Newspaper closure heightens concerns over media freedom

Media rights groups on Monday continued to voice their concern over a decision last week by Zimbabwe's government to shut down the offices of the Daily News, the country's only independent newspaper. The Daily News was closed on Friday, a day after the Supreme Court dismissed an application by Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), challenging the constitutionality of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). The Court ruled that the ANZ had to register under the act before its petition could be heard. ANZ is the publisher of The Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday. "The shutdown is definitely a blow to media freedom in Zimbabwe and sets a bad precedent across Southern Africa. It sends a signal to other regional leaders that it is okay to close down media outlets who dare to challenge the authority of the government. More importantly though, this decision affects not only the livelihoods of the journalists, but also those who are involved in daily operations of the newspapers," Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) researcher Zoe Titus told IRIN. MISA urged regional and international leaders to step up pressure on the government to reverse the decision. "MISA is concerned that there isn't enough pressure brought on the government by the international community to amend some of the draconian media laws," Titus said. In a show of solidarity with the Daily News, the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) has called for the decision to be "immediately reversed". The South African Press Association (SAPA) reported the editors' forum as saying the action demonstrated the regime's cynical contempt for democratic public opinion. SANEF concluded that no political solution would be possible in Zimbabwe as long as free speech was repressed. Meanwhile, the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has voiced its concern. "The regime continues to trample on all the rights and freedoms of Zimbabweans with impunity. Sadly, there are some nations and international organisations that continue to voice support for this violent regime ... giving it the determination to continue repressing the people," the MDC said in a statement. However, the government Media and Information Commission chairman, Tafataona Mahoso, told Reuters: "There is freedom of the press here, but there is no freedom to act as an outlaw." "We registered almost all the other private newspapers which applied, but these people chose to play to the gallery, and now want to [cry] foul because the law has caught up with them," Mahoso said.