Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
May 26th – June 1st 2003
Weekly update 2003-21

CONTENTS

1. GENERAL COMMENT
2. THE 'FINAL PUSH'
3. ECONOMIC ISSUES

1. General comment

While this report was going to print, urban Zimbabweans were witnessing government’s harsh curtailment of their constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully against the political and economic crisis facing the country. Sensing the possible success of the MDC call on Zimbabweans to protest publicly, the authorities flooded the streets of the country’s towns and cities with armed security forces to crush the opposition’s mass action.

A disturbing aspect of this crackdown is the fact that the private media, particularly The Daily News, were also targeted. The privately owned daily has become an invaluable alternative source of information for those seeking to escape the public media’s daily propaganda. It was of great concern therefore, when The Daily News (3/5) reported widespread acts of vandalism by ZANU PF youths who destroyed $375,000 worth of its papers across the country. Soldiers also reportedly barred some vendors from selling the paper because it was allegedly “fanning the protests”. In a follow-up to its initial story, The Daily News (4/5) also reported that the police witnessed this blatant vandalism in some cases and did nothing to prevent it. Thus the public was deprived of an important source of information and the rule of law was again flouted with impunity. Also of concern was The Standard’s report (1/6) that police in Gwanda had barred the entry of the South African weekly newspaper The Sunday Times, which has been a persistent critic of government policies. Notably, the public media ignored these latest incidents highlighting the assault on media freedom.

The destruction and barring of newspapers from circulation is a blow to Zimbabweans’ constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of expression and to receive and impart information freely. This action also erodes the nation’s democratic aspirations and makes a mockery of government claims that it respects freedom of the Press. Zimbabweans need and should depend upon fair and accurate reporting from a variety of news media if they are to be informed.
The Media Monitoring Project therefore condemns these illegal and cowardly acts and calls upon the relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice if Zimbabwe is not to witness a further erosion in the authority of the law.

2. The ‘Final Push’

The countdown to the MDC’s mass protests scheduled for June 2-6 to force President Mugabe to commit himself to a negotiated internal political settlement, was an emotional bone of contention between the public and private media. Not only did both sections of the media disagree over the pending MDC mass protest, they also covered the matter so feverishly that the finer details of the weeklong action, dubbed the “final push”, remained mostly unintelligible to their audiences for the better part of the week. This is despite the fact that the Press devoted 58 stories to the mass action and related activities, 41 (71 percent) of which were published by the private Press and the rest by the public Press. ZTV accorded 29 minutes and 10 seconds or 25 percent of the total 117 minutes (excluding business, weather and sport segments) allocated to 8pm bulletins of the week to the issue.

However, the public media were, by far, the worst offenders. For example, in its 17 stories on the issue, the public Press, and indeed ZBC, merely disseminated government threats against the MDC-organized demonstration and provided none of its own independent coverage or interpretation of the unfolding situation. Certainly, such was the public media’s narrow-mindedness that it even failed to report news of the MDC’s mass action announced at a weekend rally in Highfield (The Daily News, 26/5). They only reported it the following day in The Herald and Chronicle (27/5). Even then, it was only reported in the context of a response by Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi threatening to “crush any demonstration which will lead to the destruction of property or the threat to national security”. It was the first of many official threats that flooded the bulletins and newspapers of the public media.
In fact, government’s portrayal of MDC demonstrations as always being violent became the hallmark of the public media’s stories. It was not surprising therefore, that it used the excuse of alleged past MDC violence to justify implicit threats of violence against any mass demonstration. Examples are: Security forces should brook no nonsense, Chronicle (28/5); We will deal with perpetrators of violence: ZDF, The Herald (29/5); No to anarchy, says government, The Herald (30/5); Security forces on full alert, says Goche, The Herald (31/5) and Opposition-led strikes must be banned, The Sunday Mail (1/6).

ZBC (29/5 & 1/6) also carried statements issued by ZANU PF officials and supporters threatening to crush the MDC demonstrations. For example, ZTV (1/06, 8pm) quoted Mashonaland East governor, David Karimanzira, telling ZANU PF youths “to be vigilant and flush out unruly MDC youths who will be spotted trying to coerce members of the public into joining the illegal mass action.”
With this sort of focus, it is hardly surprising that the public media also ignored related news, such as a US government warning advising against the use of force to stop the mass protest (The Daily News, 29/5).
Only the private media welcomed the MDC’s proposed mass action and offered an alternative view on the matter. However, its obsession with the “final push” also exposed it to bias, which manifested itself in its dependence on MDC statements rather than on informed and independent analysis.

Except for SW Radio Africa (29/5), The Zimbabwe Independent (30/5), The Daily News (31/5), The Daily News on Sunday (1/6) and The Standard of the same day, most private newspapers early in the week failed to explain fully to their readers the spirit behind the “final push” or what exactly was happening. As a result audiences remained no wiser as to the form of the “final push” or whether civic organizations were involved as well. The MDC itself was to blame for this for its failure to be explicit, but this should not exonerate the media from falling into the same trap.

This confusion was compounded by public media reports that quoted government officials deliberately misinterpreting the MDC’s objective in an attempt to criminalize the party’s protest. ZTV (29/05, 8pm), for example, quoted Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa saying, “The clear intention behind such threatened actions is to effect a coup d’etat against the legitimately elected government of Zimbabwe. Resorting to a coup d’etat is unconstitutional and unlawful and that constitutes a serious crime of high treason…” He added that, “The state can not therefore take such threats lightly as…they are being directed against the authority of the government and are calculated and aimed at achieving, through unconstitutional means, the unlawful removal from power of a constitutionally elected government and incitement of the general public to commit acts of violence, banditry and anarchy.” Chinamasa’s statements subsequently formed the basis of public media reports as illustrated by ZTV (30/5, 8pm) and The Herald (31/5). The paper claimed that the MDC action translated to a “coup against the legitimately elected Government of Zimbabwe” and that it was “an act of economic sabotage which also includes banditry and terrorism”.

However, SW Radio Africa, (29/05) quoted MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi belying such claims by stating that, “the aim of this pressure is to bring ZANU PF and its regime to the negotiating table so that there are meaningful…principled discussions. That is what it’s all about” The Standard (1/6) also stated in its editorial: “The ruling party in its panic over the real possibility of Zimbabwe’s streets being filled with demonstrators is using the lie of overthrowing the government as one of its chief propaganda arguments against the planned marches.” It noted that “not once” had the MDC mentioned “the word coup” during its countrywide mobilisation of its supporters.
Furthermore, while the public media portrayed government’s threats to deploy heavily armed security forces to “crush” the protest as normal practice, only the private media reminded its readers that this was wrong in a democracy. The Standard, for example, argued in its front-page editorial that the “ sovereignty” argument peddled by government as an excuse to thwart the MDC’s “final push” was “not a preserve of the ruling class” but that the constitution was there “to protect the rights of all Zimbabweans…”

Apart from demystifying government’s claims that sovereignty was more important than the MDC’s constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully, the private media equally exposed the government’s hypocrisy of preaching peace on one hand while practising violence on the other. This was epitomized by their coverage of politically motivated beatings and other human rights violations by security agents against perceived ZANU PF opponents during the build-up to the “final push”. For example, the private Press carried nine stories on such government heavy-handedness and recorded 12 incidents of politically motivated violence.

By comparison, the public Press carried five stories, all blaming the MDC for human rights violations. None focused on government’s excesses. Three of the stories were court cases alleging MDC violence. One such example was the case of a Harare woman who is suing the MDC, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe for $5,5 million after her “car was petrol-bombed… in the violent MDC-organized stay-away in March” (ZBC 29/5, 8pm, The Herald and Chronicle, 29/5). As if to buttress the notion that the MDC was violent, ZBC chronicled the party’s allegedly violent track record since 1998. Notably, the MDC was only formed in 1999. The reporter stated that, “the transformation of the ZCTU into the opposition MDC and its affiliate organizations such as the NCA, has seen an escalation of violence under the guise of mass action including the bombing of public property”. The Herald (28/5) also used prayer meetings called by the MDC to further malign the opposition as lawless. It accused a “group of MDC women, disguised as churchgoers” of holding an “illegal demonstration in First Street…in an apparent rehearsal of next week’s planned protests by the opposition party”. How the paper knew that the women were not genuine worshippers remained unclear save for its observations that “…some of the women who were singing religious songs, could be heard complaining that they had not been paid for taking part in the illegal demonstration.” However, when the police swooped on the prayer group the next day and arrested three of them and assaulted the others, the paper remained quiet.
The public was only alerted to these violent arrests by The Daily News and The Daily Mirror (29/5).

Meanwhile, it emerged at the end of the week that government was determined to block the MDC from embarking on its mass action, when ZBC (31/5, 8pm) reported that Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri had been granted a High Court order declaring the mass action illegal. The Sunday Mail and The Standard (1/6) carried the report the following morning, while their new rival The Daily News on Sunday (1/6) inexplicably missed the story. Without critically analyzing this development, ZBC celebrated the judgment claiming that Zimbabweans had welcomed the court order saying they would now “be able to go about their normal activities in peace”. The court order further armed the police in their resolve to suppress MDC demonstrations. ZTV (1/06, 8pm) reported that the police “will enforce to the fullest letter of the law without fear or favour the High Court order which declared illegal the MDC mass action which had been scheduled for tomorrow”

3. Economic issues

Never before has the media carried so many sobering reports on Zimbabwe’s plunge towards total economic ruin as in the seven days under review. While ZBC only concentrated on the shortage of bank notes, the Press carried a massive 120 stories on the economic meltdown and its effects on various sectors of the economy.
However, the private Press emerged as the torchbearer in this crusade by publishing 80 (67%) of the 120 stories, compared to the public Press’ 40 (33%). Besides carrying more stories on Zimbabwe’s unprecedented economic decline, the private Press also carried less sanitized stories compared to the public Press, which, contrary to the evidence, still attempted to paint a picture of economic well-being in some of its stories. Load shedding to end, The Herald (26/5); RBZ acts on crisis, The Herald (30/5) and Government to help farmers procure fuel, Chronicle (27/5) typified such superficially optimistic coverage at the expense of well-informed analysis.

Perhaps the privately owned Daily Mirror (29/5) carried the most peculiar story on Zimbabwe’s economic ills that was equal to the worst excesses of the public Press’ propaganda. Its unsubstantiated story, Money crisis: Britain involved, saw a conspiracy in the scarcity of local bank notes by linking the UK government, exiled Zimbabweans and local businesses. The story claimed, through an unnamed single source, that the three groups had channeled about three million British pounds into the country for sale on the black market “in a move believed to be economic sabotage meant to instill anger into the populace and result in mayhem”. To lend credibility to such speculation, the paper sourced comments from ZANU PF and MDC officials, as well as the British High Commission. They all denied the allegations.

Notwithstanding this however, both sections of the Press mirrored the extent of the economic crisis that has beset all sectors of the economy. Below are examples of some of the economic ills facing the country the Press recorded during the week under review.

v The Herald (26/5), Falcon Gold faces collapse.
v Chronicle (26/5), Brain drain hits council.
v The Daily News (26/5), State to ask UN agency to extend food assistance.
v The Herald (27/5), ATMs down as cash shortages continue.
v Chronicle (27/5), Multi-million dollar plant lying idle.
v The Daily News (27/5), Moyo warns of looming health crisis; Low maize deliveries to GMB spell disaster; ‘Zimbabwe among world’s worst economic performers’.
v The Herald (28/5), Agric inputs up; Bank notes crisis worsens; No agreement between workers, management at ZESA.
v Chronicle (28/5), Doctors demand cash upfront; Air Zim suspends flights.
v The Daily News (28/5) Banks buy money; Striking ZESA workers defiant; Striking Stanbic workers arrested.
v The Herald (29/5), Load-shedding affects court operations.
v Chronicle (29/5), Shops tighten hire purchase regulations.
v The Daily News (29/5), RBZ holds crisis meeting on forex.
v The Daily Mirror (29/5), Country’s blood bank runs dry; Zimbabwe ostrich meat production slumps; Fertilizer shortages hampering crop production; Wheat farmers concerned about the next crop.
v The Financial Gazette (29/5), Anglo ‘defects’ to SA; Axe to fall on 360 workers; Retail banks suspend issuing personal loans.
v The Business Tribune (29/5), Prices shocker; Building industry shelves 135 000 jobs; Outlook worsens for Zim’s troubled money market; Skyrocketing commodity prices reduce company revenues; Value of properties depreciates as maintenance costs soar.
v The Zimbabwe Independent (30/5), Maize seed shortage looms; Tobacco output set to decline; Zimbabwe winter wheat harvests look grim.
v The Daily Mirror (30/5), RBZ under fire for cash shortage.
v The Daily News on Sunday (1/6), NRZ workers threaten to strike over wages.
v The Sunday Mirror (1/6), Zimbabwe’s national herd depleted; Central bank fails.
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] [2]; [email protected] [3]

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