day after Zimbabwe’s news professionals were warned they are potential targets of political violence ahead of this year’s elections, the country’s journalists’ union says that 40 journalism students have been arrested by police who accused them of engaging in “political activities”. The students from Harare Polytechnic School of Journalism were doing field work in Epworth, just outside the capital, when they were arrested on Wednesday afternoon, the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) said. “Trainee journalism students at the Harare Polytechnic on rural reporting training have just been detained at Epworth police station,” the ZUJ said in a statement. ”Police allege that they were engaged in political activities. ZUJ has just dispatched a lawyer.” The ZJU, which represents more than 1,000 journalists in State-run and private media, warned journalists to beware of the potential for violence as they cover political events, making specific mention of primary elections for President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, which began on Tuesday. Reports of violence against people and groups perceived as being anti-ZANU-PF — including journalists, human rights activists, supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) whose leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is an arch rival of Mr Mugabe – have escalated alarmingly in recent months as electioneering has picked up. The Southern African Editors’ Forum (SAEF), a regional body of senior editors, said it has written to the leadership of Zimbabwe’s main political parties, ZANU-PF and the two MDC factions that make up the governing coalition, to condemn a recent rise in attacks on journalists. “SAEF would like to call on all political parties in Zimbabwe to exercise restraint during this period and to crack their whips against hooliganism and errant party cadres who every now and then take the law into their own hands to unleash wanton destruction on property and lives of fellow Zimbabweans,” said Jovial Rantao, SAEF chairman. There have been five recent incidents in which journalists have been detained and in at least one case forced to chant ZANU-PF slogans. Security forces including police have publicly pledged support for ZANU-PF. Concerns are rising that the elections could be hit by similar levels of violence that tainted the 2008 poll, in which an estimated 200 people, most opponents of ZANU-PF, were killed and others detained and beaten. Media analyst Blessing Vava said; “It is worrisome that the persecution of journalists while on duty is escalating as the country gears for polls. Media freedom remains a dream in Zimbabwe with the laws on the ground making it impossible for journalists to operate freely without fear.” National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said she had no information on the Epworth incident.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 18:54:08 +0000