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Public
petition against the closure of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe's
Daily News and Daily News on Sunday
ZimRights
September 30, 2003
The Zimbabwe Human
Rights Association (ZimRights) is circulating a petition for signing by
members of the public calling upon the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe
to register the Daily News as a matter of urgency. We ask people to come
and sign the petition at our offices at Corner 4th / Baines Avenue in
Harare. The following are the contents of the petition for your information.
For more information,
contact
Obert Chinhamo
National Programmes Coordinator
Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
We, the undersigned
concerned members of the public are astonished and dismayed by the decision
of the Media and Information Commission to refuse to register the Associated
Newspapers of Zimbabwe, (ANZ) publishers of The Daily News and the Daily
News on Sunday as a mass media service.
The Commission's six
members agreed unanimously on Friday, the 19th of September 2003 that
ANZ's application for registration failed. We feel that the decision by
the Commission is ill-conceived and is an attempt to silence the independent
media in Zimbabwe. This unfortunate stance taken by the Commission tarnishes
the image of the Commission and generally the human rights record of the
country. The decision of the Commission does not only violate Chapter
3 Section 20 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe but also violates Article
19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 19
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
We further condemn
the conduct of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) 's action against the
Independent Press when it confiscated the Daily News property on the 12th
day of September 2003. We call upon the Government to ensure that the
police act within the confines of the law in handling the newspaper's
property as required by any law-abiding government.
The action by the
Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) undermines Article 19
(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified
by Zimbabwe; which clearly states that: -
"Everyone shall
have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom
to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless
of frontiers, either orally, or in writing or in print, in the form
of art, or through any other media of his choice"
The Government of
Zimbabwe must restore the people's right to fundamental freedoms in particular,
the right to freedom of expression. The people will not enjoy their rights
unless the infamous and repressive Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act is repealed.
We unreservedly call
upon the Media and Information Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police
to remain professional in the discharge of their duties and refrain from
being partisan or from selective application of the law. They should desist
from using their statutory powers to achieve political gains or some other
agendas.
We demand that the
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, (ANZ) publishers of The Daily News,
be registered immediately.
We hereunder sign
this ______________day of _________________, 2003
Visit the ZimRights
fact sheet
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