US embassy cable - 02HARARE1984

UNCLAS HARARE 001984 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, KPAO, KMDR, ZI, Media and Communications 
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT RADIO OFFICES BOMBED 
 
 
1.   Summary:  At approximately 0100 on August 29 the 
    offices of independent radio "Voice of the People" 
    (VOP) were firebombed and destroyed.  The offices were 
    in a house in a residential neighborhood near downtown 
    Harare.  There were no injuries, but the house and its 
    contents (including computers, files, recording 
    equipment and furnishings) were completely destroyed. 
    Eyewitnesses, including a security guard and two 
    domestic employees living in a separate structure 
    adjacent to the house, said that the firebombing was 
    carried out by three, armed, Shona-speaking men.  Our 
    non-expert opinion, based on the even destruction of 
    the entire house and lack of damage to the garden or 
    adjacent buildings, is that the attackers knew what 
    they were doing.  Eyewitnesses reported a loud 
    explosion, but the damage to the house appears to be 
    primarily fire damage.  This attack on part of 
    Zimbabwe's beleaguered independent media is sadly 
    similar to the January 2001 bombing of the "Daily 
    News" printing press.  End summary. 
 
2.   "Voice of the People" (VOP) has been broadcasting 
    on short-wave frequencies from facilities in the 
    Netherlands and Madagascar since mid-2000. 
    Programming was news and information in Shona and 
    Ndebele.  The station has faced funding constraints 
    and has been on and off the air in the last year, but 
    was managing daily morning broadcasts (0330 to 0500 
    GMT) since May 2002.  In Zimbabwe VOP described itself 
    as an "information trust," not a radio station.  VOP 
    staff collected information and produced programming 
    in Zimbabwe, and sent digital audio files to the 
    Netherlands for broadcast.  Since they were not 
    operating a transmitter in Zimbabwe, they maintained 
    they could not be considered a broadcaster and were 
    exempt from Zimbabwean law governing the electronic 
    media.  Anecdotal information indicates that, because 
    it broadcast in indigenous languages, VOP had a larger 
    rural audience in Zimbabwe than any other 
    international broadcaster. 
 
3.   On July 4, 2002 police with a search warrant 
    raided the VOP offices.  According to VOP staff, the 
    police were looking for traditional radio equipment 
    such as tape recorders and transmission facilities 
    raided office.  Not finding that type of equipment, 
    police seized paper files and audio CDs.  Those items 
    were returned to VOP during the week of August 19. 
 
4.   On August 1, 2002, John Masuku became director of 
    VOP.  Mr. Masuku, a professional broadcast journalist, 
    was director of the government-owned Zimbabwe 
    Broadcasting Corporation's Bulawayo branch until June 
    2002 when he (and about 400 other ZBC employees) was 
    dismissed as part of a ZBC "restructuring" exercise. 
 
5.   The security guard at the VOP office said that 
    three men approached him at about 0100 on August 29 
    and told him in Shona "he must step aside lest he dies 
    for something that he is not involved in."  A woman 
    living on the property said that at least one of the 
    attackers had a handgun.  The men broke into the 
    offices, spent a short time inside, and then left 
    shortly before an explosion and subsequent fire in the 
    office.  The security guard reported the explosion and 
    fire to police who arrived at about 0200.  The fire 
    department also responded, but the offices were 
    completely burned by the time they arrived. 
    Initially, police did not protect the scene.  VOP 
    staff, local journalists and other people were able to 
    move freely about the destroyed offices and grounds 
    until about 1000, roughly 9 hours after the attack. 
    As of 1100 police forensic specialists had not 
    arrived. 
 
6.   VOP, which has received funding from European and 
    other donors, is not sure what the future holds.  VOP 
    staff and boardmembers at the offices after the 
    firebombing were visibly shaken.  At the very least, 
    the complete destruction of their offices and 
    equipment will likely lead to several weeks off the 
    air.  A decision on whether or not to resume 
    programming will not be made for several days as VOP 
    staff take stock of their losses and evaluate the 
    risks implicit in resuming operations. 
 
SULLIVAN