|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
Zimbabwe's Elections 2013 - Index of Articles
Statement on the harassment of journalists and media houses
MISA-Zimbabwe
August 14, 2013
MISA Zimbabwe
strongly condemns the recent harassment of journalists and media
houses as unwarranted obstruction of the media’s conduct of
duty. The cases include the brief detention of SABC journalists
for filming at the venue of the last MDC-T rally ahead
of the July 31 polls; the unexplained raid of Community
Radio Harare offices by members of the police and the ‘hunt’
for two foreign correspondents over a story they wrote on the alleged
uranium deal between Zimbabwe and Iran.
These incidents
come a few days after the elections, whose outcome has raised doubts
on whether the new government would fulfil its constitutional obligations
among which is securing media freedom and access to information.
It is therefore important that the authorities take firm and decisive
action against such blatant violations of the new constitution for
them to build public confidence and eliminate any misgivings on
their democratic credentials.
The protection
of media freedom and citizens’ right to access information
through a medium of their choice as well as other civil liberties
enshrined in the Bill of Rights will help Zimbabwe break with the
tyrannical governance of the past and steer the country into a new
democratic dispensation anchored on a culture of constitutionalism.
Visit
the MISA-Zimbabwe 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
|
