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MDC denied access to public media
MISA-Zimbabwe
October 14, 2004

The government will not allow the opposition MDC access to the public media ahead of the parliamentary elections slated for March next year, the Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa said in Harare yesterday.

Chinamasa told Parliament during the question and answer session on 13 October 2004 that the government was not "stupid" to allow the MDC access to the state-controlled media.

He said doing so would enable the opposition party to propagate British and American propaganda to "effect an illegal regime change against a popularly elected government".

The SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections which among other provisions, stress the need for political tolerance, binds member states to allow all political parties equitable access to the state media.

The minister, who came short of branding the opposition MDC a terrorist organisation, said it was unthinkable to expect the United States government to allow Al Qaeda to broadcast on American television and radios.

"That will never happen even in Britain," he said.

On the ruling party’s monopoly of the state media, he said the scales were in fact tilted in favour of the MDC which he said enjoyed extensive coverage by CNN and the VOA.

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