Today is World Radio Day, the day on which we recognise radio as a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity. Through radio, millions of people now have access to important information. We pay tribute to all individuals and institutions that have used radio as a tool to promote and advance human dignity.
Sadly, as we celebrate this day, in Zimbabwe, the state has maintained our airwaves in captivity while the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has only allowed the friends of the regime to broadcast freely. We have continued to see the use of radio to spread hate speech and violence. We condemn this state of affairs and call on the government of Zimbabwe to liberate the airwaves.
We however salute resilient voices that have continued to provide fair service to the community, ensuring that citizens enjoy their rights to have access to information as enshrined in our constitution.
On our part at ZimRights, we have made a commitment to support progressive voices in the media and speak against those entities that rejoice in violation of human rights. We have since stopped sharing content on such radios that celebrate the violation of human rights. And we continue to encourage all progressive voices to do the same, in accordance with their human rights conscience.
As the world celebrates this important day, we call for the full liberation of the airwaves and encourage use of the airwaves to promote human dignity.
