Sanctions: Attempt to muzzle the media

15 Oct, 2021 - 00:10 0 Views
Sanctions: Attempt to muzzle the media The SADC region has also been affected by the sanctions

The ManicaPost

Pardon Muzavazi
Correspondent

THE illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the West in 2001 were not only meant to make the country’s economy scream, as former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Chester Crocker indicated, but were also designed to muzzle local journalists and thwart the growth of the media industry in Zimbabwe.

Since the start of the land reform programme in the early 2000s, Britain and America, together with their allies, carefully packaged propaganda materials that portrayed Zimbabwe as a primitive country with no respect for the rule of law and property rights.

They used Western media as well as other regional media houses to spread negative propaganda about Zimbabwe.

In its attempt to slap back and correct the negative narrative that was being spread by international media channels, Zimbabwe found itself in a dilemma as the illegal sanctions heavily weighed on the country’s media industry as prominent journalists were slapped with sanctions, and there were also no funds to compete with the well-funded international media agencies.

The West was swift to slap all prominent journalists who were writing something positive about Zimbabwe with sanctions.

Journalists such as former Herald Editor, Caesar Zvayi, former Sunday Mail Deputy Editor, Munyaradzi Huni, ZBC TV Chief Correspondent, Reuben Barwe and the late, Judith Makwanya, among other journalists, were slapped with sanctions by the West.

 

These sanctions on journalists were shocking in that it was a blatant attempt at mind controlling, and was clearly aimed at muzzling voices other than those that were seen and heard to be supporting the opposition.

Sanctions on journalists was also a blatant attempt to muzzle the media and restrict the right to freedom of expression.

 

The onslaught on journalists undermined the very essence of free societies, where journalists should be able to do their work without fear of intimidation and other reprisals.

Interesting to note was that the illegal sanctions were only slapped on journalists that worked for arguably the biggest news stables in the country that is The Herald, The Sunday Mail and ZBC TV.

 

When Huni was slapped with the sanctions, he was the Political Editor of The Sunday Mail, while Zvayi was the Editor at The Herald.

Barwe and Makwanya were senior reporters at ZBC TV.

 

In placing these journalists on the sanctions list, the European Union was actually trying to instil fear and create psychological block on all journalists and commentators who would have an interest in Zimbabwe, and who would have an alternative take on what was happening in Zimbabwe.

 

Ironically, the West always masquerade as authors of liberal democracy who promote plurality of voices, but the moment they slapped local journalists with sanctions, they failed in the discourse of ideas.

Again, sanctions have greatly affected the growth of the media industry in Zimbabwe as it hampered programmes such as that of digitalisation of the airwaves.

Due to sanctions, Zimbabwe failed to meet the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadline to migrate from analogue broadcasting to digital by June 2015.

 

The digitalisation programme, which is under the jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) and being rolled out by Transmedia, was heavily affected by lack of funds.

Due to the sanctions, Zimbabwe has for the past 20 years failed to access lines of credit from international monetary institutions.

 

Some of the country’s banks were also restricted from trading with international financial institutions. Under the US’ Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA), companies are not allowed to deal with Zimbabwean entities on the sanctions list.

 

Companies have found it challenging to move money into Zimbabwe because banks would be fined for dealing with sanctioned countries.

This has caused potential investors and funders to withdraw and shun from partnering with Government in rolling out the digitalisation programme.

 

The Government was left with no financial helping hand as foreign companies now feared the wrath of the European Union, if they were seen supporting Government efforts of digitalisation.

With the digitalisation programme requiring approximately US$173 million, it was surely a daunting task for a sanctioned country like Zimbabwe to achieve the feat without external financial help.

 

The failure or slow progress of the digitalisation programme in Zimbabwe was a delight to the West as they want the country to fail in every aspect, and be declared a failed State.

The sanctions had not only made the economy scream, but have also caused the media industry in Zimbabwe to scream.

 

Sanctions muzzled voices that wanted to peddle the correct, and true Zimbabwean story.

 

As October 25 draws nearer, we will not tire in calling for the unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions as they have caused untold suffering to the people of Zimbabwe.

 

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