UK paper slams ‘expulsion’ of its reporter

The British ‘Daily Telegraph’ on Wednesday slammed Zimbabwe for turning down an application to renew a work permit for its Harare-based correspondent, saying the decision amounted to an expulsion, SAPA reported on Thursday. David Blair, 28, who has been reporting from Zimbabwe since 1999, said he was informed of the decision by the Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo on Tuesday. “He (Moyo) had said he would look into my application and yesterday he invited me for a meeting and said it was not going to be renewed.”

The decision drew a swift and angry response from ‘The Daily Telegraph’, whose foreign editor Alec Russell sent a letter of complaint to Moyo that was published in a state-owned daily. “Only two weeks ago Mr Mugabe was quoted as saying he was keen to improve ties with London,” Russell said in the letter which appeared on the front page of the Herald newspaper. “But the expulsion of our correspondent will send an unequivocally hostile message to the British public. “I hope you feel able to reconsider your decision,” Russell said.

Zimbabwe recently unveiled new restrictions on foreign journalists, requiring them to apply for accreditation a month in advance of travelling to the country. The government also said it would not accept applications by foreign correspondents already in the country.

The journalists would have to leave Zimbabwe and reapply for accreditation from their own countries.
Blair, whose two-year work permit expires on 16 July, is the last remaining practicing British journalist living in Zimbabwe.

The US state department slammed the new controls on media accreditation. “It appears that the government of Zimbabwe wants very much to limit media reporting on what goes on inside Zimbabwe,” said US state department spokesperson Philip Reeker.