(MISA/IFEX) – In what seems like a stance identical to that of the ruling establishment, which advocates limiting media ownership to nationals, on Saturday 7 April 2001, Zimbabwean journalists intimated that they were opposed to foreign control of local media. The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) accused former colonial power Britain of trying to strengthen […]
(MISA/IFEX) – In what seems like a stance identical to that of the ruling establishment, which advocates limiting media ownership to nationals, on Saturday 7 April 2001, Zimbabwean journalists intimated that they were opposed to foreign control of local media.
The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) accused former colonial power Britain of trying to strengthen its political influence by investing in “The Daily News”, Zimbabwe’s only independent daily newspaper.
British government officials sought permission last week from the Zimbabwean embassy in London to ship a new printing press for “The Daily News”, to replace one that was bombed earlier this year.
“While we sympathise with “The Daily News”, we urge the company to act in a way that has long term benefits to the citizens of this country,” said ZUJ President Mathew Takaona. “Our position is that locals should have the majority shareholding in the media,” he said,adding, “this scenario is not unique to Zimbabwe, but is found in many countries throughout the world.”
His position was backed by the National Association of Freelance Journalists, which accused Britain of “trying to advance its neo-colonial interests in Zimbabwe” by investing in local media.
Britain accuses the Zimbabwean government of violating human rights and intimidating the media and the judiciary. It has tried to mobilise international support to isolate its former colony. The two countries have also sharply differed on Zimbabwe’s controversial land reform programme, in which the government was confiscating white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.
Background Information
A bomb blast in the early hours of Sunday 28 January caused extensive damage to the printing unit of the independent newspaper “The Daily News”. No injuries were reported.
“The Daily News” has published wide-ranging allegations of corruption and mismanagement against President Robert Mugabe’s twenty-year-old government. Officials who have become increasingly critical of the newspaper’s independent stance have, on several occasions, threatened to “close down” “The Daily News”.
On Tuesday 23 January, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) supporters and war veterans stepped up their campaign to muzzle “The Daily News”. That day, a horde of ZANU-PF supporters and war veterans marched through Harareâs city centre shouting profanities and insults at “The Daily News”. They broke some of the newspaperâs windows and attacked its deputy news editor, Julius Zava.
On Friday 26 January, ZANU-PF supporters publicly announced that they had declared war on “The Daily News” over what they termed its “unpatriotic coverage of issues.” Angry ZANU-PF supporters are reported to have pounced on vendors, confiscated copies of the newspaper and burnt them in front of state television cameras.
That same day, Chenjerai Hunzvi, the self-styled leader of the country’s liberation war veterans, threatened “The Daily News”, saying his supporters would “ban” the newspaper. However, shortly after the blast, Zimbabwe’s liberation war veterans disassociated themselves from the blast.
Source: The Pan African News Agency (Pana)
