Listening Post - Feature: Beating censorship in Zimbabwe
  • 12 years ago
Although the Arab Spring has been contained to North Africa and the Middle East, it has unnerved leaders further afield in countries with democratic credentials that are less than stellar. Zimbabwe is one such country. Earlier this year, six Zimbabweans faced treason charges for gathering and screening footage of the Arab revolutions. Although those charges were eventually whittled down and they received suspended jail sentences, the message was clear from Harare. It has been more than three years since the Zimbabwe Government of National Unity was formed, merging Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change. However, critics argue that the coalition has done little to reform the country's media. Government censorship - direct or indirect - is still a reality in Zimbabwe, but some are finding ways around it.