MEDIA REPORT VOA'S STUDIO 7 UNDER FIRE; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 001536 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PDPA FOR DALTON, MITCHELL AND SIMS NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT VOA'S STUDIO 7 UNDER FIRE; HARARE ¶1. Information and Publicity Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo has accused the United States and Britain of toughening "their hostility towards Zimbabwe," by "churning out propaganda about regime change" through the Voice of America's (VOA) Studio 7 channel on Zimbabwe. Speaking after meeting an Iranian delegation - in the country on a five-day working visit to assist in the revamping of the ZBC's television and frequency modulation (FM) network - at his Munhumutapa offices in Harare on July 29, Moyo is quoted as saying: "the United States Government was sowing seeds of division among people in rural areas using a radio station known as Studio 7." Excerpts of the article printed on page 4 under headline "`U. S., Britain intensify hostility towards Zim.'" follow: ¶2. "The U. S. and Britain have intensified their hostility towards Zimbabwe by setting up a broadcasting station targeting the country's rural people and churning out propaganda about regime change. . .The Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo said the U. S. Government was sowing seeds of division among people in rural areas using a radio station known as Studio 7. . .The minister deplored the actions of the U. S. government and urged Zimbabweans to rise and stand firm against the U. S. and British propaganda. Professor Moyo. . .He said areas such as Victoria Falls and Kariba which have poor reception should be given priority as they were exposed to hostile broadcasting by the British and Americans. `Where we celebrate our won culture, the idea of a superpower imposing its will on the rest of the world is totally unacceptable. . . ." SULLIVAN