Regional outrage over journalists' expulsion

South African editors have decided to seek a meeting with President Robert Mugabe over the deportation of two foreign journalists from Zimbabwe. The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) resolved at its quarterly council meeting in Cape Town ON Monday to send a mission of editors to Harare to inform Mugabe of its views. The group also plans to seek a meeting with Southern African development Community (SADC) ministers who are in South Africa this week to protest against what it sees as the condoning of Zimbabwe's abrogation of the media freedom clause in the SADC constitution. Sanef wants Mugabe censured. In addition, Sanef is to meet South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dhlamini-Zuma to "insist" that the government requests Mugabe to stop persecuting the press "because of its stifling effect on the free flow of information in southern Africa". The dramatic moves come in the wake of BBC correspondent Joseph Winter and 'Mail and Guardian' correspondent Mercedes Sayagues expulsion from Zimbabwe at the weekend. A relieved Winter, who arrived in South Africa with his wife and 20-month-old daughter on Sunday, told IRIN that he believed he was expelled because the Zimbabwean government was upset that he had managed to renew his work permit in December. He said the authorities had been complaining about the BBC's coverage of events in Zimbabwe for a long time. However, the Zimbabwean government insisted Winter was expelled because his work permit was invalid. Winter said Zimbabwean officials visited his home on Friday night, while he was away, and left a message for him to see them on Saturday. When he did, he was told his work permit had been cancelled and that he and his family had 24 hours to leave the country. Late on Saturday night, intruders believed to be members of the Central Intelligence Organisation, raided his home, forcing him to seek refuge at the British High Commission. Winter said he left Zimbabwe because he was concerned about his and his family's safety. Sayagues was in South Africa when she learned on Thursday from the state-controlled 'Herald' newspaper that her work permit had been withdrawn. She was initially refused permission to return to Zimbabwe on Saturday, but was let in to fetch her daughter. She was in Zimbabwe on Sunday preparing for her departure. Meanwhile, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has added its voice to the growing outrage over Zimbabwe's treatment of journalists. "The expulsion of journalists, Joseph Winter and Mercedes Sayagues, shows an increasing lack of tolerance for journalists, their profession and the role they play in a democratic society," the media freedom watchdog said in a statement. "We therefore strongly condemn the reported attack by alleged state security agents on Winter and his family. This attack is none other than an attempt to force Winter to feel unsafe in Zimbabwe and, as a result, to silence him. By silencing him we feel that it is also Mugabe's intention to silence other journalists," MISA said. The statement said that while MISA respected Zimbabwe's sovereignty and its right to permit or refuse entry or worker status to foreigners, this should not be motivated by the desire to curtail the flow of information. In a letter to the Zimbabwean government, the group appealed to Mugabe to exercise his powers to ensure that foreign journalists were not harassed, expelled and refused work permits under obscure pretexts. It also asked for transparency in reviewing the accreditation system and in the drafting of a new Information Bill, which critics fear seeks to further control the independent media.