Kholwani Nyathi
10 May 2008
The Botswana government last week instructed its public media to expose the plight of Zimbabwean refugees escaping political violence as asylum seekers continued to flee across its border.
The directive came shortly after an unprecedented mass deportation of Zimbabwean traders from Zambia last weekend.
Observers saw this as yet another sign of growing regional impatience over the unending political crisis in this country.
Botswana, which recently set up a temporary refugee camp for Zimbabweans in Francistown, said exposing the extent of the humanitarian crisis might help mobilise international support for the victims of political violence.
Andrew Sesinyi, the deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, told the independent Mmegi newspaper the Zimbabwe crisis could no longer be swept under the carpet.
"There is an influx of Zimbabwean asylum seekers and I have just asked the government media to pay attention to this development," Sesinyi said.
"We can't hide a problem which is as huge as that of the influx of asylum seekers.
I have told the public media this must be given the priority it deserves. We cannot be getting stories on a local problem on the wire service when we are here on the ground."
In the past the government in Harare has claimed it enjoys the support of neighbouring countries who it alleges are against the MDC because they believed it was supported by the West.
But the support appears to be fast waning following the disputed 29 March elections and the subsequent upsurge in political violence blamed on Zanu PF supporters.
Botswana and Zambia have been the most outspoken critics of President Robert Mugabe's government.
The MDC says 30 of its supporters have been killed since the elections.
In Matabeleland South most of the victims are reportedly fleeing to Botswana where they enter through undesignated points.
Alarmed by the influx, President Ian Seretse Khama's government gave journalists a rare opportunity to interview the new arrivals.
"In Botswana, we are used to illegal immigrants," Sesinyi said, "and people might be confused about the latest developments and as such, it is the mandate of the media to inform the public accordingly, especially the public media."
Botswana deports thousands of Zimbabwean economic refugees every year and along with South Africa it has been worst affected by the collapse of the economy blamed on Mugabe's policies.
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