May 21st : Taking It To SADC, Media Reforms, Shamu Must Go

Zanu (PF) political commissar, Webster Shamu, has confirmed that ZANU (PF) has now decided to clamp down on the independent media while they carry on with their planned repression, including an election outside the SADC framework.

In his attack on the independent media â€" ironically on World Press Freedom Day â€" he was fumbling for justification to clamp down on the free media, buthe could not find any. Still he went on to threaten the independent media, claiming that in the last five years the media had not fulfilled its promises to regulate itself.

In fact the independent media has surpassed itself, given the constraints imposed by Shamu's ministry, in exposing corruption and keeping Zimbabweans informed about the goings on inside our government and the political parties, while staying out of jail.

If it was not for the independent press Zimbabweans would not know about the leadership crisis in Zanu (PF) as the reason why the party is pushing an ailing 88-year President as its candidate. Shamu wants to clamp down on the independent Press because it is making his party look bad by exposing this - not by fabricating.

Zanu (PF)'s factionalism is now exploding in pro and anti-Mnangagwa and Mujuru violence among Zanu (PF) activists and being broken up by the police with guns. As the Zanu (PF) political commissar, Shamu himself has been crisscrossing the country, fire-fighting and trying to quell expulsions, demonstrations and outright fights as Zanu (PF) crumbles under the weight of a directionless leadership.

The Independent Press has also played its quintessential role of exposing corruption - from the opaque allocation of diamond concessions to the ongoing failures of companies operating in the diamond fields to account for their income.

Zimbabwe's Minister of Information, Shamu, has failed to live up to his responsibility as Minister of Information by not carrying through with the media reforms that should have seen independent boards appointed at all public media, and which would have led to a non-partisan state media.

He has also failed to appoint an independent media to adjudicate applications by new independent media players - leading to the unashamed issuing of licenses to two news organisations which are both aligned to Zanu (PF).

The vast majority of cases brought against the media before the courts have been dismissed or won by the media, or are being dragged for years because the state and the judiciary are embarrassed to even bring them to court.

But Shamu had the nerve to say that if the Press continued to fail to regulate itself, then the "sovereign people of Zimbabwe have no option but to intervene and protect themselves through the instruments of the State".

Which sovereign people, we might ask? The same ones who are being denied the opportunity to freely express themselves through free media and free political meetings? The same ones upon whom candidates are being imposed across the country?
What right does Shamu think he has to protect the Zimbabwean people by returning to the regulatory regime of 2001-2007, when in fact the only clear mandate given to him in Article 19 of the GPA at the formation of current government was to liberate the media?

He was quoted saying that the debate over media self-regulation had run its course and it was now time for reckoning, yet there has been no debate, and the only reckoning that is likely to go on is by Zanu (PF) which must now reckon with the people's refusal to be taken for granted.

The 21st Movement is calling on all Zimbabweans to stand up again on the 21st May, all over the world in support of media reforms and supporting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's call for Minister Webster Shamu to be fired.

We are also calling on all Zimbabwean journalists to join us for our demonstrations on Monday 21st May, but we are making a pivotal shift to take our protest to the next level and target the SADC Organ Troika on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation whose chairman is President Jacob Zuma, with Mozambique's  Armando Emilio Guebuza as Vice Chairman and Zambia's Michael Sata as a member.

We will take our petitions the Troika and demand it enforce the media reforms and also appoint the long awaited three member team to the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC). These were both resolutions of SADC and the Troika is supposed to see to the implementation.

In the USA we will present our petition to the Embassy of the chairman of the Troika, President Zuma.

In the UK we will hand our petition to the vice-chairman Mozambique's Embassy. Other countries should also choose any of the three Troika Embassies for demonstrations outside their embassies, and also take their petitions there.

In Australia our activists have had a positive engagement with the High Commissioner or South Africa and they have been assured that their petitions have been taken to the President Zuma, so they have decided to skip this month, but they will return to find out what the response has been.

Our slogans shall be: Media Reforms Now, Shamu Must Go, Charamba Must Go, SADC Troika Organ For Protecting Mugabe? Guebuza Where Are You? Sata Where Are You?

Den Moyo â€" Chairman 21st Free Zimbabwe Global Movement, Chairman, MDC USA