- (AFP) - The Zimbabwe government has approved a new bill
that will effectively bar foreign journalists from operating in the
country,
press reports said.
-
- Only Zimbabwe's citizens will be allowed to operate as
correspondents for foreign media, if the Access to Information and
Protection
of Privacy Bill is passed by parliament.
-
- "This means all foreign journalists will need to
be Zimbabwean citizens," the state-run daily The Herald reported
Friday.
-
- Under the new law a media and information commission
which will register and accredit all journalists, will be set up.
-
- The commission will have powers to discipline journalists
for misconduct.
-
- Journalists will be issued with registration
certificates.
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- "The commission may delete a journalist's name from
the register, order his suspension for a specified period and impose
conditions
it deems fit subject to which he shall be allowed to practise," the
state paper said.
-
- Violation of any of the provisions of the law will carry
penalties ranging between 50,000 dollars (909 US dollars) and 100,000
dollars
(1,818 US dollars) or a two-year jail term.
-
- The government says the law is designed to curb
unprofessional
journalism and to protect personal privacy.
-
- "All along the media has been operating in an
unstructured
fashion which has led ethical and professional laspes on the part of the
some media practitioners," said the government's information
department
cited in the Herald story.
-
- Relations between President Robert Mugabe's government
and the independent local and the foreign media has of late been severely
strained.
-
- In recent months, authorities have arrested local
journalists,
expelled foreign correspondents and tacitly accused the press of supporting
the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
-
- The authorities have this year enacted a law that has
effectively blocked private broadcasters from operating.
-
- Last week the government accused some foreign and local
independent journalists of helping "terrorism" in the
country.
-
- Last week the government accused some foreign and local
independent journalists of helping "terrorism" in the
country.
-
- The United States, Britain and various international
media bodies have condemned the increasing accusations against the media
in the run-up to next year's presidential election.
-
- This year, the government introduced new controls on
foreign reporters, requiring them to apply for accreditation a month in
advance of traveling to the country.
-
- Previously, foreign journalists were allowed to apply
for credentials on their arrival.
-
- Many local journalists have been victims of aggression
and intimidation by the authorities.
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