INDEPENDENT MOZAMBICAN TV STATION'S EQUIPMENT

UNCLAS MAPUTO 000020

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR HTREGER
AF/PD FOR LMING
USAID FOR AFR/SA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV MZ
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT MOZAMBICAN TV STATION'S EQUIPMENT
SEIZED


1. On Friday, December 29, the Maputo-based television
station "STV" reported in its main nightly newscast that law
enforcement officers with a warrant from the Maputo City
Court entered the newsroom that day at 1:30 p.m. and seized
18 computers, three DVCAM VCRs, and several pieces of office
equipment. STV is owned by the independent media company
SOICO, whose newsroom also houses the "O Pais" newspaper,
"FAMA" magazine, and "SFM" radio. In the previous week, two
of the company's leased minibuses were also seized.


2. The December 29 seizure was due to the city court's
ruling at noon that day in favor of a former O Pais employee
for unpaid severance. However when the plaintiff was
working for O Pais, the paper was owned by a different
company, Editores Associados Lda. The plaintiff was never
employed by SOICO, and SOICO claimed not to have known about
the court case until the December 20 seizure of the two
minibuses. The former employee, Flavia dos Santos, is a
sister of the Minister of Women's Affairs, Virgilia
Matabele.


3. The total value of the goods seized by the court amounts
to approximately USD 66,000, even though the claim is for
about USD 20,000. STV recovered its equipment on Jan. 2
after posting a USD 20,000 bond.


4. Several institutions, including Mozambican chapter of the
Southern African Media Institute (MISA),the Association of
Newspaper Companies (AEJ),the Mozambican Human Rights
League (LDH),opposition political party leaders, the
Confederation of Business Associations (CTA),and religious
representatives, among others, have expressed support for
SOICO by sending out press releases or issuing on-air
statements against the court's action. Several businesses
quickly offered assistance so that STV could remain on the
air. Even the former owner of O Pais issued a written
statement expressing his solidarity towards SOICO, claiming
that the dispute had nothing to do with the media group.


5. Comment: Judging from commentaries in the media and what
we hear "on the street", many believe the court's intention
was to damage STV because it is independent and therefore
relatively unbiased (the other local tv station, TVM, is
government-run). STV has been the most popular station in
the cities where it can be seen. It is suspicious that the
police moved within hours after the court ruling (extremely
fast by Mozambican standards) in seizing the equipment,
making some speculate that the verdict was known prior to
issuance. However, Radio Mozambique and newspapers Noticias
and Domingo, and the AIM news service - all government owned
- have given the seizure considerable coverage, and AIM
English-language reporting has questioned the actions of the
Maputo City Court. TVM, on the other hand, has
conspicuously failed to report on the story.

DUDLEY