Zimbabwe: Foreign correspondents association created
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) applauds the creation on December 7 of the Zimbabwe Foreign Correspondents Association (ZFCA), which has vowed to challenge a restrictive new press law in court.
IFEX- News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE - ZIMBABWE
14 December 2001
Foreign correspondents association created
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**For background information on the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Bill and recent attacks against foreign correspondents in Zimbabwe,
see IFEX alerts of 3 December, 29 and 23 November 2001**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 13 December 2001 CPJ press release:
ZIMBABWE: Foreign Correspondents Association created
New York, December 13, 2001-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
applauds the creation on December 7 of the Zimbabwe Foreign Correspondents
Association (ZFCA), which has vowed to challenge a restrictive new press law
in court.
The draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill would
allow only Zimbabwean citizens to work for foreign media. A Media and
Information Commission created by the bill would accredit local journalists
on an annual basis.
Authorities, who have described foreign correspondents and some local
reporters as "terrorists," claim that the proposed legislation will keep
"dangerous elements" out of Zimbabwe.
The ZFCA also plans to boycott the accreditation system mandated by the
bill, which President Mugabe has yet to sign into law.
The ZFCA's executive committee includes: Cris Chinaka of Reuters; Jan Raath
of The Times of London; Susan Njanji of AFP; and Andrew Meldrum of The
Guardian and The Economist.
For more information about press conditions in Zimbabwe, visit www.cpj.org.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide.
For further information, contact Yves Sorokobi at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New
York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
The information contained in this press release is the sole responsibility
of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
CPJ.
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