Johannesburg — Parliament in Zimbabwe passed a stringent new media bill Thursday, the same day President Robert Mugabe, 77, and his main opposition rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, 49, were registered as candidates for the upcoming March election.
The much-criticised - and much-amended - media legislation, called the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill, was the last to be passed by parliament in Harare, which has now adjourned until after the presidential election on 9-10 March. It has been delayed for weeks because of opposition within Mugabes own governing Zanu-PF party.
Eddison Zvogbo, a former Zanu-PF cabinet minister under Mugabe and the chairman of the parliamentary legal committee in Zimbabwe, was scathing about earlier drafts of the bill. "I can say without equivocation that this bill in the original form was the most calculated and determined assault on our liberties guaranteed by the constitution," said Zvogbo.
Tsvangirais opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) fought the bill every step of the way, but conceded defeat Thursday in the face of Zanu-PFs parliamentary majority.
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Critics say the revised new bill, which has yet to be signed into law by Mugabe, imposes tight controls, restricts freedom of the press and access to information for local and foreign journalists.
The secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Journalists Union, Basildon Peta, called the bill an "abominable piece of legislation," adding that it would not be accepted by the country's media workers. "They must expect massive resistance from us," Peta concluded.
Under the new law, Zimbabwean reporters will have to be licensed by a state-appointed committee. They could face imprisonment and huge fines for violating the regulations, including publishing "rumours or falsehoods".
But there have been some concessions. The original bill specified that all foreign and local media organisations would have three months to apply for a new licence. The revised version passed by parliament says existing media organisations will be considered registered.
Another compromise is that foreigners will be allowed a non-controlling stake in local media groups, revised from an earlier draft excluding them and authorising only Zimbabweans to operate press organisations.
The opposition MDC has accused the Information Minister and Leader of the House, Jonathan Moyo, of pushing the bill through in the brief absence of opposition members from parliament. But Moyo told the house, to jeers from the MDC, that the bill was in line with international media legislation.
"The principle of having a media that operates under the law is a well-established principle around the world. We have no scores to settle with anyone and we will not use this legislation to settle any scores," said Moyo.
The media bill is just one of a raft of tough new legislation rushed through parliament in Zimbabwe since the beginning of the year. The move is seen by observers as a strategy to guarantee the re-election of President Mugabe.
The Public Order and Security Act limits criticism of Mugabe, effectively criminalising it.
Another bill gave sweeping powers to the security forces to crack down on the opposition in the run-up to the presidential poll, leading to widespread domestic and international condemnation that this could jeopardise the pre-election campaign.
As Zimbabwes main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, registered as his partys presidential hopeful Thursday, he said violence and "oppressive" new security laws violated the "spirit of free campaigning".
Mugabe has accused Tsvangirai and the opposition of being puppets of foreign countries and beholden to Zimbabwes minority white community.
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Mugabes Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, registered the Zanu-PF leader as his partys presidential candidate in court, Thursday. Kicking off the presidential race with this challenge, Chinamasa said Mugabe and Zanu-PF were "dedicated and committed" to victory and would seek to "overcome attempts by Britain (the former colonial power in what was then Rhodesia), the European Union, the United States and white Rhodesians who want install (their chosen) government".
London has led a campaign to have sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe, a demand which the European Union is considering if Harare fails to comply with certain demands, including allowing the deployment of international election observers.
On Wednesday, the British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, failed in his bid to have Zimbabwe suspended from the Commonwealth, a move rejected by CMAG, the organisations 8-member ministerial action group which monitors human rights and democracy.
