Regional outlook Media freedom in southern Africa remains in a perilous position, as most governments continue to perceive the media as a threat rather than a necessary element of democratic governance. It is for this reason that journalists are still arrested for treason and sedition in Lesotho; threatened in Swaziland, Zambia and Tanzania; and deported, banned from working, detained and beaten up in Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia. In the so-called progressive countries in the region, including South Africa and Botswana, governments still view the media with suspicion, hence the threat to set up a Media Tribunal by the ruling African National Congress party in South Africa. The enactment of the Intelligence and Surveillance law in Botswana, despite objections from the opposition and the media, demonstrates that, while some of these countries are seen to be stable and progressive, there is a lack of appreciation for media rights and freedom of expression. Under Programme B (Media Freedom Monitoring), the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) continued to record the highest number of violations in Zimbabwe. This is not surprising considering the deteriorating situation surrounding the media and freedom of expression in that country. MISA, however, is pleased to report that at the end of the year under review no journalists were in prison in Zimbabwe. In Angola, one journalist was imprisoned for defamation. MISA managed to assist journalists under distress in Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Lesotho and has maintained practical links with journalists and freedom of expression activists facing threats throughout southern Africa. Successes Media and freedom of expression violations monitoring Publicising media violations and the monitoring thereof remain key functions of MISA. This activity has kept violation issues high on the public agenda with tangible results in some cases. The alerts also help to inform the regional and international community about media and freedom of expression issues in southern Africa. MISA produced 181 media alerts during 2007/2008, with the bulk coming from Zimbabwe. The publicising of media alerts has galvanised international support for victims of freedom of expression violations in southern Africa. In Zimbabwe a number of journalists, including Gift Phiri and Tsvangirai Mukwazhi, received support from international organisations through the information generated by the alerts. As part of the violations monitoring, MISA has continued to produce the annual publication, So This is Democracy? State of Media Freedom in Southern Africa. The experience that MISA has gained over the years in monitoring media violations is now being used in Tanzania by the local MISA office to monitor the reporting of corruption and good governance. This monitoring, conducted under the Millennium Challenge Account Building Organisational Network for Good Governance and Advocacy (MCA-Bonga), is one clear example of the success and expansion of MISA’s media monitoring work. MISA Tanzania is working with other organisations in this process. It should be noted that corruption and bad governance contribute to most media and freedom of expression violations. The monitoring in Tanzania is expected to contribute to a decrease in media and freedom of expression violations as long as corruption and bad governance practices are also monitored and exposed. 18 Annual Report 2008