MESSAGE FROM THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR During the year under review there has been no significant improvement within the media freedom environment in the region. While the situation in most countries remains stable, it has worsened in others, descending to unparalleled levels of repression and censorship in Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Angola. Zimbabwe continues to cast a shadow on the region as one of the most media-repressive countries in the world, characterised by the arrest, torture and beating of media workers. In 2007, for the fifth consecutive year, Zimbabwe topped the list as southern Africa’s biggest media freedom violator with 57 recorded violations, followed closely by Lesotho. The growing intolerance of the Lesotho government towards the media and, in particular, dissenting views is a serious cause for concern. Some media outlets critical of the Lesotho government have been shut down, while journalists have been expelled from the country and charged with treason. Furthermore, government’s decision to increase broadcast-licensing fees substantially is a blow to media diversity and development in that country. Equally disturbing are the media policy discussions and developments in South Africa, a country hailed as a beacon for media freedom in Africa. Advances in media freedom in the entire region are threatened by political interference in the operations of the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), as well as propositions by the African National Congress-led government for a Protection of Information Law and a media tribunal. On a positive note, we witnessed court judgments in favour of media freedom in Zambia and South Africa, the opening up of the airwaves in Botswana and the allocation of more broadcasting licenses in Swaziland. The constitutional review process underway in Zambia is an important milestone for the region. In Namibia, the government is reviewing a number of media laws, including right to information legislation. MISA’s interventions During the year under review, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) made concerted efforts to address the worrying media freedom situation in the region. On behalf of the organisation, petitions were sent to the Prime Minister of Lesotho. MISA also wrote petitions and statements on the appalling media environment in Zimbabwe, and made submissions to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) in the Gambia and Swaziland. MISA Zimbabwe invited the ACHPR Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression to investigate media freedom violations in the country. MISA played a major role during the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State summit in Lusaka in August 2007 organising meetings, and television and radio interviews to raise awareness about media freedom in the region, as well as media repression and the political plight in Zimbabwe. During the year under review, MISA also offered legal, financial, material and moral support to journalists arrested, imprisoned or under threat in Lesotho, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, as well as to their families. MISA also organised several meetings in which civil society, members of parliament and other policymakers were invited to sensitise 8 Annual Report 2008