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Tanzania Alert August 21, 1998 The Minister of Information, Youth, Tourism and Culture in Zanzibar, Issa Mohammed Issa, on August 19 banned the privately owned kiswahili newspaper, "Mtanzania", after the newspaper failed to apologise for publishing an apparent false story involving the ruling CCM party in its August 16 edition. However, latest reports from Tanzania suggest that there may be no legal basis for the ban. In a statement issued on August 17, Issa said: "for publishing a false story, 'Mtanzania' newspaper was required to apologise to the ruling CCM party before August 18, 1998. But unfortunately the newspaper for its own reasons refused to do so. For that reason the government decided to ban the newspaper in accordance with Sections 30 and 34 of the Zanzibar Newspaper Act No. 5 of 1988". CCM Zanzibar claimed that a false story was run in "Mtanzania" on August 16 under the headline "There are disagreements in CCM Zanzibar". The story reported on alleged disagreements which arose during a meeting the previous day of a CCM special committee responsible for dealing with the political crisis in Zanzibar. Issa's statement added that "'Mtanzania' newspaper has been publishing many false stories about Zanzibar which could incite the Island into chaos and endanger national peace and security". However, in a report in the August 21 editor of "The Guardian" newspaper, some legal experts in Zanzibar are quoted as saying that the ban on "Mtanzania" had no legal basis. The reports says that according to the law cited, the Newspaper Act of 1988, the power of banning any publication coming into Zanzibar lies with the president only. The minister's powers are restricted to merely checking undesired publications published in Zanzibar. Furthermore, legal experts contend that any order by the president to ban a newspaper outside Zanzibar has to be published in the Zanzibar Government Gazette. The report in "The Guardian" goes on to quote observers as saying that since President Salmin Amour of Zanzibar had publicly denied on a weekly TV programme having had any knowledge of a ban on the newspaper, the ban cannot stand a legal test. "The Guardian" also reports that Minister Issa has invited the editor of the newspaper, Salva Rweyemamu, to Zanzibar for talks with CCM officials. However, the newspaper report says it is not clear why these talks have been arranged. "Mtanzania" is the second privately owned newspaper to be banned from entering Zanzibar after "Majira", which was banned on January 24, 1996. ENDS Information distributed by: Raashied Galant MISA Researcher Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia Tel. +264 61 232975, Fax. 248016 e-mail: research@ingrid.misa.org.na web: http://www.misanet.org
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