Little to cheer on press freedom day

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

BULAWAYO-- "Sadly for Zimbabwe, the past seven years have seen freedom of expression being downgraded from a right to a privilege that can only be exercised at the benevolence of the authorities," MISA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Instead of joining his fellow journalists for a drink at the Press Club this evening to commiserate over the state of the industry, Albert Mazhale was preparing to jump on a bus to neighbouring Botswana. The 26-year-old had been a contributor to the Voice of the People (VOP), a privately-owned radio station, until it was banned by the authorities late last year. Now he buys cell phone accessories and cutlery across the border for resale back home.

After VOP was shut by the police, Mazhale tried to correspond for other news services. But under Zimbabwe's tough Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), he would need fresh accreditation from a government-appointed media council and regarded that was a hopeless cause.

"To me Press Freedom Day is a void," said the Bulawayo-based former radio reporter. "Do we really have any such freedom as Zimbabwean journalists or as a media? And the answer is a resounding no."

At least 100 journalists have been arrested over the past six years for violating the government's press laws, according to (MISA) - all of them from the private media. Four newspapers, including the country's biggest circulating daily, The Daily News, have been closed since 2003. And, as a result of the restrictive Broadcasting Services Act, independent radio stations have been kept off the air.

Every journalist in Zimbabwe must renew their registration every 12 months with the Media and Information Commission; they face up to two years in jail for practicing without a license. Newspaper companies are also required to register after every two years. Those failing to comply are forced to close and their equipment is seized by the state.

Under AIPPA, the maximum sentence for a journalist convicted of publishing falsehoods is five years in prison. Reporters as well as citizens found guilty of insulting or ridiculing President Robert Mugabe can be jailed for a year under the Criminal Codification Act.

And the government is on the verge of introducing yet another potentially troubling law, this time to regulate cyber-communication. The Interception of Communications Bill seeks to empower the authorities to snoop on email traffic where there are reasonable grounds of a threat to national security.

Both MISA-Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists have condemned what they regard as a deliberate clampdown on the independent media, and have urged the authorities to fully embrace press freedom.

"The situation in Zimbabwe as regards press freedom is shocking," said MISA-Zimbabwe advocacy officer, Takura Zhangazha. "What we want is the repeal of AIPPA, POSA [Public Order and Security Act] and other such legislation that impede of the right to association and free speech, which is clearly enshrined in our constitution."