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Online highlights - The fair deal campaign
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2007-33
Monday August 20th 2007 - Sunday August 26th 2007
August 30, 2007

The pen is mightier than the sword may be considered an inappropriate cliché in Zimbabwean media circles today. But it appears to be a fair assessment of the several months-long campaign by the online news agency, Zimdaily, to have Western countries extend travel sanctions against Zimbabwe's ruling elite to their children studying in those countries. Australia's decision recently to deport eight children of government officials studying in that country appears to be a reaction to Zimdaily's campaign - the first official response to such publicity. According to The Standard (19/8) the children of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, were among those who became a victim of the Australian government's decision.

While official media reports have narrowly blamed the West, especially Britain, for interfering in the country's affairs in protest against land reforms, the Australians' action came in the wake of Zimdaily's encouragement of Western governments to take action against the excesses of the ZANU PF government. The online agency (17/8) admitted as much, saying Australia's action showed their "noble campaign" had begun to "bear fruit". The next day it quoted Australia Foreign Affairs Minister Alexandra Downer, admitting that the children were being punished for their parents' "sins". Zimdaily (25/4)'s lobbying, dubbed the Fair Deal Campaign, began last April and was mainly concerned with exposing Zanu PF's "hypocrisy of castigating western countries" while their children lived and were being educated there.

Zimdaily's argument was that; "these children and relatives do not have a right to enjoy a society that has freedom of expression, speech, association and other basic freedoms that are denied people in Zimbabwe." According to the agency, the travel ban needed to be broadened to include immediate family members of the "perpetrators of violence, oppression and thuggery" in Zimbabwe, and to revoke their citizenship or residency in those countries. Zimdaily encouraged the public to provide information about these children's whereabouts. Zimdaily received many responses and several names were publicized on its website. These included those of Gono's children, the former army commander, Vitalis Zvinavashe, and Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi.

The agency also carried responses from the targeted children. One of them, a son of Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi, Davis, was quoted claiming they were being "unfairly" treated by the campaign. He felt it was justified for him and others like him to benefit, citing an example of a baker's children, who by virtue of their parent's position, have easier access to bread than the rest (Zimdaily 16/4).

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