Maravi

SADC studying Post’s harassment complaint, confirms Dr Salomao

SADC studying Post’s harassment complaint, confirms Dr Salomao
Written by Chibaula Silwamba
Thursday, June 04, 2009 11:37:29 PM

SADC legal team is analysing The Post's request for the regional bloc's intervention in the harassment of its journalists by MMD cadres, executive secretary Dr Tomaz Augusto Salomao confirmed yesterday.

In a telephone interview from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana, Dr Salomao confirmed receiving the letter from the Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of The Post over the harassments of journalists and that the SADC legal people were looking into the matter.

"Yes we did receive the letter," Dr Salomao said.

Asked if SADC would take action on the matter, Dr Salomao responded: "Yes, I sent it to my legal people for advice."

In a letter dated May 18, 2009 addressed to the SADC executive secretary and copied to the International Press Institute, Human Rights Commission Zambia, World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the Zambian government spokesperson and several foreign missions in Zambia, PFC chairperson Chansa Kabwela stated that of late, journalists from The Post had experienced expulsions from meetings where public officers had been officiating, as well as physical harassment and confiscations of their equipment while on duty.

"The beating has been justified by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services - Reverend Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha as follows, 'The Post newspaper is reaping what it sowed because you cannot have a newspaper that reports negatively about the Republican President most of the time. If you plant mangoes, you will harvest mangoes. That is how the principle goes'," she stated. "If the government supports the violence in a bid to make our reporters submissive and afraid to perform their duties, we will be infringing the people's right to know and also to exchange their opinion freely."

Kabwela, who is also Post news editor, noted that it was the PFC's understanding that Article 20 of the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport stated that 'state parties shall take necessary measures to ensure the freedom and independence of the media'.

However, she observed that this SADC protocol had seriously been disregarded by the Zambian government by justifying and supporting the harassment and abuse of journalists working for The Post newspaper.

"We have in the past managed to overcome such turbulences in one way or the other and one of these ways has been to involve groupings such as Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the United Nations (UN), to which Zambia is a member..." stated Kabwela.

Post journalists have continued to suffer at the hands of MMD cadres who have vowed to continue meting out physical punishment on them as long as the newspaper continues being critical of President Banda and his MMD government.

Labels: SADC, THE POST, TOMAZ SALOMAO

posted by MrK @ 10:41 PM