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MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION NiZA programme “…and then they simply arrested all the editorial staff of the paper.” The state of the media in Southern Africa : The daily reality “Mozambique undoubtedly has the most media-friendly constitution and press law among all southern African countries. Zimbabwe and Zambia(in that order) have the most hostile constitutional and legal framework for the media. The rest of the southern African countries fall somewhere between the two extremes. The point may be illustrated as follows: Recently in Mozambique, the state commenced legal proceedings against a provincial or district government official for harrassment and abuse of a journalist. In Zimbabwe, on the other hand, the Executive and its Attorney General have gone out of their way to defend the indefensible, i.e. the kidnapping and torture of two journalists by the military for publishing a story which was not to the liking of the military. I understand that, in Zambia, the authorities were unable to identify the author of a newspaper story which was not to their liking, and so they simply arrested all the editorial staff of the paper.” John O.Manyarara, retired judge of the supreme court in Zimbabwe A veteran of journalism, Manyarara is in the front-line of the fight for freedom of expression in southern Africa. In the quote he sketches the complicated circumstances affecting the media in this region.

With the nineties came the birth of democracy. But what does democracy signify? For most media, it means no more than reporting about the winning election of a ruling political party. And for most citizens, it is no more than a trip to the polling booths every four years. For these reasons, media have a crucial role to play in the creation of an awareness of a country’s current state of affairs. This would be events and occurrence’s outside of election periods. Only with the creation of this awareness, can an impact be made on the citizens of a country.

"Why support the media?"	Freedom of expression is inextricably bound to media. In most southern African countries it is set out in the nation’s constitution. But how can freedom of expression be borne, where it does not exist? And how does one protect freedom of expression where it does exist? It should be noted that freedom of expression goes deeper than simply having the right to say something about someone. It is also the news source, or where news originates from. Therefore it is necessary to ensure that young, inexperienced journalists are given the task to ensure that freedom of expression is taken seriously, and responsibly. It will not be easy however before those in the power-seats take the press seriously. In Zimbabwe, total oppression made objective reporting, other than that of Mugabe’s propaganda, virtually impossible. The fighting parties in Angola have prevented the press from giving any voice to an independent party. And governments are still able to destroy media with the prohibition of advertising. In addition to this, the go-ahead for the liberalisation of radio has still not been given in most countries. If democracy is to be of significance to the illiterate, it is necessary then that independent radio stations, attempt to dominate the airwaves for the sake of their listeners. Support for this sector is vital. This is why NiZA is involved with programme s for media and freedom of expression. NiZA’s purpose is better understood via the explanation of the following five themes: freedom, plurality, accessibility, quality and sustainability. More information on the themes programme summary NiZA media activities 1998 (mainly in Dutch)
	Newsletter Media Southern Africa No 1 (Sept. 2000)

Netherlands Institute for Southern Afica

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