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Electioneering and conspiracies
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2004-25
Monday June 21 - Sunday June 27 2004

THE government media’s misrepresentation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s statement that he was working with the MDC and those in southern Africa to exert pressure on President Mugabe’s government to democratise, reaffirmed their total conversion into willing government propagandists.

Blair was responding to questions by the British Conservative Party leader, Michael Howard, on whether the Zimbabwe crisis had been discussed during the G8 Summit in the United States and whether the country was working on expanding its targeted sanctions against Zimbabwe’s ruling elite and their cronies.

The government media distorted the underlying meaning of Blair’s statements and accused Britain and the MDC of plotting to "unconstitutionally" unseat President Mugabe. His utterances were further presented as evidence of Britain’s continued interference in the country’s affairs and used to justify the authorities’ description of the opposition MDC as a "puppet" party.

The official media also roped in some civic organisations, perceived as anti-government, such as the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), to the plot.

And the private media’s reticence on the issue only provided the government media greater free rein in their misinformation campaign. For example, missing in the official media’s evaluations of the matter were the real reasons behind Zimbabwe’s pariah status. Thus, they made no attempt to view Blair’s statement in the context of broader efforts by both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the international community to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis, blamed on bad governance.

ZTV (23/6, 8pm) led in this distortion campaign by perpetuating the idea that Britain and the MDC were conspiring to "unconstitutionally remove the government from power."

This is despite the fact that extracts of Blair’s statements that ZTV, The Herald and Chronicle (24/6) carried did not refer to any undemocratic ouster of Mugabe’s government.

The three merely quoted him as saying his government was working "closely with MDC on the measures" that should be taken against Zimbabwe. Said Blair: "I am afraid that these measures and sanctions… are of limited effect on the Mugabe regime. It is important that we give every chance to, and make every effort to try to help, those in South Africa – the southern part of Africa – to put pressure for change on Mugabe regime, because there is no salvation for the people of Zimbabwe until that regime is changed".

The government media’s partisan coverage was also demonstrated by the way they failed to balance their reports with input from the MDC.

Instead, The Herald and Chronicle merely used MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube’s statements carried by the London based Times calling for the expansion of targeted sanctions to "include all individuals who play a leading role in perpetuating the illegitimate rule of Mugabe and his ZANU PF government" as further evidence of the "connection between the MDC and the entire racist British establishment…" Ncube’s comments followed the central bank governor Gideon Gono’s visit to the UK to solicit foreign currency from Zimbabweans in the diaspora.

The official media also actively aided and magnified the authorities’ subsequent justification for taking uncompromising action against their perceived enemies.

For example, The Herald and Chronicle (24/6) revealed that ZANU PF had moved a motion in parliament urging the government to investigate Blair’s statement and "take legal action against anyone in the MDC involved in the plan" arguing that "calls to extend sanctions to Dr. Gono was an attack on the economic interests of the country and as such constituted a crime in terms of the country’s constitution."

Power FM (24/6, 6am and 1pm) carried similar sentiments. However, these media did not ask how the inclusion of Gono on Britain’s travel embargo list amounted to an attack on the economy.

Instead, The Herald (25/6) claimed that "by calling for sanctions, the MDC leaders are once again showing that they are the real enemies of the people…Those who campaign against their own country should be made to pay for their treachery".

Only Studio 7 (22/6) and The Zimbabwe Independent (25/6) gave an alternative view. For example, Studio 7 quoted MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi pointing out that Blair’s "unfortunate" remarks were "taken out of context by the state media and ZANU- PF who seek to find connections between the MDC and external forces, particularly the British…"

Nyathi contended that his party did not have "any particular contact with the British government or any other government for that matter" but merely related "to any government … from the perspective of a party that seeks a constitutional solution to the crisis in Zimbabwe".

The Independent agreed. Its comment observed that attempts to criminalize the opposition were part of ZANU PF’s campaign to "close democratic space" and "illustrates the siege mentality currently gripping the ruling party." Further, it dismissed this siege mentality as a "self-evident lie" saying "so long as (ZANU PF) continues to prevent democratic discourse, close newspapers and harass the opposition with repressive laws, Zanu PF will be confronted by people impatient with its empty mantras and demanding change".

But the government media would not give up. Power FM (25/6,6am) cited a document allegedly crafted by the MDC on November 19 last year calling on African countries sympathetic to its cause "to be more openly critical and vocal against the government of Zimbabwe" as an example of the party’s alleged machinations against government.

The Chronicle (21/6) added a spin to the conspiracy when it included NGOs to its list of subversive organisations. It claimed: "With the opposition in disarray and ZANU PF poised to make a clean sweep in next year’s plebiscite, powerful western governments intent on effecting regime change…have put together a coalition of NGOs transcending the various key institutions of the country in a bid to penetrate and weaken them ahead of the elections."

As proof, the paper cited a MISA team, which was in the country recently on a fact-finding mission on the media situation. It claimed that it "had established that the mission was being sent to validate an existing adverse report on the media situation", which would be "used to condemn the 2005 polls as not free and fair".

The paper further alleged – without any evidence – that one of MISA’s senior officials, Luckson Chipare, "was said to be in Europe last week to get even more funding specifically to help oust the ruling party".

Based on these unsubstantiated claims, the paper (22/6), in its article Govt urged to ban MISA, then reported that Bulawayo residents had urged government to "move with speed to curtail the activities of organisations such as MISA as they were undermining the country’s sovereignty".

Incidentally, the Independent revealed that government had drafted a Bill to regulate the operations of NGOs and churches. It quoted Social Welfare Minister Paul Mangwana saying the Bill was aimed at "dealing with churches and NGOs that were inciting people to rebel against government".

Mangwana said the Bill would establish a code of conduct, which churches and NGOs would "stick to" or "we are going to simply close all the doors and not allow them in this country anymore".

The authorities’ attempts to shield the country’s governance issues from international scrutiny on the pretext of safeguarding the country’s sovereignty was further exposed by Radio Zimbabwe and ZTV (24/6, 8pm) and The Herald (25/06).

These media unquestioningly quoted a belligerent President Mugabe as having told an African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Summit in Mozambique that his government would not "permit former colonial masters and imperialists" to observe the country’s elections adding that only "developing and friendly countries" would be allowed to do so. Mugabe, who also attacked Blair over his parliamentary utterances, reiterated that Zimbabweans were prepared to "shed blood to defend the country’s sovereignty" against "British interference".

However, Studio 7 (25/6) reported a Crisis in Zimbabwe official saying his organisation did not understand why Mugabe would ban Western election observers if his government were committed to holding free and fair elections.

Meanwhile, The Herald (26/6) reported that the ZANU PF politburo had approved proposed "sweeping" electoral reforms submitted by the party’s legal department. Highlights of the proposals include, the establishment of an ‘independent’ electoral commission, whose chief officer would be appointed by the President, the abolishment of mobile polling stations and the replacement of wooden ballot boxes with translucent ones.

In fact, almost all the proposed changes seemingly embraced parts of the MDC’s demands to government to create a level playing field, a point noted by The Standard (27/6). However, The Herald (26/6) said the reforms were precipitated by consultations among SADC members states on principles and guidelines governing democratic elections which the region came up with as a way of guarding against the "intrusive behaviour of the US and the EU".

The Sunday Mail (27/6) merely quoted political analyst and ZANU PF member William Nhara and its faceless columnist Lowani Ndlovu endorsing the proposals.

The Standard and the Sunday Mirror (27/6) were more sceptical. They pointed out that the President’s involvement in the appointment of commissioners was bound to compromise the neutrality of the electoral body.

The Standard argued that the changes were "not far reaching enough" saying there was need for regional leaders and the international community to pressurize President Mugabe "to repeal the repressive laws" such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) "and respect the rule of law".

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