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Messengers
of inflammatory language
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2006-16
Monday
April 17th 2006- Sunday April 23rd 2006
THE extent to
which the government media have reduced themselves to becoming the
mindless messengers of inflammatory language from the authorities
aimed at instilling fear among citizens was illustrated by their
passive coverage of President Mugabe’s repeated threats against
the MDC.
For instance,
this week ZBH (18/4) and official dailies (19/4) supinely reported
Mugabe threatening to crush Morgan Tsvangirai’s planned mass protests
in his independence day speech, warning that those who dared demonstrate
against his government were "playing with fire"
and "inviting the full wrath of the law to descend
mercilessly" on them.
These media
allowed such crude threats to pass as normal without interpreting
them as autocratic and typical of a police state afraid of dissent.
Neither would they view them as a strange twist of fate, especially
when they seemed to negate the very democratic values the country
was supposed to be cherishing during its 26th independence
anniversary.
Although it
is important that the media should report such threats, it is their
failure to condemn them or discuss their negative ramifications
that projects them as accomplices in the repression of the Zimbabwean
population.
In fact, barely
two days after Mugabe threatened to quell the MDC protests, Studio
7 (20/4) recorded three new incidents of harassment and assault
of opposition officials, civic activists and general members of
the public by security agents and ruling party supporters.
In one of the
cases, the station reported that members of the Central Intelligence
Organisation had allegedly "abducted MDC provincial officers"
and threatened them with "death if they try to mobilise
people to demonstrate (against government)".
However, the
report only relied on the MDC information desk and lacked confirmation
from relevant authorities. Neither was there evidence to show that
the station made an effort to seek police comment.
In another incident,
ZANU PF supporters allegedly "abducted"
and assaulted National
Constitutional Assembly coordinator for Harare Nickson Nyikadzino,
accusing him of "selling out".
Armed soldiers
and police officers were also reportedly patrolling the streets
of Chitungwiza where they were harassing and dispersing residents
and vendors, especially "those who gathered in groups
of more than four people".
The government
media ignored these incidents.
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