News / National
'Jonathan Moyo want to turn Zimbabwe into a secretive North Korea'
17 Feb 2015 at 08:33hrs | Views
INFORMATION Minister Jonathan Moyo has been criticised for wanting to turn Zimbabwe into a "secretive North Korea", after he said the government would in the future confiscate cameras if an unfortunate incident, like President Robert Mugabe's fall, happened again.
The Welshman Ncube led - MDC said Zimbabweans should not be turned into scared and ignorant citizens by "those who arrogate themselves the responsibility of getting angry on behalf of Mugabe".
Moyo on Saturday defended State security agents who forced journalists to delete photographs of Mugabe falling, and said: "These digital devices have built - in facilities for things that are deleted to remain alive for at least 30 days.
"So next time, we have learnt that we should not delete, we should take the devices."
The Information minister, addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club, warned that the private media might not be invited to State functions in future.
Nhlanhla Dube, the MDC spokesperson, said this ran against Section 57 of the Constitution, which among other things, stipulates that every person has a right not to have their possessions seized and the privacy of their communications infringed.
"MDC refuses to have our country, which our forefathers fought long and hard to liberate from colonial rule, be turned into a rogue North Korea - like state just because those who arrogate themselves the responsibility of getting angry on behalf of President Mugabe are offended," he said.
North Korea has for decades remained the most reclusive and closed country in the world.
It is one of the few countries still under nominally communist rule.
"Zanu PF must learn, alien as it is to their political DNA that our State organs and institutions cannot, must not and should not be turned into partisan instruments for creating a scared, ignorant, zombie and numbed citizenry which lives in fear of its president and political party," Dube said.
"That is not the definition of fairness or freedom.
"We all deserve all the rights as prescribed in the national Constitution.
"We encourage Zanu PF and their clones, who are still living in the stone age, to accept that there are some things they cannot control, and one of those things is the advancement in information communication technology, which has thankfully led to citizen journalism and easy sharing of information."
The Welshman Ncube led - MDC said Zimbabweans should not be turned into scared and ignorant citizens by "those who arrogate themselves the responsibility of getting angry on behalf of Mugabe".
Moyo on Saturday defended State security agents who forced journalists to delete photographs of Mugabe falling, and said: "These digital devices have built - in facilities for things that are deleted to remain alive for at least 30 days.
"So next time, we have learnt that we should not delete, we should take the devices."
The Information minister, addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club, warned that the private media might not be invited to State functions in future.
Nhlanhla Dube, the MDC spokesperson, said this ran against Section 57 of the Constitution, which among other things, stipulates that every person has a right not to have their possessions seized and the privacy of their communications infringed.
North Korea has for decades remained the most reclusive and closed country in the world.
It is one of the few countries still under nominally communist rule.
"Zanu PF must learn, alien as it is to their political DNA that our State organs and institutions cannot, must not and should not be turned into partisan instruments for creating a scared, ignorant, zombie and numbed citizenry which lives in fear of its president and political party," Dube said.
"That is not the definition of fairness or freedom.
"We all deserve all the rights as prescribed in the national Constitution.
"We encourage Zanu PF and their clones, who are still living in the stone age, to accept that there are some things they cannot control, and one of those things is the advancement in information communication technology, which has thankfully led to citizen journalism and easy sharing of information."
Source - Southern Eye
