Minister Chinamasa urges Africa Commission to help shut down radio stations

By Violet Gonda
17 May 2007

At a summit in Ghana on Thursday the Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa, launched a blistering attack on radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe and called on the African Commission to help close them down. Speaking during a session on the status of human rights in Africa, the government minister went on a propaganda campaign claiming media groups and non-governmental organisations have a western agenda that is pushing for regime change.

Chinamasa said there is a massive misinformation drive by SW Radio Africa, Voice of America’s Studio 7 and Voice of the People (VOP). He then asked the Commission to put pressure on the countries hosting these radio stations to shut them down.

Arnold Tsunga the Deputy Chairman of VOP, said it was clear that the regime was trying to play psychological games to try and win the sympathy of Africans but delegates were not fooled but actually shocked. He said: “It is not surprising that a minister from Zimbabwe can come before the African Commission and stupefy and make a complete mess of himself in terms of attacking the rights to freedom of expression in Zimbabwe which is enshrined in the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights.”

Responding to this latest attack on the media our station manager Gerry Jackson said: “Chinamasa has conveniently left out the fact that radio stations are forced to broadcast from outside, because independent radio is not allowed in Zimbabwe.”

Armed para military forcibly shut down Zimbabwe’s first independent radio station Capital Radio, started by Jackson in 2000. All the equipment was seized after just 6 days of tests broadcasts. Despite broadcasting regulations brought in at the time, that government claimed would allow for licences for private broadcasters, there are still no independent stations in Zimbabwe.

Abel Chikomo from the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ) said it was really worrying to see the Minister showing these strong views during the plenary session.

In a wide ranging speech to the Africa Commission, Chinamasa also admitted to the plenary that the police did use violence against opposition officials on March 11 and added that the authorities will continue to use ‘appropriate force’ to crush acts of “terrorism.” He claimed between 2000 and 2005 more than 650 NGOs were created with a regime change agenda, and the government will make every effort to fight the siege it is under.

Sources in Ghana said the minister’s statements were so threatening that the mood among Zimbabwean delegates from civic society changed during the meeting. It was feared that some of the civic groups were going to withdraw their names from the list of speakers as a result of the threats. But Jacob Mafume the Chairperson of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the NGO community and members of the civic society were going to submit their presentation, which will show the true extent of repression in Zimbabwe. The groups are also receiving a lot of support from other human rights bodies in Africa.

Zimbabwe has seen an escalation of violence against perceived opponents of the government in recent weeks. Scores of opposition, civic activists, church leaders, journalists, student and lawyers have been beaten and arrested. The orgy of violence has resulted in 4 people killed since March, while 32 MDC members have been in custody for almost two months.

Mafume said that the government has shown no repentance and continues to brutalise innocent people.