• ALERT Date: October 15, 2008 Person/institutions: Mwanahalisi newspaper Violation/issue: Banned Tanzania journalists, editors and media associations on October 14 condemned the ban of the weekly privately owned Mwanahalisi newspaper and resolved from October 15 to boycott publishing all news concerning the Minister of Information, Sports and Culture, George Mkuchika. The government, through the Ministry of Information, Sports and Culture, banned the publication of Mwanahalisi newspaper for three months from October 13, allegedly for running false stories about President Jakaya Kikwete’s family and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). During the press conference held in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the Tanzania Editors’ Forum resolved to ‘black out’ the minister from privately owned print and electronic media. At the meeting, which was also attended by MISA Tanzania and the Tanzania Media Women Association, editors and journalists from various media outlets deliberated to go to court to challenge the ban; planned to stage a demonstration to the Ministry of Information, Sports and Culture head offices in Dar es Salaam to submit their concerns; and write a letter to President Kikwete conveying the disappointment of media professionals in relation to the incident. Another measure decided on was to inform the international community about the concerns of the stakeholders. • ALERT Date: October 30, 2008 Person/institutions: Media/ Mwanahalisi newspaper Violation/issue: Banned Journalists from various media houses demonstrated their displeasure at the suppression of press freedom in Tanzania during a protest march on October 29. Editors and reporters from various media organisations staged the protest against the recent three-month ban imposed on the critical Mwanahalisi newspaper by the government of President Jakaya Kikwete. For the first time in the history of Tanzania, local journalists expressed open outrage in the streets against the government, accusing it of trying to stifle media freedom in the country. The scribes held placards denouncing the “state’s disrespect of media freedom” and sealed their mouths with tape to dramatise the authorities’ bid to silence the press. So This Is Democracy? 2008 -110- Media Institute of Southern Africa