Botswana zens, which is partly due to intimidating threats made by state operatives like the police, security officers and the army. Examples of these various threats include an incident when a group of clergymen had stated publicly that they were opposed to automatic presidential succession, and a series of letters, allegedly initiated by state functionaries, appeared in the media scandalizing them. There were other cases cited where police either physically harassed some sections of civil society or ignored instances where such harassment took place. For example, it was said that in the past the police have ignored and even cheered when photographers were physically attacked while taking pictures of court witnesses and accused persons in the course of their professional duties. In other instances, journalists have been physically abused, sometimes in the presence of the police. Where cases were reported, police appeared to be unable to do anything. Another example given was that of an NGO, Women’s Coalition, that had its phones allegedly bugged by security police. There is general confusion in Botswana between ‘government’ and ‘public’, with the two often taken to be one and the same thing: public interest equals government interest and vice versa – hence who is against government is against the public. In the private sphere, advertisers pose a threat to the media by sometimes threatening to withdraw advertising should the media not tow their line or report negatively on them. Cultural taboos were identified as another form of intimidation and gender-related hazards have been found to be prevalent in the country. But it was also noted that despite these threats, the Botswana meAfrican Media Barometer - Botswana 2005 7