Defence forces, media work to strike information balance Major General David Sigauke stresses a point to Chronicle Editor Innocent Madonko yesterday while the Army director public relations Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore (centre) listens at the commanding officers and commandants press and media handling seminar held at Lookout Masuku barracks yesterday. — (Picture by Eliah Saushoma)
Major General David Sigauke stresses a point to Chronicle Editor Innocent Madonko yesterday while the Army director public relations Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore (centre) listens at the commanding officers and commandants press and media handling seminar held at Lookout Masuku barracks yesterday. — (Picture by Eliah Saushoma)

Major General David Sigauke stresses a point to Chronicle Editor Innocent Madonko yesterday while the Army director public relations Lieutenant Colonel Alphios Makotore (centre) listens at the commanding officers and commandants press and media handling seminar held at Lookout Masuku barracks yesterday. — (Picture by Eliah Saushoma)

Oliver Kazunga, Senior Reporter
THERE is a need by the military to strike a balance between giving the media access to information and operational security of the army.
Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Chief of Staff General Staff Major General David Sigauke said this while officially opening the Southern Region

Commanding Officers and Commandants’ Public Relations and Media Handling Seminar at the Lookout Masuku Barracks (formerly Imbizo Barracks) in Bulawayo yesterday.

“The media play an important role of informing and educating people on various issues affecting their lives. This influences the public in a positive or negative way depending on what the writer intends to achieve, in some instances compromising national security.

“The army, on the other hand, has different classifications of information passed on to the public on a need to know basis,” he said.

“Such reluctance by the organisation to give out information is sometimes misconstrued by the media giving rise to acrimony between the media and military. There is therefore need for all commanders to strike a balance between giving out information and the need to preserve operational security.”

Maj Gen Sigauke said the differing roles of the media and the military presents a challenge as the media wants to inform the public timely.

He said rushing to publish at times increased the chances of publishing wrong information that can injure the security of the nation.

“The publishing of such information could be due to lapses in your handling of information. It is my request that you take heed against poor handling of information,” he said.

On the global arena, he said several cases of the media and military clashing during operations have been experienced.

For example, the Vietnam War (1959-1975) was one of the cases where publishing of operational secrets contributed to the American failure.

“Locally, the private media incorrectly reported during Operation Sovereignty Legitimacy that one of our ZNA troops had been buried without his head.

Publishing of such false information was meant to influence negative public opinions on the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ participation in the operation,” said Maj General Sigauke.

Operation Sovereignty Legitimacy saw Zimbabwe participating in defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo government from 1997 to 1999 when it came under military attack.

Maj Gen Sigauke said bad relations between the media and the military can lead to defeat and good relations make the two formidable allies.

Speaking at the same occasion Chronicle editor Mr Innocent Madonko said the media in any society helps in peace building and social consensus by providing warring groups mechanism for mediation, representation and a voice to settle differences amicably.

“From such a stand point, media have to avoid fanning flames of discord by taking sides, reinforcing prejudices, muddling facts and peddling half-truths,” he said.

Mr Madonko said the media can also promote democracy by among other things, educating voters, protecting human rights, upholding tolerance among other various social groups and ensuring governments are transparent and accountable.

“The media, however, can play anti-democratic roles as well when abused. They can sow fear, division and violence. Instead of promoting democracy, they can contribute to democratic decay. The 1994 Rwandan genocide is a typical example of how abuse of the media can heighten tensions between citizens and the security services resulting in heavily undesirable consequences,” he said.

Mr Madonko said it was the media’s responsibility to sow positive seeds of patriotism and societal unity and be purveyors of constructive information.

In the cases of sowing division, hate speech and suspicion, the media contribute to public cynicism and democratic decay.

“The world over, relationships between the media and the military have not been seamless especially with regards to the dissemination of information. The structural tension between the media and the military has been centred on the timing of the release of information for publication to the public,” he said.

Mr Madonko said it was important for army spokespersons to maintain a delicate balance between soldiers and civilians so that they are easily approachable as they serve to bridge the gap between the military and the rest of the community.

“The spokesperson therefore becomes the voice of the military while the media plays the role of disseminating the information. The information can be pre-emptive or reactive depending on the issue of incident being dealt with at a particular time,” he said.

Mr Madonko said it was also critical for the army to be visible on social media to give prompt responses to counter false information.—@okazunga

You Might Also Like

Comments