US embassy cable - 05HARARE418

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000418 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KPAO, ZI, Media and Communications 
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT KEEPS DAILY NEWS CLOSED 
 
REF: (A) HARARE 249 (B) HARARE 180 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Eric T. Schultz under Section 1.4 
 b/d 
 
1.   (U) Zimbabwe's Supreme Court on March 14 announced its 
decision in a consolidated set of cases involving the 
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publisher of the 
shuttered Daily News (TDN) and Daily News on Sunday (reftel). 
 The Court set aside the Media and Information Commission's 
(MIC) refusal to register ANZ under AIPPA and ordered it to 
reconsider the ANZ's application.  However, it also 
overturned an Administrative Court's earlier judgment in 
ANZ's favor and dismissed all of ANZ's outstanding 
constitutional challenges to the Access to Information and 
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).  The result of these 
decisions is almost certainly the continued closure of the 
Daily News. 
 
2.  (C) COMMENT: Almost certainly politically directed, this 
disappointing judgment reflects poorly on the independence of 
the Supreme Court and marks a setback for freedom of speech 
in Zimbabwe.  Because the decision leaves open the 
possibility of ANZ being registered under AIPPA, the GOZ can 
be expected to portray the decision to its SADC friends as a 
positive development in the run-up to this month's 
parliamentary elections.  However, even though the MIC's 
refusal to register TDN was overturned, the MIC -- one of the 
most repressive government organs -- is left in the driver's 
seat.  It is highly unlikely to register TDN in time to 
permit publishing before the election.  Indeed, whether TDN 
ultimately publishes again at all will likely depend on the 
ruling party's assessment of the political landscape after 
the election. 
SCHULTZ