Download - Media Institute of Southern Africa

State of the media in Southern Africa 2002
Breakdown of the 2001 alerts
A breakdown of the 207 alerts issued last year show that 21 media practitioners
were attacked or beaten, four were bombed or suffered damage through
arson, 52 were detained, nine were charged, 30 were threatened, seven were
expelled, 39 incidences of censorship were reported, 20 cases of legal action
were recorded - where journalists faced legal action or where legislation was
passed that affected the media, 11 victories were recorded and a further 14
incidents were reported that proved a violation of freedom of expression that
did not necessarily affect the media.
Trends detected during 2001
Although these alerts, as they are generally referred to, provide some indication
of the status of press freedom in various countries, they do not necessarily
provide an accurate reading of the status of press freedom in each country.
Weak media monitoring activities in some countries, such as Lesotho, South
Africa and Angola, do not reflect the frequent press freedom violations which
occur in them.
Zimbabwe
The high statistics for Zimbabwe, in turn, are both indicative of the consistent
monitoring carried out by the Zimbabwean chapter of MISA (MISA-Zimbabwe),
and an increasingly oppressive media environment in that country. Zimbabwe
needs to be singled out not only for leading the pack in the number of
alerts it attracted, but also because of the nature of these alerts. They deal with
arrests, detentions and imprisonments of journalists; journalists being taken
for questioning by the police; physical attacks on journalists by ruling and
opposition party supporters; legal action against journalists - often based on
oppressive and archaic legislation; frequent government threats to close or
ban newspapers; attempts to introduce a statutory Media Council to licence
journalists and to impose a state-approved code of conduct for journalists;
politically-motivated dismissals and demotions of journalists in state-controlled
media and other forms of intimidation and harassment.
Zambia
Zambia took a backseat to its neighbour, Zimbabwe, with fewer alerts issued on
that country. However, government interference in the media, acts of intimidation
and arrests under Zambia’s infamous defamation laws remain rampant.
Swaziland
Exactly one year ago the Swazi government banned The Guardian of Swaziland
newspaper and The Nation magazine. Even a positive court ruling in favour of
unbanning The Guardian had no effect on the Government’s resolve to silence
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