) Moyo', and bearing the sub-head, 'Incident
a terrorist act, say police'. Only at the end of the story do we
learn from a government doctor that, "Laboratory tests conducted
on the powder have tested negative for anthrax bacteria."
This should have been the basis for the story, but instead, The
Herald continued with the fiction by misleading its readers and
persisting with their original lies of anthrax bio-terrorism perpetrated
by the MDC.
ZBC had difficulty following The Herald's lead, but used the paper's
stories to perpetuate this giant hoax. It can only be imagined that
this manipulation of the state media provides some entertainment
value for their audiences who must otherwise believe such reports
are an offence to their intelligence.
The MEDIA UPDATE is produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe, 15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax:
263 4 703702, E-mail: monitors@mweb.co.zw
or advocacy@media-monitors.icon.co.zw
Send all queries and comments to the Project Coordinator. Also,
please feel free to circulate this report. Previous copies of MMPZ
reports can be accessed at http://www.icon.co.zw/mmpz
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