Media monitor condemns radio jamming

Zimbabwe's Media Monitoring Project (MMPZ) has described the alleged jamming of a London-based anti-government radio station, as the "latest deliberate assault on freedom of expression". The reported jamming of 'Short Wave (SW) Radio Africa', run by a group of exiled Zimbabweans, was confirmed by the BBC Monitoring Services, which said the "interfering signals were present only for the period of the SW Radio Africa programming" on 16 March. Gerry Jackson, founder of the radio station, told IRIN that the interfering signals were apparently emanating from the Thornhill area in the central city of Gweru in Zimbabwe. According to sources, the BBC followed up on complaints from the radio station that its broadcasts were being jammed. "Once the person who wants to obstruct the broadcast establishes the frequency the radio is transmitting its signals on, he or she can transmit interfering signals at a high power level on the same frequency, making it incomprehensible to the listener," a radio expert explained. To counter the interference in its broadcasts, SW Radio Africa said it has changed its frequencies. IRIN has been unable to obtain comment from the Zimbabwean government on the allegation. MMPZ's advocacy officer, Dumisani Gandhi, said the "sabotage against SW Radio Africa's broadcasts, particularly in the run-up to the March 2005 general elections, is a cynical attempt to deny the public their right to access information sources of their choice". The alleged jamming of the radio station violated the Southern African Development Community (SADC) election guidelines, he noted. In a new reported released on Monday, the New York-based watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW), also alleged the Zimbabwean government had not met the benchmarks set by SADC principles and guidelines governing democratic elections. The rights body asked SADC members to call on the Zimbabwean government to ensure that the 31 March parliamentary poll was held in an environment free of intimidation, harassment and violence. It urged the SADC Electoral Observer team to remain in Zimbabwe for a reasonable period beyond the vote count, to monitor possible election-related human rights violations. "The results of the Zimbabwe elections cannot be based merely on observation of the last week before the elections," said Tiseke Kasambala, a researcher with the Africa Division of HRW. "If SADC members fail to take into account abuses in the long run-up to the polls, SADC's ability to foster democratic change in the region will be compromised." The 35-page HRW report, 'Not a Level Playing Field: Zimbabwe's 2005 Parliamentary Elections', documented cases of alleged political intimidation of opposition parties, their supporters and ordinary citizens by the ruling ZANU-PF and its political allies. The rights body claimed that five years of "intimidation and repression" had left the playing field for the March election skewed in favour of the ruling ZANU-PF. The Zimbabwean government has "greatly limited the space for the opposition to campaign," said the report. HRW also highlighted the government's use of controversial laws, such as the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, to allegedly repress the media and restrict the activities of political parties. IRIN was unable to reach the Zimbabwean government, ZANU-PF and the SADC observer team for comment. The HRW findings were based on research conducted in several regions of Zimbabwe in December 2004 and February 2005. The HRW survey follows an Amnesty International report, released last week, also detailing evidence of alleged government intimidation, including the arbitrary arrest of opposition candidates.