By Scott Morgan
June 7, 2004
In March of 2005, the Republic of Zimbabwe will hold its Mid-Term Elections for Parliament. It is no secret that the ruling Zimbabwe african National Union-Patriotic Front is expected to win a convincing victory. One of the means that it will use to achieve victory is to stem the flow of Information that reaches the General Population. Currently the state has a monopoly on broadcasting news and information and in the past has limited the access to the opposition in previous campaigns to virtually no voice at all. Last year, the State was successful in silencing the voice of the Critical Daily News and has targeted other papers that do not toe the line in support of the Government. and now the Internet is in the Crosshairs.
The first indication of this was back in 2000 when the Posts and Telecommunications act allowed was enacted. This law allowed for the Police and Security agencies to monitor phone calls and e-mails. Last year, 14 people were arrested for circulating a subversive e-mail. The message reportedly called for violent demonstrations and strikes in a effort to drive President Mugabe from Power. Then in December 2003, President Mugabe made an address to the World Summit on the Information Society which was meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. The President made a rambling speech where he said the Internet was a tool used in a Quest for Global Dominance and Hegemony by a few. He named the United States and the United Kingdom in the past as being some of the few. He then said he was placing safeguards on the Internet to protect Zimbabwe.
His efforts have not gone unnoticed however. Earlier this year the High Court in Zimbabwe ruled that the provisions of the Posts and Telecommunications act of 2000 which allowed for the monitoring of e-mails was illegal. But like in other issues the Government ignored the courts and has decided to go forward with its goals. Recently, the Government sent the Internet Service Providers in Zimbabwe a new contract. The new contract has a new provision that calls for the ISPs not to carry messages that are objectionable, or violate Zimbabwean or International Law. any such messages are to be handed to the Government for Investigation. an unnamed executive said complying with the contract will infringe on the right to privacy. He also stated that customers could possibly sue him and put the ISP out of business. However if the contract is not signed then the government could deny access to the Internet for the ISPs. Some have already decided not to take the steps and a webpage has urged people to sign up with Hotmail or Yahoo to avoid the eyes of the government. Whatever happens next is up to the people of Zimbabwe.
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