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African countries’ hypocrisy in tackling the Zimbabwean crisis
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2004-15
Monday April 12th - Sunday April 18th 2004

Nothing more aptly illustrates African countries’ hypocrisy in tackling the Zimbabwean crisis than their resistance to have Zimbabwe’s human rights record discussed by the United Nations Commission for Human Rights in Geneva recently.

According to media reports, all 15 African countries on the 53-member commission voted for a "no action" motion that blocked a primary motion criticising Zimbabwe’s evidently deteriorating human rights record.

Their vote together with that of 10 Asian states, one South American country and a European nation ensured that the motion raising the issue of Zimbabwe’s human rights record was defeated by 27 votes to 24. There were two abstentions.

So elated was The Herald with this outcome (16/4) that it reported the story under a false headline, No human rights abuse in Zim: UN. The paper and its stablemates then used this distortion to vindicate the authorities’ claims that reports of human rights violations in Zimbabwe were a fabrication of Britain and its ally the US, who are allegedly against the country’s agrarian reforms.

However, the private media reports disputed such claims and continued to present more fresh evidence of nationwide State-sponsored or state-condoned human rights abuses in the country. For example SW Radio Africa and Studio 7 carried about 18 reports on rights abuses in Zimbabwe. These included the authorities’ violent eviction of farm labourers at Charleswood and Kondozi farms. Similarly, the private Press carried about six reports on rights violations, including farm seizures.

Although The Herald and The Manica Post (16/4) also reported the invasion of Kondozi and Charleswood, they did not view the seizures in the context of rights abuses. Instead, The Manica Post especially, celebrated the takeover of Kondozi saying it was indicative of "government’s commitment that there would be no going back on the policy and legal decision" to acquire the farm. This blatant contradiction of a High Court interdict preventing interference in the operations of Kondozi, also ignored the adverse ramifications of the takeover on farm workers and instead claimed that the invasion would create "jobs galore".

ZBC steered clear of the issue.

Meanwhile, as this report went to Press The Daily Mirror (21/4) reported that the authorities had deported a sports correspondent with the UK-based Daily Telegraph newspaper, Mihir Bose, after his accreditation to cover the Sri Lankan national cricket team’s tour of Zimbabwe was turned down. According to the paper, Bose had allegedly provided incomplete information to the authorities. The Herald (21/4) typically, reported that Bose, "whose newspaper…is linked to the British government, had secretly entered the country…to work ‘undercover’…"

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