SUPREME COURT KEEPS DAILY NEWS CLOSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000418

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR B. NEULING
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2010
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO ZI
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT KEEPS DAILY NEWS CLOSED

REF: (A) HARARE 249 (B) HARARE 180 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. Eric T. Schultz under Section 1.4
b/d


1. (U) Zimbabwe's Supreme Court on March 14 announced its
decision in a consolidated set of cases involving the
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ),publisher of the
shuttered Daily News (TDN) and Daily News on Sunday (reftel).
The Court set aside the Media and Information Commission's
(MIC) refusal to register ANZ under AIPPA and ordered it to
reconsider the ANZ's application. However, it also
overturned an Administrative Court's earlier judgment in
ANZ's favor and dismissed all of ANZ's outstanding
constitutional challenges to the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). The result of these
decisions is almost certainly the continued closure of the
Daily News.


2. (C) COMMENT: Almost certainly politically directed, this
disappointing judgment reflects poorly on the independence of
the Supreme Court and marks a setback for freedom of speech
in Zimbabwe. Because the decision leaves open the
possibility of ANZ being registered under AIPPA, the GOZ can
be expected to portray the decision to its SADC friends as a
positive development in the run-up to this month's
parliamentary elections. However, even though the MIC's
refusal to register TDN was overturned, the MIC -- one of the
most repressive government organs -- is left in the driver's
seat. It is highly unlikely to register TDN in time to
permit publishing before the election. Indeed, whether TDN
ultimately publishes again at all will likely depend on the
ruling party's assessment of the political landscape after
the election.
SCHULTZ