INDEPENDENT RADIO OFFICES BOMBED

UNCLAS HARARE 001984 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT RADIO OFFICES BOMBED ¶1. Summary: At approximately 0100 on August 29 the offices of independent radio "Voice of the People" (VOP) were firebombed and destroyed. The offices were in a house in a residential neighborhood near downtown Harare. There were no injuries, but the house and its contents (including computers, files, recording equipment and furnishings) were completely destroyed. Eyewitnesses, including a security guard and two domestic employees living in a separate structure adjacent to the house, said that the firebombing was carried out by three, armed, Shona-speaking men. Our non-expert opinion, based on the even destruction of the entire house and lack of damage to the garden or adjacent buildings, is that the attackers knew what they were doing. Eyewitnesses reported a loud explosion, but the damage to the house appears to be primarily fire damage. This attack on part of Zimbabwe's beleaguered independent media is sadly similar to the January 2001 bombing of the "Daily News" printing press. End summary. ¶2. "Voice of the People" (VOP) has been broadcasting on short-wave frequencies from facilities in the Netherlands and Madagascar since mid-2000. Programming was news and information in Shona and Ndebele. The station has faced funding constraints and has been on and off the air in the last year, but was managing daily morning broadcasts (0330 to 0500 GMT) since May 2002. In Zimbabwe VOP described itself as an "information trust," not a radio station. VOP staff collected information and produced programming in Zimbabwe, and sent digital audio files to the Netherlands for broadcast. Since they were not operating a transmitter in Zimbabwe, they maintained they could not be considered a broadcaster and were exempt from Zimbabwean law governing the electronic media. Anecdotal information indicates that, because it broadcast in indigenous languages, VOP had a larger rural audience in Zimbabwe than any other international broadcaster. ¶3. On July 4, 2002 police with a search warrant raided the VOP offices. According to VOP staff, the police were looking for traditional radio equipment such as tape recorders and transmission facilities raided office. Not finding that type of equipment, police seized paper files and audio CDs. Those items were returned to VOP during the week of August 19. ¶4. On August 1, 2002, John Masuku became director of VOP. Mr. Masuku, a professional broadcast journalist, was director of the government-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation's Bulawayo branch until June 2002 when he (and about 400 other ZBC employees) was dismissed as part of a ZBC "restructuring" exercise. ¶5. The security guard at the VOP office said that three men approached him at about 0100 on August 29 and told him in Shona "he must step aside lest he dies for something that he is not involved in." A woman living on the property said that at least one of the attackers had a handgun. The men broke into the offices, spent a short time inside, and then left shortly before an explosion and subsequent fire in the office. The security guard reported the explosion and fire to police who arrived at about 0200. The fire department also responded, but the offices were completely burned by the time they arrived. Initially, police did not protect the scene. VOP staff, local journalists and other people were able to move freely about the destroyed offices and grounds until about 1000, roughly 9 hours after the attack. As of 1100 police forensic specialists had not arrived. ¶6. VOP, which has received funding from European and other donors, is not sure what the future holds. VOP staff and boardmembers at the offices after the firebombing were visibly shaken. At the very least, the complete destruction of their offices and equipment will likely lead to several weeks off the air. A decision on whether or not to resume programming will not be made for several days as VOP staff take stock of their losses and evaluate the risks implicit in resuming operations. SULLIVAN