Herald hate speech slammed by media watchdog

By Violet Gonda
3 April 2007

There has been an outcry from media watchdogs over threatening reports that border on hate speech, issued by the Herald newspaper on Tuesday. An opinion piece warned that a British embassy official Gillian Dare could be sent back to Britain in a body bag for allegedly supporting the opposition. The writer, David Samuriwo, alleged Dare was the financier of the violence being perpetrated by the MDC and said she “should be aware that by throwing all diplomatic etiquette into the dustbin and putting on her combat gear she has become a prime target for deportation.”

He warned: “It will be a pity for her family to welcome her at Heathrow Airport in a body bag just like some of her colleagues from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The paper also published a threatening Letter to the Editor headlined ‘Detain Tsvangirai for his own safety’. The state mouth piece said: “A bullet from (US Ambassador) Dell or even (British Ambassador) Pocock’s agents may just lodge itself in Tsvangirai’s head and be blamed on the Government during the confusion of violent demonstrations”

Observers say this increasing hate speech is a worrying development and indicates a government bent on increasing violence. Andy Moyse, the Director of the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, said this kind of hate speech has no place in a democratic society. He said it is obviously part of the government propaganda which continues to employ hate language and hate messages against those it perceives as enemies.