Sunday, July 18, 2004
HEARSE OF A DIFFERENT CHOLER:
President Robert Mugabe's government has banned the colour red from Zimbabwe television because it is the symbol of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. The MDC encourages its supporters to flash football-style red cards, to tell Mr Mugabe that he is no longer wanted on Zimbabwe's political field. ...They can't fool me. This is just a petty effort by one more Marxist dictator to keep the media from reporting the results of Our Noble Leader's upcoming November landslide.
Zimbabwe Television workers, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, confirmed the incident. A producer said they were under instructions "not to give unnecessary publicity to the opposition" by using the colour red on screen. ... The ZTV is the sole broadcaster and independent broadcasting is banned in Zimbabwe.
