INDEPENDENT PAPER PRAISES COURT DECISION ON

UNCLAS HARARE 000906 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: INDEPENDENT PAPER PRAISES COURT DECISION ON MEDIA CONTROL LAW ¶1. Under headline "A step in the right direction" the independent daily "The Daily News" dedicated its May 9 editorial to hailing a recent Supreme Court ruling that annulled two sections of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) impinging on press freedom. Excerpts follow: ¶2. "All right-thinking Zimbabweans must applaud the Supreme Court's bold decision to strike down as unconstitutional Section 80 (1) (b) and (2) of the government's Soviet-style Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIIPA). That a government in this day and age could even think of enacting a law that virtually criminalizes journalism, as the AIPPA clause struck down by the court did, is reprehensible in any democracy. Even one as dubious as Zimbabwe. . . And we urge the judiciary to continue the commendable process it has begun and nullify one-by-one the various provisions of AIPPA that militate against media freedom. . ." WHITEHEAD