Zimbabwe: Protest to Mugabe

To: IFEX Auto List (other news of interest)
From: International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), [email protected]

President Robert Mugabe
Office of the President
Munhumutapa Building
Samora Machel Avenue/ 3rd Street
Harare, Zimbabwe
Via Facsimile: + 263-4-708-820

November 26th 2001

Dear Mr President,

On behalf of the International Federation of Journalists, the world's
largest
journalists' group, I wish to protest most strongly over the accusation by a
spokesman of the Government of Zimbabwe, reported in The Herald on November
23rd, that a number of named journalists are supporting "terrorists" and
that
the government "would make no distinction between those that it considered
to be
terrorists and anyone who supported them."

The article in question names Andrew Meldrum of The Guardian, Jan Raath of
The
Times, Peta Thorneycroft of The Telegraph, and Basildon Peta of The
Independent
newspaper group, AP's Angus Shaw, Dumisani Muleya of South Africa's Business
Day
and the South African-based human rights campaigner Richard Carver.

All of these colleagues are known to the IFJ, not least being Basildon Peta,
who
is the General Secretary of the IFJ affiliate organisation in Harare, the
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists.

We cannot accept the reported allegations against any of these colleagues.
Linking legitimate journalism to terrorism in this way is completely
unacceptable and calls into question Zimbabwe's commitment to democracy and
press freedom.

The international community's genuine concern about the existence of active
terrorist networks will not be allayed by unsubstantiated and potentially
dangerous statements that appear to target journalists guilty only of
critical
and independent reporting of political affairs in Harare. Furthermore, this
position is dangerous because it puts all journalists at risk from being
branded
as subversive or engaged in unlawful activities when they work in a
professional
and critical manner. I believe that the Government's intemperate allegations
against distinguished media commentators will be seen as an attempt to
diminish
internal dissent.

In these circumstances can I ask you to clarify the Government's position
and to
lift the shadow of accusation and suspicion that has been cast over the work
of
these colleagues by giving assurances that the government of Zimbabwe will
respect press freedom and the rights of all journalists to work in safe and
secure conditions without undue political pressure.

Yours Sincerely,

AIDAN WHITE
General Secretary