Zimbabwe press debates new bills

Zimbabwe's parliament debates media bill next week

Zimbabwe is facing the threat of EU sanctions, after its parliament passed a security bill criminalising criticism of President Robert Mugabe and giving the police new powers to disperse demonstrations.

Next week the parliament debates another controversial bill - on control over the media. The Zimbabwean press has been debating the issues involved:

The Daily News quotes Edgar Tekere, Mr Mugabe's opponent in the 1990 elections.

"Tekere made the famous remark that 'democracy is in the intensive care unit', more than 10 years ago, when referring to President Mugabe's increasingly autocratic tendencies."

Democracy in this country is no longer in the intensive care unit - democracy is dead

The Daily News

"If we had done something about it then... the sorry political and economic mess we are presently in and the horrifying prospects the country is now facing would most probably have been averted altogether," the paper argues.

"Democracy in this country is no longer in the intensive care unit. Democracy is dead," The Daily News laments.

The general's declaration

The paper sounds the death knell on democracy in Zimbabwe following Wednesday's "blood-curdling declaration" by the armed forces' chief, General Vitalis Zvinavashe, that the security organisations would "only stand in support of those political leaders that will pursue Zimbabwean values, traditions and beliefs".

Zvinavashe: "Disgraceful betrayal"

The paper says that "the country is now effectively under military rule with Mugabe merely a nominal Head of State as all power now rests with the generals".

The Zimbabwe Independent describes General Zvinavashe's declaration as a "disgraceful betrayal of his constitutional responsibilities" and "a coup against the democratic process".

"This is governance as bad as it gets."

Mr Mugabe "knows he has lost the nation's trust and could never win a free and fair poll," the Zimbabwe Independent charges.

The Financial Gazette also sounds the alarm.

"Zimbabweans cannot and must not tolerate this organised anarchy, which is clearly meant to intimidate them and perpetuate Mugabe's tyranny of two decades."

It urges Mr Mugabe to "come down from his high pedestal now and order his mobs to rapidly end the violence or risk a bloodbath from an anguished and inflamed nation".

Support for Mugabe

The pro-government The Herald slams Britain and the West.

We find it despicable that the Western world can blatantly assume the high moral ground of standing in judgment over sovereign countries like Zimbabwe

The Herald

"For the first time in its 22-year history, Zimbabwe's sovereignty is in real danger of being usurped by the country's colonial enemy, Britain, which has openly declared war against the country."

"We find it despicable that the Western world can blatantly assume the high moral ground of standing in judgment over sovereign countries like Zimbabwe which had to fight for the human rights of its citizens and the introduction of democracy and the rule of law," The Herald adds.

International community's role

The Zimbabwe Independent calls on Zimbabwe's friends to "stop dancing around the issue of sanctions in the naive hope that a wilful and increasingly unstable dictator like Mugabe will suddenly change his mind and stop terrorising his people".

The information minister will decide who can work as a journalist

"This latest example of the prostitution of state power will be a litmus test for the Southern Africa Development Community and Zimbabwe's friends abroad".

The Financial Gazette tells SADC's "hesitant leaders" that it is high time "they took note of the sharply deteriorating events in Zimbabwe and acted with deeds to rein in a wayward colleague".

It urges the international community to "intervene for the sake of sanity".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.