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MISA-Zimbabwe refutes reports on role in compiling African Union reports
MISA-Zimbabwe
July 15, 2004

MISA-Zimbabwe would like to challenge media reports that have appeared over the past few weeks linking the organisation to flimsy allegations ranging from its alleged role in effecting "regime change in Zimbabwe" to participating in compiling the Zimbabwe Report on behalf of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR).

The allegations in the public media that the ACHPR report was drafted by MISA-Zimbabwe are false.

We note that when the Commissioners visited Zimbabwe in 2002, they had the chance to meet a cross spectrum of Zimbabweans from the government, state and private media to civic society organisations. MISA-Zimbabwe believes that from these observations, the Commissioners were able to compile the report as indicated by the factual evidence presented before them.

MISA-Zimbabwe denies that it had a hand in the compilation of the report.

Notwithstanding that, MISA-Zimbabwe appreciates and welcomes the observations of the Commissioners that there is gross violation of media and freedom of expression rights. We commend the Commission for recommending that anti media and freedom of expression laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) be scrapped.

With specific reference to The Sunday Mail of 11 July which carried an opinion piece by one Lowani Ndlovu alleging that MISA-Zimbabwe "worked closely" with ACHPR Commissioner Andrew Chigovera, MISA-Zimbabwe again denies that Commissioner Chigovera works closely with the organisation in a way that might be construed as suspicious.

Commissioner Chigovera recently presented a paper at a MISA-Zimbabwe organized meeting in Masvingo on how the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights operates.

As an African Union Commissioner, Mr. Chigovera has a duty to be accessible to all Zimbabweans and Africans who seek an understanding of how the Commission works and this is as far as MISA-Zimbabwe has interacted with Commissioner Chigovera. It must also be noted that Commissioner is a former Attorney General of the government of Zimbabwe.

MISA-Zimbabwe would like to state categorically that over the years, we have sought to keep communication lines with the Department of Information open. Infact, top officials like Professor Jonathan Moyo and George Charamba have attended our meetings.

In addition, MISA-Zimbabwe has always been working with existing government departments, Ministries and parliament whenever the need arose. MISA-Zimbabwe has not engaged its membership and stakeholders in any dialogue related to "regime change". Instead, its campaigns and activities have sought to highlight that Zimbabwean authorities must appreciate the need for a pluralistic independent, diverse and free media.

Such an appreciation has been shown by Parliament in its various reports that there is need, for example to open the airwaves to other players and that the state broadcaster must be run more democratically. An improved media and freedom of expression environment can only be created by all Zimbabweans, working together and not through "regime change" as alleged by the state media. MISA-Zimbabwe has no mandate from its membership to engage in political activities and all our activities are carried out in the open.

Branding MISA-Zimbabwe an opposition organisation working "in cahoots with western governments to effect a regime change in the country" as stated in The Chronicle of 22 June, will not distract us from our core business which is stated in the Windhoek Declaration of 1991. The declaration states among other things that, we will struggle for the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press as essential components to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development.

MISA-Zimbabwe notes with sadness that the public media makes it its daily business to demonise organisations and individuals for petty political gain. The stories carried by the public media on MISA-Zimbabwe and other organisations and individuals represent all that has gone wrong with journalism in Zimbabwe.

As an organisation formed by Zimbabwe media workers to represent and champion their interest, MISA-Zimbabwe will not be distracted from its mandate. Any democratic country has room for dissent and differences, but the views expressed by the public media not only borders on hate speech, but are destructive to the country in the long run.

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