Posted on 12/31/2002 3:26:29 AM PST by Clive
Zimbabwe's leading independent daily newspaper, the Daily News, is back on sale after a 10 day strike.
The award winning editor-in-chief, Geoff Nyarota, left on Monday saying he had resigned.
But Tuesday's issue led with a story saying he had been relieved of his duties "with immediate effect".
The Daily News has been a strong critic of President Robert Mugabe's government, and is the best selling newspaper in the country.
Neither the newspaper's owners, Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), or Mr Nyarota have explained the reasons for his departure.
Mr Nyarota has been arrested several times and has won numerous awards for journalism and press freedom. He helped found the newspaper in 1999.
"It was not an easy decision. It breaks my heart," he said on Monday.
A strike by journalists over pay began before Christmas. The Daily News web site has not been updated since 19 December.
Deadline
His departure comes at a precarious position for independent journalists in Zimbabwe.
They await a decision by the government's media commission on who will be allowed to work in the country.
New draconian press legislation was introduced at the start of the year which holds that journalists publishing falsehoods or undermining the credibility of President Mugabe can be heavily fined or liable to a two-year prison sentence.
Media and Information Commission chairman Tafataona Mahoso told the state- run Herald on Tuesday that it would start issuing new press accreditations in the first week of January.
Already a number of foreign media organisations, including the BBC, have been prevented from entering the country on reporting trips.
The arrest and intimidation of independent journalists has become commonplace.
What future do you see for yourself?
"At the beginning of the year, I was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. My doctor said this was caused by stress and that I must avoid stress as far as possible. What can I do? Two bombings and an assassination attempt in ten months don't exactly make for a peaceful life. It made me realise that the day would come when I would have to stop. Until then I think I had always assumed that I would go on forever."
Evidently he's been considering the move for awhile, though it's puzzling that the paper should say that it dismissed him while he claims that he left.
So any statements from the business office under these circumstances has to be taken with a grain of salt.
It is only a matter of weeks, or possibly days, when all news outlets trying to reach Zim citizens will be publishing from south of the Limpopo.
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