|
Back to Index
Weekly Media Review 2011-8
The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Monday February 21st - Sunday February 27th 2011
March 04, 2011
Download
this document
- Acrobat
PDF version (115KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader
on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking
here
ZANU
PF anti-sanctions campaign floods state media
A sustained campaign
by ZANU PF and the public media to portray alleged Western sanctions
against Zimbabwe as the greatest hindrance to the country's progress,
exposed the extent of abuse of these media by the ZANU PF arm of
government.
In an attempt to give
this campaign a national appeal, the official papers carried misleading
full-page advertisements inserted by ZANU PF but masquerading as
a Zimbabwe government initiative, urging Zimbabweans from all walks
of life to support it.
The adverts appeared
for three days leading up to the launch of a "national anti-sanctions
petition campaign" rally in Harare this week, which was beamed
live on national television for approximately five hours.
President Mugabe delivered
a 90-minute speech at the event, which echoed ZANU PF's election
campaign propaganda.
Zimbabwe's most popular
political party, the MDC-T, was accused of lobbying for the imposition
of sanctions, which are allegedly bleeding the economy, hurting
ordinary Zimbabweans and threatening the inclusive government. This
was reflected in 68 stories the state media carried [ZBC (48) and
official papers (20)].
Although the
government media hinted that the two MDC formations were likely
to boycott the event (The Herald, 2/3), they suffocated their reasons
for doing so and discredited the move as an indication of their
lack of commitment to the Global
Political Agreement, which urges the three coalition parties
to campaign against sanctions.
The private media quoted
the two MDC formations expressing their reasons for the boycott.
They viewed the event as a ZANU PF project, accused the party of
insincerity and demanded an end to political violence and the release
of detained political and human rights activists (NewsDay &
New Zimbabwe.com, 2/3)
They also reported that
ZANU PF supporters coerced people, especially Harare residents,
to attend the event (Studio 7, NewsDay and Sokwanele.com, 1 &
2/3).
The private media also
doubted whether the campaign would influence the West to change
its perception of Zimbabwe (Studio 7, 1/3).
This was reflected in
some of the 14 stories they carried.
Download
full document
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
|
