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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Zim admits jamming |
| 2007-03-04 |
| The Zimbabwean government has admitted that state agents are jamming radio broadcasts by foreign stations deemed hostile to President Robert Mugabe's government, state media reported on Thursday. "We cannot allow foreigners to invade our airwaves without our authority," Bright Matonga, the Deputy Minister of Information and Publicity, was quoted by the Herald newspaper as saying in Parliament. Matonga was responding to a question from opposition lawmaker Willias Madzimure on why the government was interfering with radio broadcasts from Voice of America's Studio Seven. "We will continue to do it," Matonga told the house. "We need to protect our sovereignty. If you go to England, you will not receive [broadcasts from] any foreign radio station." Another private radio station, SW Radio Africa, complained last year that state agents were interfering with its broadcasts. The London-based radio station, known for its opposition to Mugabe's rule, operated in a Harare hotel until it was shut down in 2002. There are no private radio stations operating in Zimbabwe despite an amendment six years ago to the broadcasting law, which was designed to end the monopoly of the government-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings. Many Zimbabweans have turned to foreign-based radio stations for an alternative to broadcasts by government-controlled radio and television stations. Three years ago the Zimbabwean government passed tough media laws that have been evoked to shut down five independent newspapers. The authorities have also proposed a new law to allow state agents to set up an interception centre to eavesdrop on private conversations and monitor faxes and emails. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |