Zimbabwe lifts restrictions on national newspaper group

Posted by Simon Day on July 31, 2009 at 9:35 AM

Zimbabwe's governmental coalition on Thursday granted an operating license to a national newspaper group forced into closure by the state five years ago. The Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe were given the right to resume publication after nearly two years of investigation by a special committee of the Information Ministry, Reuters reported Thursday.

The "unity government," formed by President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has been under pressure to relinquish media and political restraints in order to secure foreign aid as the Zimbabwe economy degenerates into further chaos.

The government has introduced the Zimbabwe Media Commission as the primary instrument of the reforms, which include easing restrictive registration and accreditation requirements for media, according to Reuters.

As of Thursday the ANZ had not commented on the lifting of the publication ban. The ANZ had formerly published a private daily newspaper and a weekly Sunday, both critical of Mugabe's regime and the coverage provided by the government-controlled newspapers.

In 2002 Mugabe implemented strict media laws making it dfficult and dangerous for private and foreign media in Zimbabwe.

British broadcaster, the BBC, has secured a similar lift on publishing restrictions.