The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) has welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down clauses in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) that criminalized the publication of falsehoods as unconstitutional. "This indeed, represents a measure of success for those fighting to protect Zimbabweans’ gravely threatened rights to freedom of expression and opinion," the organisation said. However, the MMPZ warned that the victory was likely to be short-lived. "AIPPA contains many other repressive clauses that are unlikely to survive a test of constitutional scrutiny and while some of these are being challenged by media organisations, government already has tabled amendments to the Act, including those sections that have just been struck down, which will reverse the gains of this court action, assuming they are passed by Parliament."

Having staked their fortunes to Nepad, President Mbeki of South Africa and to a lesser extent President Obasanjo of Nigeria are committed to proving the Nepad mantra that African solutions to African problems can resolve this crisis. And while a successful resolution of the Zimbabwe crisis will go a long way to easing investor fears, and perhaps force the G8 to come up with real cash for Nepad, the crisis in Zimbabwe should remind us that many African countries have yet to come to terms with the legacy of colonialism.

The Zimbabwe Supreme court has passed a landmark judgment against the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act by declaring Section 80 unconstitutional. The full bench of the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Daily News reporter Lloyd Mudiwa and former Editor in Chief of the same paper, Geoff Nyarota.

This report from the Zimbabwe Women's Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN) analyses the major Zimbabwean AIDS policies for their take on gender equity and equality. The policy documents it outlines and analyses are: the National HIV/AIDS policy, the National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe Act and the National AIDS Trust Fund.

With President Robert Mugabe virtually hanging on by the thread because of Zimbabwe's fast deteriorating economic crisis, all Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Olusegun Obasanjo and Bakili Muluzi needed to do was to apply a little pressure to bring Mugabe to the negotiating table without any preconditions by him. But a golden opportunity to relieve Zimbabweans of the pain wrought upon them by the retrogressive policies of this government has been lost - all because Mbeki and company would rather have solidarity with the ageing dictator than with the long-suffering masses of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says it will launch a mass action campaign to demonstrate people's "displeasure" with the government of President Robert Mugabe. Following an inconclusive visit on Monday by three senior African presidents trying to open a dialogue between Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, MDC spokesperson Paul Nyathi said "our premise was talks can only yield something if further pressure is brought to bear on Mugabe."
Related Links:
* MDC CALLS FOR TALKS ON TRANSITIONAL GOVT
http://irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=33850
* HARARE MAYOR RETURNS TO WORK
http://www.africapulse.org.za/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=12…
* ZIMBABWE: WORKERS FIRED FOR PARTICIPATING IN NATIONAL STAYAWAY
http://www.africapulse.org/index.php?action=viewarticle&articleid=1197

The latest mission by the South African and Nigerian presidents to Harare appears to have yielded them Robert Mugabe’s favourite award: "The Order of the Dangling Carrot.’’ After Mugabe's 45 years in politics, from organiser of mob violence to state president, his methods are only too well known to Zimbabweans, says this comment from ZWNEWS.

Amnesty International has accused the Zimbabwean government of using "repressive" legislation to silence dissent, and perpetrate human rights violations. In a report entitled "Zimbabwe: Rights Under Siege", released on 3 May to mark World Press Freedom Day, AI said the government had introduced and selectively used legislation as a vehicle for committing "widespread human rights violations" with impunity.

The Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) strongly supports the Lenten pastoral letter of April 2003 of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC) condemning the 'frightening' corruption, lawlessness and abuses of power committed by the Mugabe government in Zimbabwe. The ZCBC accused president Robert Mugabe of failing 'to provide leadership that enables the creation of an environment that enhances truth, justice, love and freedom'.

I wish to express my support for you as elected mayor of the City of Harare. I strongly protest your suspension by the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing. The Minister claims that he is acting in the interests of the residents and that he has consulted us. I reject both assertions. The government refused to hold elections for the post of Mayor and it was our association, Combined Harare Residents Association that compelled the Government to hold the elections.

As the world commemorated Press Freedom Day, Zimbabwe’s independent media community highlighted the gross erosion of essential democratic liberty in the country. The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) condemned the government’s persecution of privately owned media institutions and their staff through the selective application of unconstitutional and anti-democratic legislation and its blatant abuse of the publicly owned national broadcasting station, ZBC, and Zimbabwe Newspapers titles as messengers of its own propaganda at the expense of the truth.

Trade union officials last Thursday said up to 70 percent of the country's businesses remained closed on the second day of a three-day national strike. "Banks, stores and factories across the country have continued to heed the call to shut down. This is a promising sign that the strike has achieved what it set out to do. We expect that the success of this action will increase the pressure on the government to make some significant changes," the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) secretary-general, Wellington Chibebe, told IRIN.

The humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe affects more than half of the country's 11.6 million people. As it has worsened, so to have the number of reported cases of child abuse. "The effects of two years of severe drought, increasing poverty, the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic and economic decline have left children especially vulnerable to abuse," said Dr Festo Kavishe, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative for Zimbabwe.

Human Rights Watch has criticised the lack of action by the UN Commission on Human Rights regarding alleged abuses in Zimbabwe. The rights group issued a statement at the end of the commission's meeting in Geneva last week. The Zimbabwe Media Monitoring Project reported that the official The Herald newspaper "celebrated Zimbabwe's escape from criticism" at the meeting which ended on Friday 25 April, while reports in the private press "indicated that human rights abuses in the country were as bad as ever".

The Zimbabwe government has denied reports that President Robert Mugabe is preparing an exit plan for himself, saying the reports are "at best wishful". This follows news reports that Mugabe, who has been president since 1980, hinted at retirement during an independence day interview earlier this month. He was quoted as saying: "We are getting to a stage where we shall say fine, we settled this matter (land redistribution) and people can retire."

A Zimbabwean woman, Virginia Mupanduki, has won the annual Desmond Tutu Footprints of Legends Leadership Award for her commitment to community economic development. She was identified by the Development Innovation Net-work (Ired) which, together with the Leadership Regional Net-work, under the University of Zimbabwe and CASS Trust, provides a variety of learning experiences designed to transform leadership qualities.

While many observers regard the tidal wave of police brutality, arbitrary arrests, torture, assassinations and generalised state-sponsored ultraviolence to be the primary focus for the tribulations engulfing Zimbabwe, it is the trial of Movement for Democratic Change President Morgan Tsvangirai that should provide the core analytical context for the crisis. "In other words, the crisis should be viewed and analysed through the lens of the trial, rather than vice versa for reasons that will become apparent in the paper that follows," says a recent memorandum submitted to the United Kingdom Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

President Robert Mugabe's ruling party has told the United States to "go to hell" over its statement that Mugabe should step down and hand over power to a transitional government pending new elections.

I remember them making me lie down, face on the floor, whilst one of them pressed his foot on the back of my ankles so that the underfoot faced upwards. I felt searing pain as the baton struck against my feet. The shoes had already been removed and I was starting to feel faint. They poured water on me and used the sjamboks (whips) to hit my back and behind.

Zimbabwe journalist Michael Hartnack has received an honorary doctorate in literature from Rhodes University, in recognition of his working life spent, the university said, "in service of the truth and the vision of a just and non-racial Zimbabwe, displaying courage and integrity." Hartnack, 57, a regular commentator for ZWNEWS, a columnist for South African newspapers and a correspondent for several overseas media outlets, has spent most of his 38-year career in Rhodesia and then Zimbabwe.