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to Zimbabwe Charles Ray recently denying that pirate radio stations beaming hate messages from outside the country are illegal.
Addressing journalists in Gweru during World Press Freedom Day commemorations last week, Ambassador Ray defended the illegal radio stations operating from different countries, among them America.
He claimed the pirate radio stations were legal because they operated from outside Zimbabwe under the host countries’ laws.
This is, however, in contrast with Article XIX of the GPA on Freedom of Expression and Communication, whi-ch raises concern on “foreign government funded ex-ternal radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe”, which are against national interests.
The GPA also calls on the governments hosting and funding external radio stations to “cease” the funding and hosting.
Negotiators from Zanu-PF and the MDC formations have also identified the pirate stations as something that needs to be dealt in the roadmap to elections in Zimbabwe.
Said Ambassador Ray: “Just because some people in government do not like messages that are broadcast by the so-called pirate radio stations does not make them illegal.
“Pirate implies illegal and these stations are located elsewhere outside Zimbabwe and their legality is governed by broadcasting laws in those countries.
“Botswana hosts facilities used by Voice of America’s Studio 7 and if the radio was pirate, that country would not allow it to operate on their soil.”
However, Secretary for Media, Information and Publicity Mr George Charamba questioned Ambassador Ray’s statements ahead of the current Joint Commission meetings between Zimbabwe and Botswana.
“The ambassador knows that the two countries are meeting and he is trying to spoil the meeting, (and) trying to ratchet problems between the two countries,” he said.
Mr Charamba said the US had for the first time confirmed where the facilities were based.
“This matter was formally presented to Sadc and the Tswana government stoutly refused (but) America has confirmed this.
“America can no longer pontificate about outstanding issues when they are part of them.”
Zimbabwe, Mr Charamba said, had actually learnt from the US what to do with the messages that were not liked.
“They bombed Al Jazeera and radio stations in Iraq because they were generating messages they did not like,” he said.
Mr Charamba said the fact that pirate radio stations were beaming into Zimbabwe from outside the country made them illegal.
“Just because they have telescopic technology does not legalise it. That technology compounds its illegality and the whole facility is illegal,” he said.
There are three pirate radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe.
The Voice of America operates the Studio 7 that broadcasts from Washington DC daily, the Voice of the People (VOP) and Short Wave Radio Africa (SW Radio).
Online Reporter