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Weekly Media Update 2010-5
Monday February 8th - Sunday February 14th 2010
Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
February 19, 2010

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Repressive law used to 'intimidate' private media

This week's attacks on the private media by the chief of police and the subsequent charging, on criminal defamation, of distributors for the foreignbased, privately owned Zimbabwean newspapers, fuels growing cynicism about government's sincerity in implementing media reforms guaranteed under the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

The Standard and The Zimbabwean On Sunday (14/2) reported the charging of two directors of Adquest - distributing agents for The Zimbabwean stable of newspapers - on February 10, for contravening the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23, which criminalises publication of "falsehoods prejudicial to the state".

Their indictment stemmed from a story published in The Zimbabwean On Sunday (10/1): Mnangagwa plots fight-back: talk of new splinter group, alleging infighting in ZANU PF over President Mugabe's succession.

Coincidentally, it also came just two days after Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri censured privately owned newspapers and online agencies, where he singled out publisher and editor of The Zimbabwean newspapers (Wilf) Mbanga by name, for "tarnishing the force's image by reporting falsehoods"
(The Herald 10/2).

Responding to the police's charges against the Adquest distributors, The Standard quoted Mbanga describing them as "ludicrous" and "calculated to . . . intimidate the distributors of the newspaper" as they "had nothing to do with" the circulation of the publication in question, having only taken over the distribution role from Publications Distributors on January 14.

While Article 19 of the GPA recognises the right to freedom of expression and the role of a free and diversified media in a multi-party democracy, MMPZ is concerned that the authorities' overzealous reaction to criticism by resorting to discredited legislation to prevent the media from carrying out its duty to inform the public indicates the true nature of government's intolerance - and makes public accountability impossible.

In fact, despite the failure of the country's current laws to acknowledge the media's right to publish information in the national interest, MMPZ believes that where allegations of the publication of falsehoods arise, redress should be sought through civil law.

Government has a duty to urgently repeal all repressive media laws, including any criminal restrictions on content, and to activate the newly announced Zimbabwe Media Council without delay, since it offers a potentially more acceptable means of arbitration.

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