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Crushing blow for media freedom in Zimbabwe
ARTICLE 19
February 01, 2002

ARTICLE 19 today condemns the decision by the Zimbabwean Parliament to pass the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act despite widespread condemnation of it as a massive restriction on freedom of expression.

The Media Bill requires journalists to obtain licenses to practice their profession and introduces a possible two-year prison term for any journalist convicted of spreading false news. It grants excessive powers over the media to a Commission under firm governmental control and, despite its title, does little to guarantee the public's right to access information held by public authorities.

Although the Bill was amended on 22 January, the changes were largely cosmetic and failed to alter the most worrying aspects of the legislation. A detailed analysis of these amendments was released by ARTICLE 19 on 24 January, as part of a growing local and international campaign for fundamental reform of the Bill.

Toby Mendel, Head of the ARTICLE 19 Law Programme said:

"The passing of the Bill seriously undermines the possibility of free and fair elections in March and is a clear sign that the Zimbabwean government will continue to harass the independent media. It is also a real snub to the international community coming just days after both the European Council and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group expressed serious concern about freedom of the media in Zimbabwe."

On 28 January, the European Council unanimously agreed to implement targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe if it did not meet basic democratic conditions, including respect for the media, in the lead-up to the presidential election. ARTICLE 19 considers that the adoption of this Bill is clear evidence that the authorities are not going to comply with these conditions. We therefore call on the Council to apply sanctions.

Copies of the analysis are available on the ARTICLE 19 website, at:
http://www.article19.org/docimages/1262.doc

Previous analyses are at
http://www.article19.org/docimages/1255.htm and at
http://www.article19.org/docimages/1260.doc

For further information contact Toby Mendel, Head of Law Programme, on
44 20 7239 1193 (44 20 8552 3437 out of office hours), email: toby@article19.org.

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