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MISA appeals for the safety of journalists in Zimbabwe
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
June 04, 2003

* The following is an appeal to Zimbabwean authorities to safeguard journalists during the week of protests in Zimbabwe. See www.misa.org for more information on media freedom violations in Zimbabwe and the rest of southern Africa.

Minister of Home Affairs
Honourable Minister Kembo Mohadi
Eleventh Floor
Mukwati Building
Private Bag 505D
Harare
Zimbabwe

June 4, 2003

Honourable Minister Kembo Mohadi

Letter of appeal for the safety of journalists in Zimbabwe

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a regional freedom of expression and media freedom organisation that has been protecting media freedom and promoting free and pluralistic media in the southern Africa region over the past 10 years, is deeply concerned about the pernicious security situation facing independent media practitioners in Zimbabwe.

MISA strongly protests the government’s tactic of utilising the confusion around the current mass demonstration to launch a crackdown on independent journalists and crush dissent in Zimbabwe. This action will be in violation of the right to free expression and dissemination of information, as contained in the Zimbabwean constitution.

Therefore, MISA condemns in the strongest terms the detention and beating on Monday, June 2, 2003, of journalists Shorai Katiwa and Martin Chimenya who work for the Voice of the People (VOP) Communications Trust by Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front

(Zanu-PF) youths and war veterans. We also condemn the confiscation of their mobile phones and recorders by war veterans and Zanu-PF hooligans, as well as confiscation of VOP administration files and equipment by the Police.

We implore Zanu-PF supporters to respect the rule of law in Zimbabwe. They had no right to take media practitioners prisoner in the Zanu-PF headquarters in order to beat and interrogate them. The Zimbabwean people, including all media workers, have the right to free expression, assembly and association and these rights should be respected by all.

MISA further condemns the destruction by ruling party Zanu-PF supporters of thousands of copies of the Daily News, Financial Gazette, The Standard and the Zimbabwe Independent. Persons found reading or carrying a copy of the Daily News were reportedly beaten by Zanu-PF supporters. We loathe and denounce such acts of hooliganism and urge you to act decisively against any person(s) who deny fellow Zimbabwean citizens the right to access information from their preferred sources or the right to express themselves freely.

We recall section 20 of the Zimbabwe Constitution which reads as follows: No person shall be prevented from exercising his/her freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and/or communicate ideas and information without interference. A person shall also have freedom with his/her correspondence. A law may limit freedom of expression if is necessary to do so in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, the economic interests of the state, public morality, public health or for the protection of rights, freedoms and reputations of others for protecting the independence of courts and parliament. A law limiting freedom of expression shall not go beyond what is necessary in a democratic society.

In the last three years MISA has witnessed and reported on the physical abuse of media practitioners in Zimbabwe, which by and large were perpetuated by the police and the armed forces. In addition, media practitioners working for the independent media in the country have, and continue to experience detention, beating, harassment and expulsion.

MISA appeals to you to urge your authorities to refrain from acts of hostility towards media practitioners during the demonstrations and indeed, to instruct your forces to protect media practitioners to carry out their professional duties of informing the citizens of Zimbabwe and the rest of the world. We appeal to you to remain true to the principles enshrined in your Constitution, as well as those in the Africa Charter on People and Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantee all citizens of Zimbabwe and the world the right to free expression and association.

Yours sincerely
Luckson Chipare
MISA Regional Director

CC
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
Professor Jonathan Moyo
Zimbabwe

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