FREE press advocacy groups protested yesterday after the private press received threats from the President’s Office, against the backdrop of a deepening political crisis in the ruling Zanu PF.
Presidential spokesperson and secretary of Information George Charamba came out guns blazing; threatening ominuoulsy that the hammer was going to fall on the private media soon.
BY BRIDGET MANANAVIRE
The chilling threats were made in an interview with lick-spittle State media last weekend.
Charamba’s threats came a month after his boss President Robert Mugabe also threatened the country’s private media, claiming that they had become hate groups that were blowing issues out of proportion.
“There is no constitution that privileges political players and if you are in the media and you choose to leave the media desk to become an extension of the publicity department of a political party we treat you as a politician. And please, don’t cry wolf.
Don’t feel unfairly treated when the hammer descends on you because wada mabrickbats yet you are staying in a glass house,” charged Charamba.
Press freedom groups and journalism associations roundly condemned the threat saying free and vigilant media are vital to restrain corruption and injustice and journalists should be able to do their work with a sense of security and confidence.
Zimbabwe National Editors Forum secretary-general Barnabas Thondhlana said the media must take the threats seriously.
“We must close ranks and fight tooth and nail,”Thondlana said.”We must never take these threats casually, and we can only do that at our own peril. We strongly speak to what the constitution says and the right it gives on freedom of the press and freedom of expression, Thondhlana said.
“These are threats against the people of Zimbabwe and we should take them seriously. We hope he was misquoted. This is not the 80s and 90s where you can just bomb a printing press.”
Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa-Zimbabwe) chairperson, Kumbirai Mafunda, dismissed Charamba’s remarks as ill-advised and smacking of intentions to stall and scuttle the outstanding alignment of the country’s media laws with the constitutional provisions that explicitly guarantee media freedom, freedom of expression and citizens’ right to access to information.
“In this digital information age, nop amount of undemocratic legislative control will refract the reality on the ground, nor will it stop unflattering information about Zanu PF government and indeed any other political parties, filtering into the public domain,” Mafunda said.
“As a member of the international community and state party to several instruments on human rights, the government is duty-bound to ensure the promotion and protection of citizens’ liberties, including media freedom, however irritated they are by the media.”
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists secretary general Foster Dongozi said the tension and suspicions were predictable given the “toxic environment of suspicion fear and uncertainty”.
“We appeal for a delay of the falling of the hammer. Maybe we can come up with a binding code of conduct as journalists across the field to make sure politicians cannot control the media. We condemn politicians trying to control the media,” Dongozi said.
Loughty Dube, the Voluntary Media Council;l of Zimbabwe executive Director, said it would be good and ideal for Charamba to recommend a new law to replace Aippa as already recognized in the Constitution
“Section 61 and 62 of the Constitution if correctly interpreted should see bad laws fall away and it would be sad for Charamba to recommend laws to deal with with one section of the media,” Dube said.
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