|
Back to Index
Extinguishing
of alternative viewpoints continues
Media
Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted
from Weekly Media Update 2006-3
Monday January 16th 2006 – Sunday January 22nd
2006
THE authorities’
determination to extinguish alternative viewpoints was again illustrated
by their continuing onslaught against the country’s few remaining
independent sources of information.
The Standard
(22/1) reported that the police had detained a former reporter of
the banned Daily News, Sydney Saize, for "three
nights" on "suspicion of violating the draconian"
media laws. The journalist was only released after his lawyer filed
an urgent application "to compel the State to bring"
him to court. Reportedly, the State was "dragging its
feet" in taking the reporter to court on the grounds
that "further investigations were under way".
And as this
report was being compiled the police charged six trustees of the
privately run Voice of the People for violating the Broadcasting
Services Act, which prohibits broadcasting without a licence (The
Herald, SW Radio Africa and Studio 7, 25/1). The six were remanded
on $4 million bail each.
Earlier, The
Standard revealed that the police had "descended"
on the homes of two of the trustees, Arnold Tsunga and Nhlanhla
Ngwenya. According to the paper, when they could not locate the
two they threatened to confiscate some of Ngwenya’s property and
arrested two of Tsunga’s employees as "ransom".
While private
radio stations carried similar reports the next day, the government
media completely ignored the incidents.
Such repressive
acts, aimed terrorizing those still working in the media and shrinking
the country’s media space, further exposes official claims that
Zimbabwe is a ‘mature democracy’.
In other developments,
The Financial Gazette (19/1) retracted a story it published
last December claiming that the Central Intelligence Organization
forced the government-controlled Media and Information Commission
(MIC) to overturn its decision to grant Associated Newspapers of
Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of The Daily News, an operating
licence. The paper claimed that its story, which heavily relied
on former MIC commissioner, Jonathan Maphenduka, and "impeccable
sources" was "unfounded and baseless"
because "at no time did the CIO influence the decision
of the MIC".
However, SW
Radio Africa (19/1) reported Reporters Without Borders alleging
that the Gazette only apologised after the MIC threatened
to withdraw the paper’s licence. Reportedly, the paper had initially
refused to retract the story.
It said the
MIC chairman, Tafataona Mahoso, allegedly made the threat when he
summoned the paper’s editor Sunsleey Chamunorwa and his deputy,
Hama Saburi, to his office as part of the commission’s annual review
of newspaper licences and journalists’ accreditation.
If true, this
exposes the MIC’s abuse of its mandate and vindicates calls for
the repeal of the repressive media laws, under which the commission
was established.
The Sunday
Mail (22/1) also retracted a story it published in June 2004
claiming that the MDC had bribed "government and ruling
party officials" to "return farms"
to former white farmers in a "well-planned scam"
meant to "reverse the land reform programme".
Notably, such
unfounded conspiracies have been used to denigrate the opposition
ahead of an election, only to be withdrawn months afterwards.
Visit the MMPZ
fact sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
