Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe may declare state of emergency

afrol News, 6 April - The Zimbabwean government may declare a state of emergency if calls for sanctions succeed in Europe and the United States of America, the government paper The Herald and the independent paper The Daily News reported today, 6 April 2001.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, 5 April 2001, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Stan Mudenge said that if a state of emergency is imposed the rule by decree would become the norm and Parliament and the constitution will be rendered ineffective.

- I also want to observe that in most cases, due to the demands for national survival, countries under sanctions usually resort to declaring states of emergency, Minister Mudenge said, according to The Daily News. "I do not say Zimbabwe will necessarily follow this example by declaring a state of emergency, but one cannot rule it out," he continued, addressing the Zimbabwean Parliament. 

The US senate is currently studying a Bill, termed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Bill. If this Bill is passed, Zimbabwe will be placed under sanctions, which will be lifted if it meets the demands of the USA government, which centers on the restoration of the rule of law and observance of human rights. 

The European Union has hinted that it might consider imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe as well. Speaking to The Herald, Dr Solomon Nkiwane of the University of Zimbabwe said that the government should be taken seriously on its intention of a possible declaration of a state of emergency if sanctions are imposed.

The State of Emergency legislative piece is considered one of the laws that hinder media freedom in Zimbabwe. "If the government invokes this law, journalists and media houses would find it difficult to operate in an environment virtually without any laws," according to the media watchdog Media Institute of Southern Africa.

Sources: The Herald and Daily News, through Misanet

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