Internet newspaper censorship in Zambia

["Declan B. McCullagh" <declan+@CMU.EDU>]

---------- Forwarded message begins here ----------

Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 21:07:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject: Internet newspaper censorship in Zambia
To: fight-censorship+@andrew.cmu.edu
cc: dlush@ingrid.misa.org.na, mbennett@zamnet.zm, mkakanda@zamnet.zm,
        neil@zamnet.zm, ftema@zamnet.zm, fsh95s@Timon.ACU.EDU, post@zamnet.zm

Attached is disturbing information about state censorship of the physical
and online editions of The Post newspaper in Zambia. 

If anyone reading this emails me the complete text of the banned February
5 edition of the newspaper, I'll put it on my web site. Or, send me email
for an address of an anonymous FTP site where you can upload it. I promise
to keep your identity confidential.

(I'm already hosting a book banned by the French government:
    http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~declan/le-secret/)

Please redistribute this message as appropriate.

Best,

Declan
declan@well.com


---------- Forwarded message ----------

>ACTION ALERT UP-DATE - ZAMBIA
>FEBRUARY 16, 1996
>
>INTERNET EDITION OF THE POST ALSO BANNED
>
>
>The Internet edition of The Post newspaper of February 5 - banned by
>President Frederick Chiluba in terms of Section 53 of the Penal Code - has
>been removed from the paper's World Wide Web (WWW) site.
>
>Mark Bennet of Zamnet Communications, the privately-owned Internet service
>provider which hosts The Post's WWW site, says Zamnet was left with little
>choice but to make the February 5 edition of The Post inaccessible on the
>Internet.
>
>Bennet says Zamnet kept the banned version of The Post on the WWW for two
>days after it was published, but was then warned by a "someone senior in
>the police" that the company was liable to be raided and charged with
>possession of a prohibited publication.  The President's ban of edition 401
>of The Post covered "all forms" of the paper, says Bennet.
>
>Visit The Post's WWW site (http://www.zamnet.zm) and you will find the
>February 5 edition listed in the paper's archive of back editions, but
>click on the edition and the file will not open. However, following
>editions of the paper - containing stories about the banning, the police
>raid on The Post's offices, and subsequent arrest and charging of
>Editor-in-Chief Fred M'membe, Managing Editor Bright Mwape and Special
>Projects Editor Matsautso Phiri with contravening the State Security Act -
>can be read. The State Security Act charges relate to a report published in
>the February 5 edition of The Post revealing the government's plans to hold
>a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution.
>
>A recent addition to the Zamnet WWW site is "Zambia Today" - stories from
>the state-run news agency ZANA, which are up-dated every couple of hours.
>"State House was very keen that the world didn't see The Post newspaper
>alone," said Bennet. "We kept telling them that we were going to keep The
>Post, but that we were happy to put up a State House page, or a page for
>ZANA. We are trying to actively encourage them to be positive."
>
>Bennet stresses Zamnet was an independent company and would not succumb to
>self-censorship as a result of political pressure. Zamnet is housed at the
>University of Zambia, which has a 52 per cent share holding in the company.
>Although funded by the government, the University enjoys academic autonomy,
>says Bennet, "so there is no possibility of pressure (being exerted on
>Zamnet) through the University".
>
>M'membe, Mwape and Phiri are due to appear in the High Court today to hear
>whether or not their bail - granted last week Wednesday (February 7) after
>initially being turned down by a magistrate - can be reviewed. If the court
>decides their bail can be reviewed, the three stand a chance of returning
>to jail to await trail on the charges of contravening Section 4 of the
>State Security Act, which prohibits the publication of classified
>information. If convicted, the journalists could be jailed for up to 25
>years.
>
>However, speaking on Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) news this
>morning (February 16), Mwape said he was not deterred by the prospect of a
>lengthy term in jail if convicted. "It is about time such a challenge was
>made," said Mwape. "The freedom we are talking about will only come if we
>are prepared to make sacrifices for it."
>
>ends
>
>David Lush
>Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
>Private Bag 13386
>Windhoek, Namibia
>Tel. +264 61 232975, Fax. 248016
>e-mail: dlush@ingrid.misa.org.na