Patriotic Bill Is About "Loving Your Country", Negative Remarks About ED Scarf Unpatriotic, Says Mutsvangwa
Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa insisted that the controversial “Patriotic Bill”, legally known as the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Amendment Bill, is not meant to suppress freedom of expression.
The bill, which was passed by Parliament on 07 June this year, has been heavily criticised by civil society organisations, including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders.
Speaking to the South African publication City Press in Randburg on Friday, Mutsvangwa said the proposed law was meant to deal with citizens conspiring with outsiders to overthrow the government and campaigning for sanctions. She said:
I don’t accept that it is controversial. It’s okay for people to talk [about it]. That’s freedom of expression…
People who talk about it [the bill] as being controversial; I’d like to understand what it is they are saying.
Is it good to cooperate with people planning subversion of the constitutionally elected government?
Is it good to cooperate with people who are planning a coup? Is that correct? No.
Under the Bill, it is a criminal offence for any Zimbabwean citizen to willfully injure the country’s “sovereignty, dignity and independence as a nation”.
Participating in meetings with the intention to promote, advance, encourage, instigate or advocate sanctions or trade boycotts against the country is also prohibited.
Under the proposed new law, those found guilty of being unpatriotic will face up to 10 years in prison or a fine and will be banned from voting and occupying public office, among other penalties.
Mutsvangwa claimed that there had been cases in which citizens would bad-mouth the government because they were paid to do so.
She said being unpatriotic included negative remarks about the scarf that President Emmerson Mnangagwa always wears, which is branded with Zimbabwe’s flag. Said Mutsvangwa:
But I say, this is our flag. Why are we not proud of our own flag? I was a diplomat in the US. I lived in an exclusive area. Every house in the US had a flag flying. There’s nothing wrong with loving your country.
More: Pindula News
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