By CHIDA SAKALA –

GERMAN Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke has said that politicians must allow Zambian journalists to enjoy media freedom through expression and access to information.

Mr Finke was speaking during the launch of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia’s state of the media third quarter report yesterday, held at Lusaka’s Protea Hotel.

He said journalists must be allowed to express their freedoms as guaranteed by the mission of the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting Services which aims at having a highly educated and well informed Zambia in which citizens had full access to all forms of media.

“I suppose that we all agree that this is a very noble mission and very worthy of our support. However we are presented today with a new MISA report which claims that the media in Zambia continues to face intimidation and harassment,” he said.

He said other international institutions such as Freedom House and Reporters without Borders came to similar conclusions.

The two institutions alleged that they were attempts at censorship by Government, Police retaliation against reporters and denial of equal access to the media for opposition parties.

He said as a result, the country’s international freedom -of- the- media rankings have continuously deteriorated over the last few years.

MISA chairperson Hellen Mwale said the organisation had noted with concern the growing trend of physical and verbal harassment of journalists in their course of duty usually by party cadres and sometimes even in full view of Police.

She said MISA had since engaged the Police and political parties in order to safeguard journalists.

Ms Mwale called for the quick enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill.