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afrol.com, 26 February - Foreign journalists working in Zimbabwe have vowed to stay in the country despite a government onslaught that has already seen two journalists being deported, The Daily News reported on 26 February 2001. The foreign journalists said that they would continue to operate as before until when the government announces its new accreditation regulations. "We are unsure of what will happen to us," said Andrew Meldrum, a correspondent with The Guardian a South African weekly paper. "They used to harass journalists working for the independent press but now they have turned to foreign journalists," said Meldrum adding that he would continue to write stories as he has always done. Meldrum said that they were concerned with the way Joseph Winter and Mercedes Sayagues were harassed and deported. The Zimbabwean government has cancelled all accreditation of foreign journalists and all will be asked to return to their countries of origin. David Blair, the only British journalist left in the country said the he would carry on as usual. Meanwhile The Standard of 25 February reported that armed police officers attempted to stop a removal company from collecting property belonging to deported BBC correspondent Joseph Winter on Saturday, 24 February. Staff from a local company Stuttafords Pvt Limited which was instructed by Winter on Thursday to airfreight his household goods proceeded to his flat in Harare to collect the goods but were denied access to the flat. According to The Standard the police demanded to know the business of the workers. The workers were only allowed to collect the goods after they produced a letter written by Winter asking the company to facilitate the shipment of his goods. The operations manager of the removal company, Kennedy Garande, confirmed that they had encountered problems with the police when they tried to load the property into the trucks. The Herald also reported that the Minister of Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, told a visiting British Conservatives Member of Parliament, Francis Maude, that the Maude who met Moyo is said to have expressed Britain's concern about the manner in which Winter was deported and the ongoing harassment of journalists and the judiciary in Zimbabwe. Maude also wanted to know the number of journalists the government was intending to deport.
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