Zimbabwe passes amendments to media, security laws

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THE Zimbabwean parliament on Tuesday swiftly pushed through amendments that will see much-criticised security and media laws being watered down, state television reported.

Four parliamentary bills reforming press, security, broadcasting and electoral laws were unanimously passed late Tuesday by legislators from both the ruling Zanu PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the report said.

The surprise concessions to the media and security laws came after months of South African brokered talks between Zimbabwe's political rivals.

Addressing the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa described the newly enacted press and security laws, which now await approval by the upper house of parliament, as the brainchildren of the inter-party talks.

Amendments to the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) will now make it harder for police to ban rallies and demonstrations, a key grievance of the MDC and other civic rights organisations.

Changes to the infamous Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) include making it no longer compulsory for journalists to obtain press cards, which have been hard to come by for those perceived to be government critics.

"They [the amendments] are the things we have campaigned for, and we have secured them and we should go along with them," said Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of a faction of the MDC, in comments carried by state television.

His counterpart in the Morgan Tsvangirai-led faction of the MDC, Tendai Biti, also welcomed the passage of the bills.

Amendments to the country's broadcast and electoral laws were also passed Tuesday.

Although these legislative reforms are the first tangible products of the inter-party dialogue, the MDC said at the weekend that sticking points remain.

The opposition is still pushing for a new democratic constitution to ensure free and fair presidential, parliamentary and local government polls scheduled for next year.

Both factions of the MDC also want the polls delayed until at least mid-2008.

But Mugabe has said elections will go ahead in March as planned. His party reportedly wants the issue of a new constitution to be dealt with after the polls. - dpa
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