The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the threat of jail has forced at least 48 Zimbabwean journalists into exile since the countrys political crisis began in 2000 compared to just 30 for civil war-torn Somalia.
At least 48 Zimbabwean journalists have been forced into exile since 2000, most of them in the early half of the decade during sustained harassment by President Robert Mugabes government, said Tom Rhodes, Africa programme coordinator at CPJ.
The figure is much higher than second-placed Ethiopia where 41 scribes have fled to other countries to escape government persecution in the past 10 years. Eritrea is a distant fourth with 24 journalists who fled intimidation and violence since 2000.
In interviews with CPJ, many of the exiled Zimbabwean journalists have said that it took years for them to re-establish themselves professionally and secure sound economic footings for their families. Many had to abandon journalism as a career, he said in the report titled Attacks on the Press 2009 published last Tuesday.
But the report commended efforts by some exiled Zimbabwean journalists, including The Zimbabwean editor and publisher Wilf Mbanga and SW Radio Africa founder Gerry Jackson, for keeping the momentum going after leaving Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe remains one of the most difficult countries for journalists to practise their profession despite formation of a coalition government by Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai 12 months ago. Mugabe and Tsvangirai undertook in the power-sharing agreement that gave birth to their coalition government to restore democracy in Zimbabwe and to ensure respect for human rights including press freedom.
The former foes also undertook to reform the police and other security arms of government to ensure they respect and uphold human rights. But the troubled unity government is yet to move on security sector reforms while the army and police continue to exhibit repressive tendencies jeopardising the southern African countrys efforts to recover from a spate of bad publicity over the past decade which affected tourist arrivals.
Post published in: News