Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
November 18th- November 24th 2002
Weekly update 2002-43

CONTENTS

* GENERAL COMMENT
* INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: DIPLOMATS ATTACKED
* RENEWED ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY AND THE AG

1. General comment

The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) notes with concern the
continued harassment of The Daily News by ZANU PF supporters and state
agents. The paper (20/11) reported that its reporters were detained when they
were covering a demonstration by pupils and civic organizations against a
deputy headmaster who allegedly raped a 13-year-old schoolgirl at Marimba
Park Primary school. The journalists were later released without charges
being preferred against them.
In another incident, The Daily News (22/11) reported that ZANU PF youths,
allegedly under instructions from a senior party official, destroyed copies of
the paper valued at $51,000 in Masvingo. No arrests were made despite the
fact that the police reportedly witnessed the incident.
These blatant acts of intolerance ultimately violate the public's right to access
information through media of their choice and grossly undermine their
constitutionally enshrined right to freedom of expression.
MMPZ calls upon government to create an enabling environment in which
journalists can practice without victimization and guarantee the unimpeded
circulation of papers throughout the country.
Meanwhile, in a week where media practitioners were supposed to have
tendered their application forms to the Media and Information Commission
appointed by government to regulate the media, The Herald (21/11) found
itself peddling falsehoods. The paper alleged that the United States embassy
had apologized to the Zimbabwean government for violating a regulation
requiring diplomats to inform government of their intention to travel beyond a
40km radius of Harare. This followed an attack on US staffers at Melfort. The
article relied only on an unnamed government official thereby compromising
its credibility.
The next day (22/11), The Daily News quoted a US official denying that his
embassy had apologized to government.
Such fabrication of stories is a punishable offence under the draconian
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), yet no arrest
was made.
The story is but one example of how the public media have violated the law
with impunity.
No journalist from the public media has ever been charged under a law that
has already seen 12 journalists, including a foreign correspondent, being
charged for allegedly breaching its provisions.
It is this selective application of the law that defeats the purpose of regulating
the media and further exposes government's intention to muzzle the private
media on the specious grounds that it is upholding the rule of law.
MMPZ calls on government to treat all media alike to avoid suspicion among
media practitioners and the public at large.
In fact government should repeal this law, which has been widely condemned
as eroding constitutional guarantees.
According to The Daily News (22/11), even the Supreme Court judges queried
the constitutionality of some provisions of AIPPA during the hearing of a legal
challenge by the Independent Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (IJAZ)
seeking to invalidate some provisions of the law. While ZTV (21/11 8pm) used
one of the judge's criticisms of the Attorney-General's office for its failure to
draft sections of a law in compliance with the provisions of the constitution, it
did not actually report the queries raised by the judges. ZTV's reporter
capitalized on the criticism, accusing the Attorney-General's office of
"sabotaging the government through bungling". And The Herald's report
of the court proceedings (22/11) simply censored the judges' queries
altogether.

2. International relations: Diplomats attacked

The on-going public media campaign against Britain took another dimension
during the week with the government-controlled media accusing the country of
fanning tribalism in Zimbabwe. They based their argument on a document
detailing a plot allegedly hatched by the Shona to exterminate the Ndebele. It
was alleged that British intelligence, working in collaboration with the MDC,
was using the document to divide the country on tribal lines. The Herald (19 &
20/11) and the Chronicle (20/11 & 21/11) serialized the grossly inflammatory
contents of the document, accusing the British intelligence of writing it (The
Herald 20/11) and circulating it (19/11) to mobilize international pressure
against the government.
ZBC (ZTV 8pm; Radio Zimbabwe 1pm & 3FM, 6am, 21/11) also broadcast
excerpts of the document alleging that the British, through the London-based
Zimbabwe Democracy Trust (ZDT), "have already capitalized on the
contents of the document and are presenting it as evidence against
President Mugabe at international meetings".
Not a shred of evidence was produced to establish these serious allegations
against the British and the MDC, and nor were they asked to comment,
although The Herald (21/11) did publish a denial from the British High
Commission on its letters page.
ZANU PF's secretary for publicity and information Nathan Shamuyarira also
dismissed the document as "totally false and. a shameful fabrication by
former Rhodesians", adding that they were a "heap of lies drawn from the
closets of the former colonialists", The Herald (22/11).
However, The Sunday News (24/11) maintained that Britain was behind the
document saying: "It exposes British Prime Minister Tony Blair's
incurable racist arrogance and his lack of interest in the truth".
The public media were so engrossed in vilifying Britain that they risked
fanning ethnic strife.
Meanwhile, The Herald and The Daily News (19/11) broke the news of the
detention and assault of American embassy employees by war veterans in
Melfort, barely a week after police shot dead an American citizen in unclear
circumstances. Predictably, the two dailies presented the detentions
differently.
The Herald, 'War vets detain US trespassers', blamed the attack on the
victims, presenting them as having been in Melfort illegally. The paper stated
that the employees were "briefly detained . after they allegedly threw
food from a moving vehicle to farm workers whom they filmed as they
jostled for the food", as if that was a criminal offence.
And to lend credibility to this, the paper linked the incident to remarks made
by the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Mark Bellamy, that
his country was considering "interventionist" measures to ensure non-
politicization of food aid.
This assertion was given more ammunition by Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo, who said the incident was "rooted in intrusive and interventionist
behaviour by some US embassy personnel who have been trespassing
onto some farms."
This was despite the fact that the US embassy protested against the incident,
which it described as "symptomatic" of lawlessness in Zimbabwe.
However, Moyo parried such accusations with observations that: "Everyone
knows that the US is the citadel of mafia conduct and racist vigilante
groups. So will America restore the rule of law by controlling the mafia
and the Ku Klux Klan?"
By contrast, The Daily News of the same day restricted itself to a statement
released by the embassy after the incident. It quoted the US embassy as
having said their staff were "going about their normal diplomatic work"
and "were conducting a survey of displaced farm workers in order to
assess the needs for humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe" when they
were attacked.
However, The Herald (21/11) would not relent. It continued to blame the US
embassy saying its officials had defied a government order "requiring
diplomats travelling more than 40km outside Harare to notify it in
advance". An unnamed Foreign Affairs Protocol Officer was extensively
quoted claiming that the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Joseph Sullivan, had
"apologized to the Government over the behaviour of his officers after
he was reminded of the regulation".
No comment was sought from the embassy, leaving the job to The Daily
News (22/11). The paper quoted the embassy spokesperson, Bruce Wharton
saying they " will never apologise for doing what we are supposed to be
doing".
The paper also reported that Melfort was actually within 40km of Harare.
However, the exact location of Melfort got confusing as The Herald's story of
the same day,' Government summons diplomat', maintained that it was
beyond the 40km mark.
While government, through its media, accused the US of defying its order,
SW Radio Africa (21/11) quoted a US state department spokesman as saying
Zimbabwe had breached the Vienna Convention, whose signatories should
guarantee the security of diplomats.
Meanwhile, The Daily News and The Herald (20/11) reported that two
government officials on the European Union's (EU) blacklist had been granted
visas by Belgium to attend the EU and African-Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
countries' Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA).
While The Herald simply reported the move as an "opportunity to clarify the
situation in the country.to EU parliamentarians", The Daily News rightly
predicted that their travel would spark "heated debate in the European
Parliament". The paper added that there were already reports from Brussels
that two British EU MPs, Glenys Kinnock and Geoffrey van Orden were
"leading a campaign" to bar the two ministers, Paul Mangwana and Chris
Kuruneri, from attending the meeting.
However, the rift between the private media and the public media was further
exposed in The Herald and The Daily News's (23/11) follow-up on the issue.
In its editorialised AFP story, 'ACP mulls boycott- Nations challenge EU's ban
of Zim officials', The Herald focused on the threatened boycott of the joint
meeting by ACP countries, while The Daily News' s Reuters' article, 'EU bars
ministers', emphasized the banning of the Zimbabwean ministers.
The Herald article was heavily dependent on comments from the ACP
parliamentarians, and Mangwana in particular, who acted as a reporter for the
public media in Brussels. Mangwana predictably described the impasse as a
"diplomatic victory against the machinations of the British".
The Daily News article on the other hand, was equally biased by failing to
report the position of the ACP and confining itself to quoting van Orden
saying: "as a body that upholds the democratic ideal and the rule of law,
the European Parliament must not play host to people who use murder
and intimidation to maintain their grip on power".
ZBC (ZTV, 23/11, 8pm; Radio Zimbabwe, 24/11, 1pm) pursued the angle
taken by The Herald. It quoted Mangwana as saying the ACP
parliamentarians made it categorically clear that the EU does not "have sole
right on their own to decide who should constitute the Zimbabwe
delegation" and viewed the decision to allow an MDC delegate to attend the
meeting as a "deliberate attempt to divide Zimbabwe and recognise the
MDC as if it's a government in power".
Those who rely on the broadcast media only heard the side of the EU from
SW Radio Africa (22/11). The short wave station quoted Kinnock as saying
the EU decision was "based on the need for consistency on the part of
the EU parliament in terms of the resolutions of the EU."
However, if ZBC was guilty of heavily relying on Mangwana for comments,
then SW Radio Africa was equally guilty of only using MDC and EU sources in
its bulletins.
Just like its public media counterparts, The Sunday Mail (24/11) narrowly
interpreted the ACP stance to support Zimbabwean delegates as a "major
victory" for Zimbabwe.
The Sunday Mirror (24/11) concurred, saying "analysts" had seen this as "a
renewed sense of solidarity".
However, the impression that developing countries were staunchly behind
Zimbabwe was belied by Botswana President Festus Mogae, who told a
London magazine that "the crisis Zimbabwe was facing was difficult to
solve because it represented a drought of good governance", The
Zimbabwe Independent (22/11).
Nonetheless, no media critically explored the conflict between travel sanctions
and international law, which stipulate that blacklisted individuals can attend
international conventions.

3. Renewed attack on the Judiciary and the AG

The decision by a Harare magistrate to acquit MDC legislators Tafadzwa
Musekiwa and Job Sikhala on November 15th of alleged fraud charges
apparently incensed ZANU PF officials such as Jonathan Moyo, who called
for an overhaul of the judicial system.
The public media's treatment of the issue exposed government's attempts to
cow the judiciary into making political judgments, as it openly admonished the
courts for failing to convict MDC suspects.
For example, The Herald (16/11), MDC legislators Sikhala, Musekiwa set free,
quoted Moyo subjectively criticising the attorney general's (AG) office for
"bungling" in cases involving the MDC. Moyo also claimed that the
magistrates' courts are "seemingly ready to find an excuse, however
lame, to let MDC accused persons off the hook".
Although the article did not quote ZANU PF saying it would challenge the
outcome, its sub headline, 'Zanu-PF to contest court ruling', exposed the
party's intention to openly politicize the country's criminal justice system.
Taking a cue from Moyo, The Herald (18/11) comment, 'Restore confidence in
justice system', called for an inquiry into "the entire justice system and
identify where the problem lies".
It lamented what it interpreted as preferential treatment of MDC officials and
members by the courts, and added: "In the absence of any convictions, the
questions of victimisation being raised by the MDC will seem valid".
ZBC followed suit. It reported (ZTV, 18/11, 8pm; Radio Zimbabwe & 3FM,
19/11, 6am) that the AG's office had been hit by "a fresh wave of criticism"
for acquitting MDC MPs and relaxing retired Justice Fergus Blackie's bail
conditions without informing the police. Blackie is facing charges of
obstructing the course of justice for allegedly improperly freeing a convict.
ZTV stated that "evidence at hand" suggested that the prosecutor the AG
assigned to Blackie's case had "developed cold feet and showed a lack of
commitment in dealing with the case". It also alleged that the AG's office
was sympathetic to the MDC and its sympathizers whose cases were "easily
dismissed by the courts".
Without furnishing its audience with the evidence, ZTV merely cited the
postponement of the treason trial of MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai,
Welshman Ncube and Renson Gasela and the disappearance of Tsvangirai's
docket.
But in the same bulletin, ZTV also gave the AG, Andrew Chigovera, the
opportunity to explain the legal procedures involved in criminal cases.
Similarly, The Daily Mirror (19/11) also quoted Chigovera defending his office.
Other private papers viewed this latest attack on the judiciary as politically
motivated.
For example, The Daily News (20/11) quoted Sikhala and Musekiwa, saying
Moyo "was grieved" because of the cases he had lost against them, and that
he was "trying to influence the courts to make political judgments".
In its comment in the same issue, the paper observed that Moyo's criticism of
the judiciary highlighted the manner in which the executive had encroached
into other arms of government, adding that Moyo had "overstepped his
bounds" and his criticism "only strengthened the case for those who say
government is out to remove from parliament as many MDC legislators
as possible".
The Financial Gazette (21/11) quoted a constitutional law expert, Lovemore
Madhuku as saying: "The AG's office is being viewed as politically
ineffective, hence efforts are being made to politicise the office and
force it to make political decisions that will lead to political prosecution,
no matter how impossible".
Earlier, The Daily Mirror (20/11) quoted ZANU leader Wilson Kumbula
defending the AG and blaming government for appointing "some police
officers who are Zanu PF apologists," who "arrest members of the
opposition and just push cases to the courts without adequate
evidence".
The Standard (24/11) observed that the AG's office should not yield to
political pressure to prosecute cases that had no legal merit, if it wanted to
avoid criticism.
Ends

The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe,15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4
703702, E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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