US embassy cable - 02HARARE2215

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 002215 
 
SIPDIS 
 
ROME FOR AMBASSADOR TONY HALL, MAX FINBERG AND TIM 
LAVELLE AT FODAG 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S, AF/PD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, PREL, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA BACKGROUND AND THEMES FOR AMBASSADOR 
HALL'S VISIT TO ZIMBABWE 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR POSTING ON THE 
INTERNET. 
 
 
1.   (SBU) Media Background: The Government of Zimbabwe 
   (GoZ) has deliberately and successfully limited media 
   freedom and the flow of information into and out of 
   Zimbabwe.   The majority of Zimbabweans must rely on 
   heavily propagandistic government media for news and 
   analysis of local and international events.  The flow 
   of news out of Zimbabwe has been restricted through the 
   expulsion of once-resident foreign journalists and 
   refusals to grant visas to international journalists 
   wishing to visit. 
 
2.   (SBU) Radio is the most influential medium in 
   Zimbabwe.  The GoZ has a monopoly on local broadcast 
   media and they offer only unrelenting pro-government 
   propaganda.  One independent broadcaster, Voice of the 
   People, maintained offices in Zimbabwe and provided 
   news and information via Dutch short wave facilities 
   until its Harare office was completely destroyed by a 
   sophisticated firebombing in late August 2002.  Another 
   short wave broadcaster, Short Wave Radio Africa, 
   provides news and information from studios in the 
   United Kingdom.  Anecdotal information indicates that 
   short wave broadcasters have only small audiences. 
 
3.   (SBU) Urban Zimbabweans have access to a 
   courageous independent press consisting of one daily 
   and three weeklies (the Daily News, Financial Gazette, 
   Zimbabwe Independent, and the Standard).   Prices, 
   logistical challenges, and the fact that pro-government 
   forces have banned the distribution of independent 
   newspapers in rural areas means that most rural 
   Zimbabweans (60% of the population) have no access to 
   these publications.  The independent press is under 
   steady pressure from the GoZ and pro-government forces. 
   Arrests of editors and reporters are common and the 
   Daily News has twice been bombed, most recently in 
   January 2001 in a sophisticated attack that completely 
   destroyed the paper's presses.   No arrests have been 
   made.  The Daily News recently replaced its presses.  A 
   new media registration law, to come into force later 
   this year, is likely to result in increased arrests and 
   harassment of journalists working for the independent 
   press. 
 
4.   (SBU) The GoZ owns and exercises tight editorial 
   control over two dailies and three weeklies (the 
   Herald, Chronicle, Sunday Mail, Sunday News and Manica 
   Post).  Although the circulation of these papers has 
   seen a steady decline, they are generally the only 
   newspapers available in rural Zimbabwe.  There is a 
   distinct double standard in the application of media 
   control laws to the independent and government-owned 
   media. 
 
5.   (SBU) Over the last 18 months, non-Zimbabweans 
   working for the BBC, Agence France Presse, the Mail and 
   Guardian (South Africa) and other international media 
   have been forced to leave the country.  BBC has 
   explicitly been banned.  The new media registration law 
   is likely to result in the closure of the Associated 
   Press, Reuters and AFP bureaus in Zimbabwe, all 
   currently staffed by Zimbabwean citizens.   The GoZ 
   routinely denies visas to journalists who openly apply 
   to visit the country for reporting purposes. 
 
6.   (U) Media Themes for Ambassador Hall's Visit: 
   Ambassador Hall's visit could usefully promote several 
   themes in the media: 
 
   A) Zimbabwe's food crisis is becoming increasingly 
   severe. 
 
   B) The Government of Zimbabwe should make policy 
   decisions to permit the private sector and a larger 
   number of NGOs to take part in helping to meet the 
   nation's food needs. 
 
  C) Among the policy issues we believe are 
  exacerbating the food crisis are the Grain Marketing 
  Board's monopoly on grain imports and sales; 
  unrealistically low controlled prices on staple 
  foods; ponderous bureaucratic procedures for 
  clearing donated food through Zimbabwean customs; 
  and limitations on the NGOs permitted to participate 
  in food distribution programs. 
 
  D) The United States has been the principal food 
  donor to Zimbabwe, with generous contributions from 
  the United Kingdom and the European Union. 
  Additional assistance from other donors is needed to 
  meet Zimbabwe's food needs. 
 
  E) While Southern Africa's drought is a factor in 
  the food crisis, the Government of Zimbabwe needs to 
  face the fact that it also bears responsibility for 
  the situation.  Macroeconomic mismanagement 
  (including deficit spending, a grossly overvalued 
  currency, multiple exchange rates, and unrealistic 
  price controls), a violent and chaotic land 
  redistribution program that has badly damaged the 
  nation's agricultural sector, and a disregard for 
  the rule of law that has alienated foreign investors 
  and business, have all played a substantial role in 
  creating conditions under which more than half of 
  all Zimbabweans need food aid. 
 
  F) The United States will not politicize its food 
  assistance to Zimbabwe.  In spite of our serious 
  concerns about the actions and policies of the 
  Zimbabwean government, we will not abandon the 
  people of Zimbabwe at this time of need. 
 
  G) We are working closely with the World Food 
  Program and our bilateral NGO partners to make sure 
  that the food we provide is distributed on a non- 
  partisan basis. 
 
SULLIVAN