Bombing of radio office condemned

The Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has condemned the bombing on Thursday of the offices of an independent radio initiative. The Voice of the People (VOP) Communications Trust is aimed at a rural audience. Their programmes are produced in Zimbabwe and transmitted to Radio Netherlands for broadcast on short wave back into the country. MISA-Zimbabwe said the bombing occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning. "The bomb, which has destroyed all the equipment, virtually incapacitates the operations of the aspiring radio station. Although the police have begun investigations which we believe might lead to the arrest of the culprits, past examples of investigations of attacks on media establishments are not encouraging at all. This is so with particular reference to the bombing of The Daily News offices and printing press in 2000, 2001 and 2002. "The latest bombing of VOP is the fourth such direct bombing of a media organisation, taking place in less than three years. This excludes incidences of physical attacks, arrests and intimidation. These developments are unprecedented in the history of Zimbabwe," MISA-Zimbabwe said in a statement. VOP broadcasts two-and-a-half hours each day in English and in Zimbabwe's two main vernacular languages, Shona and Ndebele. The aspiring community radio station has not been given a broadcast licence. MISA's regional office said VOP did not enjoy a good relationship with the authorities, who were apparently concerned that VOP was "tarnishing the image" of the country. Last month the police, accompanied by officers from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, and armed with a search warrant, raided VOP in search of a transmitter and other broadcasting equipment. After failing to find the transmitter, the police confiscated 133 tapes and files, which were later returned.