Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Assassination story: Is the BBC or Holland lying?

Assassination story: Is the BBC or Holland lying?
Comment
Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:48:00 +0000

WHAT will happen to the British Broadcasting Corporation once some of its MDC-T sources complete their assisted political suicide?

Amid the thousands of stories written elsewhere praising the inclusive Government of Zimbabwe, the BBC this week decided to write what should have been a damning report on the country -- a story apparently initiated by Ms Sekai Holland, our national healing minister, claiming that 39,000 "Zanu PF militiamen" had been recruited by the civil service to kill ministers from the MDC-T party.

As if that was not enough exaggeration, Ms Holland claims that each of these recruits were paid US$100 (or £69) a day for their special services. That is a whooping US$3,9 MILLION a day, in real terms.

What government can afford this bill in these credit crunch times? Not even Gordon Brown can afford that, even when his political career is on the noose. How are these "militiamen" paid? Through the Zimbabwe treasury? Surely these payments could not have escaped the attention of our Minister of Finance Mr Tendai Biti who is sniffing for any kind of evidence to use in "hanging" Dr Gideon Gono - the RBZ Governor.

But this is not the issue. The issue is: How can the BBC believe this story and air it as a serialised prime time programme? Another issue (or question is): What else has the BBC gotten away with in its reporting on Zimbabwe?

This kind of reporting is not new to the BBC, though.

In 2007 the BBC was accused of "shameful hypocrisy" over its decision to spend £200,000 blocking a freedom of information request about its reporting in the Middle East.

BBC chiefs were accused of wasting thousands of pounds of licence fee payers' money trying to cover-up the findings of the so called Balen Report into its journalism in the region, despite the fact that the corporation is funded by the British public.

Zimbabwe is a walk-in-the-park for them. They can always use the disclaimer that, "The BBC is not allowed to report from within Zimbabwe." But isn't this the kind of reporting that landed them in that position in the first place?

When the Zimbabwe Times website reported that Ms Holland, the Minister for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration had refuted the story, it difficult to decide who had been discredited in the process: the BBC, Ms Holland herself or the entire MDC-T party.

Ms Holland has the nerve to dispute a report which is still online. The evidence is still there, online.

“No one feels safe in Zimbabwe,” Holland says in the video posted on the BBC website.

“Nobody feels safe; and I mean no one. We are always everyday getting telephone calls, different members of MDC-T. We are getting calls of different names of people who are going to be assassinated.”

Holland said she believed the worst violence ever was being planned to coincide with elections, which she said were due in 18 months.

According to the Zimbabwe Times, "Holland has now categorically denied she ever granted an interview to any BBC reporter, this despite the existence of the video in which she speaks spiritedly."

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai refuted the story and told the Council on Foreign Relations that the only person who would be afraid of assassination was him.

According to Ms Holland, the interview with the BBC was carried out three months ago when the inclusive Government had just been formed. Why would Zanu PF be concentrating on drawing lists and spending scarce foreign currency on "alleged militias" at a time when they are making peace with the MDC? Why did the BBC report then coincide with the Prime Minister's state visit to Europe and America?

“I’m really quite surprised by this story,” Holland told the Zimbabwe Times. “These people came here three months ago and said they are with an NGO in the UK and they were looking at the situation to fundraise for children so we were talking as if we were talking with the NGO for children."

Does it make a difference if Ms Holland was talking to an NGO or not? Did she have to lie to an NGO and not the BBC? Which NGO was this? Was it associated with the BBC? Was she speaking in her capacity as minister or not? And what was that NGO's agenda in filming such sensationalized interviews? Was Ms Holland paid for this interview? What business did a national healing minister have in "talking about the rumours that were current at that time" and not policy issues? Who commissioned the BBC's Mike Thomson for this 'project'? Was it the MDC-T party, the NGO or the BBC just needed an exclusive from Zimbabwe?

Who recruited the "other actors" in that report? Who owns the "safe house" used in the report were other MDC-T activists are housed? There were at least three people interviewed in that report who corroborated Ms Holland's story. Were they mere actors? Interestingly, the BBC used images from the post election violence to sensationalize that story. No new images were forthcoming. Was it because that story was a complete fabrication anyway?

Ms Holland was also quoted: “Whoever did that story at the BBC to me that shows very bad journalism in bad faith and a total lack of respect for me and the people they lied to here. They should have been honest because I’m from the MDC and there is nothing to hide in Zimbabwe anymore, absolutely nothing.”

The love-hate relationship implied by Holland only started when this story came to light.

Her imprecise and undetailed rebuttal makes this story nothing more than a mischievous piece that used crass emotional manipulation, concocted evidence and cynical bias in an attempt to discredit the inclusive Government of Zimbabwe at a time when the Prime Minister is seeking re-engagement with the community of nations.

It may now be necessary for the BBC to issue retractions or clarifications inorder to calm the furore. In the meantime, we just sit wondering if there is any BBC report on Zimbabwe that isn't propaganda-lie bunk.

Labels: ASSASSINATION, BBC, NEOCOLONIALISM, SEKAI HOLLAND

posted by MrK @ 12:17 PM