Despite the country’s highly repressive regime,
ONI found no evidence of Web site filtration
in Zimbabwe. Because of limited Internet
access and usage, the country’s efforts have
centered on regulating email.
Background
Zimbabwe’s government is tightly controlled by
President Robert Mugabe and the ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF). They have dominated the political
landscape since the country’s independence
from Great Britain in 1980 and have manipulated
political structures to ensure that they stay in control. 1 The ZANU-PF–controlled government is
known for its brutal repression and continuing
violations of human rights. The best example of
this is 2005’s “Operation Murambatsvina,” or
“Operation Tsunami,” as it is called locally. 2
Officially described as an effort to eliminate illegal
housing and commerce, the “mass evictions and
demolitions” were, 3 as reported by the U.N., “carried out in an indiscriminant and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering, and, in
repeated cases, with disregard to several provisions of national and international legal frameworks.” 4 Though the actual motivations are
unknown, one theory is that the operation was
meant to be retribution toward regions in which
voters for opposition parties lived. 5 Free assembly is dramatically curtailed as the government
often violently breaks up peaceful protests under
the Public Order and Security Act. 6 There have
been allegations of police abuse and the torture
of detainees. 7 A severe press law passed in 2002
allows the Media and Information Commission to
crack down on dissent within the media by controlling the licensing of journalists. 8 And, finally,
the government jams a number of radio stations
critical of the government, such as Voice of
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
No evidence
Suspected
Selective
Substantial
Pervasive
Filtering
of filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
Political
●
Social
●
Conflict/security
●
Internet tools
●
Other factors
Low
Medium
High
Not applicable
Transparency
●
Consistency
●
Zimbabwe
ONI found no evidence of Web site filtration
in Zimbabwe. Because of limited Internet
access and usage, the country’s efforts have
centered on regulating email.
Background
Zimbabwe’s government is tightly controlled by
President Robert Mugabe and the ruling
Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF). They have dominated the political
landscape since the country’s independence
from Great Britain in 1980 and have manipulated
political structures to ensure that they stay in control. 1 The ZANU-PF–controlled government is
known for its brutal repression and continuing
violations of human rights. The best example of
this is 2005’s “Operation Murambatsvina,” or
“Operation Tsunami,” as it is called locally. 2
Officially described as an effort to eliminate illegal
housing and commerce, the “mass evictions and
demolitions” were, 3 as reported by the U.N., “carried out in an indiscriminant and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering, and, in
repeated cases, with disregard to several provisions of national and international legal frameworks.” 4 Though the actual motivations are
unknown, one theory is that the operation was
meant to be retribution toward regions in which
voters for opposition parties lived. 5 Free assembly is dramatically curtailed as the government
often violently breaks up peaceful protests under
the Public Order and Security Act. 6 There have
been allegations of police abuse and the torture
of detainees. 7 A severe press law passed in 2002
allows the Media and Information Commission to
crack down on dissent within the media by controlling the licensing of journalists. 8 And, finally,
the government jams a number of radio stations
critical of the government, such as Voice of
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
No evidence
Suspected
Selective
Substantial
Pervasive
Filtering
of filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
filtering
Political
●
Social
●
Conflict/security
●
Internet tools
●
Other factors
Low
Medium
High
Not applicable
Transparency
●
Consistency
●
Zimbabwe