Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
January 20th to January 26th 2003
Weekly update 2003-03

CONTENTS

Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
January 20th to January 26th 2003
Weekly update 2003-03

CONTENTS

1. GENERAL COMMENT
2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
3. KUWADZANA VIOLENCE AND RIGHTS ABUSES

1. General comment

It is normal for media to have different interpretations of topical issues.
The end product of this is editorial diversity, the cornerstone of press
freedom. However, it is a serious violation of ethical journalistic practice
to distort and misrepresent factual events and statements in order to
reinforce a particular political position.
A classic example of this distortion was observed in The Herald (25/1). In
its endeavour to gloss over the chaotic land reform programme and give it an
international seal of approval, the paper disfigured remarks by James
Morris, the UN special envoy for humanitarian needs in Southern Africa. This
it did by interpreting his remark that "the future of Zimbabwe depended on
the success of a robust agro-based economy" to mean that he (and by
inference, the UN) accepted "the irreversibility of land reform in essence".
The next day, The Standard (26/1) exposed the distortion.
It quoted Morris saying The Herald story was "100% lies". Said Morris in the
story: "I did not accept that the land reform was irreversible as they (The
Herald), quote me as saying. It was a gross misrepresentation of the worst
form."
Morris also castigated The Herald for incorrectly referring to him as Tim,
the name of his son. The Herald later (28/1) published a letter from Morris,
which clarified what he had said, but it made no apologies.
Such recklessness leads to a decline in public confidence in the media as a
source of credible and truthful information.
Even more serious has been the appearance of highly emotional and
inflammatory opinion articles in the public Press, mainly attacking the
British government, the foreign media and the opposition MDC. In one of
these (17/1), The Herald allowed its correspondent, David
Nyekorach-Matsanga, to employ grossly crude and flagrant lies about foreign
journalists in his efforts to discredit stories in the British media about a
plan to remove President Mugabe. Without providing a shred of evidence, his
insulting invective included the statement that ".most of these so-called
undercover journalists are gays who hate President Mugabe."
His irrational tirade then alleged that "It has also been revealed that most
of the opposition members are being sexually abused by these high-flying
under-cover journalists who are paying up to £500 per night for sexual
therapy they can't have in Britain," and named some journalists working for
the British media, who, he alleged, were homosexual.
While this appalling piece of writing reveals something about what
preoccupies the mind of its author, The Herald's editors should be ashamed
of themselves for allowing such false and abusive material to be published.
Meanwhile, no media paid much attention to the trial of MDC youths accused
of torching a ZUPCO bus.
The Herald (24/1) reported that magistrate Caroline Anne Chigumira had
remanded the youths in custody to February 5th despite the prosecutor's
admission that there was no evidence linking them to the charge. Instead of
subjecting both Chigumira and prosecutor Thabani Mpofu's observations to a
fair examination, the paper found itself subjectively exonerating Chigumira
at the expense of Mpofu who was accused of "defending criminal suspects".
No other paper provided a legal analysis of the case or asked how the
Attorney-General's office had allowed the case to go to trial if the state
had no evidence linking those arrested to the offence.

2. International relations

The strained relations between Zimbabwe and the international community
resurfaced and were once again a source of contention between the private
and the public media during the week. This stemmed mainly from the visits by
South African and Nigerian senior government officials to Zimbabwe ahead of
the Commonwealth troika meeting scheduled for March, to discuss Zimbabwe's
expulsion from the Commonwealth and France's invitation to President Mugabe
to attend a French-African summit.
While the public media celebrated the developments, interpreting them as a
reflection of the improving situation in Zimbabwe and a harbinger of an end
to the country's isolation, the private media begged to differ.
Generally, they failed to recognize these developments as a diplomatic
breakthrough for the government, but nonetheless condemned France, South
Africa and Nigeria's seemingly warm embrace of Zimbabwe as tantamount to
turning a "blind eye to the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe", (The
Zimbabwe Independent, 24/01).
ZTV (20/01, 8pm) opened the week with a report that the visiting Nigerian
foreign minister, Sule Lamido, had "warned western nations against playing
the race card saying that African nations could use the same tactic to
protect their interests" ahead of their meeting to decide on Zimbabwe's
status in the Commonwealth.
In the same bulletin, ZTV cited unnamed "several analysts" who allegedly
said Australia and Canada were "trying to coerce some member countries,
including members of the troika, to have Zimbabwe thrown out of the
Commonwealth grouping or have the suspension extended for another year".
No evidence was provided to support these claims. Neither did the station
explain why the identity of its sources warranted masking.
The Herald and Chronicle (21/01) echoed ZTV's stance.
In reporting the easing of Zimbabwe's political isolation ZBC (ZTV, 22/01,
8pm & 3FM, 23/01, 1pm) celebrated the visit by South African foreign
minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Thabo Mbeki's proposed visit to Britain
for talks with Tony Blair.
ZTV quoted Zuma as having said "relations between Zimbabwe and South Africa
are good" and to bolster this perception, the public broadcaster reported
that Zuma's visit "also comes after the secretary general of the MDC,
Professor Welshman Ncube, had castigated President Mbeki for his principled
stance on Zimbabwe".
The station also reported that the visit demonstrated the close relations
that exist between the two countries adding: "Lest people forget, the two
leaderships (sic) of the two countries shared the trenches during the dark
days of colonial rule and apartheid..."
ZBC's inclination to analyze issues around the liberation struggle has often
compromised the station's capacity to interpret issues in a broader
perspective. As such, its coverage on the pending troika meeting lacked
lucid and factual analysis of what factors the Commonwealth troika would
consider and what their likely decision would be.
Reporting that relations between the international community and Zimbabwe
were thawing, ZBC (ZTV, 23/01, 7am; 3FM, 6am & Radio Zimbabwe, 24/01, 1pm)
also reported the invitation by French President Jacques Chirac to Mr.
Mugabe to attend the Franco-African summit next month, and interpreted it as
another "slap in the face from other EU member states" for British attempts
to isolate Zimbabwe.
Given the circumstances, this observation appears to be a fair
interpretation of the political situation and found currency in both The
Herald and the Chronicle (24/1). Both papers celebrated the invitation as "a
diplomatic victory". The Herald then cited other cases, such as Zimbabwe's
co-hosting of the Cricket World Cup, as evidence that Zimbabwe was gaining
ground against Britain in the international arena. The paper ignored
alternative comments on the issue and restricted itself to comments from
Zimbabwe's Foreign Affairs secretary Willard Chiwewe and a French foreign
ministry official.
Notably, its sister paper the Chronicle quoted British officials commenting
on the issue, as did The Daily News of the same day. However, The Daily
News, which largely condemned the invitation to Mugabe, failed to get
comments from other EU states and merely restricted its sourcing mainly to
British officials, who described the move as "disgraceful".
That same day the paper led with the MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai
criticizing South Africa and Nigeria for their alleged "bias towards
president Mugabe's 'brutal regime'".
He was quoted as having said: "The people of South Africa and Nigeria had
come out of the repression of the most dictatorial regimes in African
history but they were exposing their short memories by legitimizing Mugabe's
illegitimate regime", adding that the MDC no longer regarded South African
President Thabo Mbeki "as an honest broker" in the Zimbabwean dispute.
Although The Herald and Chronicle (24/1) also carried the report, they
interpreted this to mean that the MDC itself was becoming isolated. The two
papers added that Tsvangirai had "threatened a bloodbath in the country".
And as proof that the MDC was already involved in a "string of violent
activities.to tarnish the country's image" the papers cited the bombing of a
ZANU PF campaign base in Kuwadzana and the torching of a ZUPCO bus by
suspected MDC supporters.
The Herald (25/1) comment, Tsvangirai's speeches full of oddities, took its
anti-Tsvangirai campaign further. It stated that the MDC leader needed to go
to "school" and accused him of labeling "dictator" and "deceitful" anyone
who did not agree with him, adding that Tsvangirai was "settling for
terrorism" and "must know there are serious consequences for the path he has
chosen to take".
None of the issues Tsvangirai had accused South Africa and Nigeria of were
raised.
Instead, the paper, in the same issue, continued to buttress the idea that
the international community was beginning to embrace the Zimbabwean
government while snubbing Tsvangirai. It reported that Japan was against
Tsvangirai's calls to isolate Zimbabwe.
While the public Press was gloating over Zimbabwe's diplomatic victories,
The Zimbabwe Independent, UK/France in deal over Mugabe, reported that
Britain had struck a deal with France to allow Mugabe to travel to Paris on
"condition France backs the renewal of EU sanctions which expire on February
18".
The paper quoted Tsvangirai as having said "France and Portugal, which
supported Rhodesian premier, Ian Smith's regime, were placing themselves on
the wrong side of history again".
Similarly, its comment accused France of "giving assurances of solidarity to
the Sani Abacha regime in Nigeria encouraging it to ignore Commonwealth
protests, right up to its very end".
SW Radio Africa (23/01) also quoted Tsvangirai condemning Mugabe's
invitation as an "affront to the feelings of the people of Zimbabwe".
Nonetheless, The Sunday Mail (26/1) would not yield. It claimed the "truth"
about Zimbabwe was slowly coming out and "the world is opening its eyes to
see" it.
It stated: "France and Portugal have always known the truth and been more
rational in their assessment of the Zimbabwean situation", adding that
Zimbabweans were "turning more and more to the Government to provide the
solutions to the country's problems".
The Sunday Mirror (26/1) also celebrated Mugabe's invitation to France in
its comment, France joins drive to end Zim isolation.
Earlier, ZTV (20/01, 8pm) interpreted the diplomatic breakthroughs as
meaning that "Zimbabwe has already passed her democracy test now that the
land reform programme has been successfully completed and the political
situation has improved after the March 2002 presidential elections".
In fact, the public media used land reform, which they have presented as
being at the core of the Zimbabwean crisis, as the yardstick to measure
Zimbabwe's adherence to internationally acceptable democratic norms.
For example, The Herald (22/1) reported that there was a "major
breakthrough" in land reform after agriculture minister, Joseph Made, met
the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) leaders in Harare.
It reported CFU as having "pledged to support land reform by releasing
farming equipment worth $30 billion and providing skills to newly resettled
farmers".
Cloete was quoted as having said: "We are still Zimbabweans, we want to be
part of the nation and to be useful in any way . we have tried to get
politics out of the CFU".
The paper did not quote Cloete directly, as it claimed that he could not be
reached for comment.
However, The Zimbabwe Independent quoted the CFU as saying it had not
pledged any equipment, as it did not "have the equipment as a union because
it belongs to our members", but had "only promised to consult its members on
the issue and report back to Made". Cloete also revealed that it was Made
who had approached his union for help.
Even so, The Sunday News and The Sunday Mail (26/1) maintained that the CFU
had made an offer.
In fact, their stance complimented the public media's efforts to over-sell
government's land reform programme as a resounding success as exemplified by
The Herald's (25/1) distortion of the UN special envoy James Morris's
remarks on the land issue.

3. Kuwadzana violence and rights abuses

The petrol bombing of ZANU PF offices by suspected MDC activists in
Kuwadzana, and several reports of human rights violations by ZANU PF
activists and state security agents, dented the public media efforts to
market Zimbabwe as a peaceful destination ahead of the Cricket World Cup,
which it is co-hosting with South Africa and Kenya.
ZBC (3FM & Radio Zimbabwe (21/01, 1pm) broke the news that "One person has
died and seven of them injured . during a petrol bomb attack on a ZANU PF
office in Kuwadzana".
However, SW Radio Africa carried different statistics on the number of
people injured, when it reported (22/01) that 16 people were hurt.
ZBC attributed the bombing to a "wave of terror" unleashed by the opposition
"as part of its plans to tarnish the image of the country". The station
added: "Vehicles recovered by police in a follow-up operation are believed
to be owned by Amani Trust, the major financiers of MDC and NCA which is
planning a countrywide stay-away scheduled for tomorrow".
The Herald, The Daily Mirror and The Daily News (22/1) carried stories on
the incident. However, the papers pursued different political angles and
failed to provide clear details of the circumstances surrounding the attack.
For example, The Herald claimed the incident was "viewed as a build-up to a
terror campaign by the MDC" who "have vowed to disrupt the World Cup cricket
matches to be played in Zimbabwe next month". The paper added that a
London-based organization, Ditcheley Foundation, which "sponsors war and
other underground activities in Africa" had "set aside millions of pounds to
destabilize Zimbabwe".
Without providing evidence, the paper then linked the attack to Harare Mayor
Elias Mudzuri, whom it accused of addressing political rallies and "fanning
violence".
The Daily News' (22/1) report was equally shoddy as it sought to exonerate
the perpetrators. The paper also quoted "sources" as having said "the
attack was provoked by Zanu PF youths who reportedly kidnapped an
unidentified youth and took him to an unidentified torture chamber in a
building", thereby giving the impression that the bombing was justified.
Indeed, the article cited incidents of violence in which ZANU PF youths were
accused as perpetrators to buttress the impression that the bomb attack was
a justifiable act of retaliation.
More strange was the paper's failure to identify the political affiliation
of the group that petrol bombed the ZANU PF base.
Furthermore, the paper relegated the story to page two preferring to lead
with a report on the court appearance of eight Chegutu municipality
employees accused of breaking into the municipality offices "with intent to
steal and theft".
Similarly, SW Radio Africa also failed to come out and clearly condemn
violence perpetrated against ZANU PF. The private radio station (22/01)
reported that "people claim that the base was a youth militia camp used to
torture MDC supporters", as if that was a justifiable reason for the attack.
The Daily Mirror's (22/1) story, Journalist beaten in Kuwadzana, was not any
better as it prioritised the assault on its photographer over the death of
an individual.
It only made sensible reference to the story in its article, 16 MDC youths
arrested for violence in Kuwadzana, which it placed on page four.
Meanwhile, The Daily News (25/1), followed up on the bombing incident with
an equally confusing report on the situation in Kuwadzana. The story was
notable for contradictions. For example, while it alleged that soldiers and
members of the police had imposed a curfew and were "beating up residents"
whom they met after 7pm accusing them of "planning other bomb attacks on
ZANU PF bases", it quoted a Kuwadzana resident as describing the situation
as "tense but peaceful". Although the paper sought comment from the police
spokesman who allegedly refused to comment, no effort was made to get
comment from army officials.
Corroboration of security force violence was provided by The Weekend Tribune
(25/1), which also reported residents saying that police were allegedly
harassing people moving at night or revellers in nightclubs in Chitungwiza
and Kuwadzana. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena was also quoted denying the
allegations
The paper also reported gross anomalies in Kuwadzana's voters' roll, adding
its voice to earlier reports of electoral irregularities in the private
media.
Besides the Kuwadzana bombing incident, the media was littered with reports
of other human rights violations by alleged state security agents and ZANU
PF supporters. However, most of the stories appeared in the private media,
which carried 36 out of 43 reported in the week. These include actual
incidents and follow-up reports. ZBC reported none of these.

The table below shows the number of stories carried by different media
alleging rights abuses.

Medium No. of Stories

The Daily News 18
The Daily Mirror 7
SW Radio Africa 6
The Zimbabwe Independent 1
The Herald 4
Chronicle 1
The Standard 1
The Sunday Mail 2
The Weekend Tribune 1
The Financial Gazette 1

Ends.

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Zimbabwe,15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702,
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