This
week, the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) undertook what has now
become a familiar visit to Parliament in a bid to stop yet another cynical
attempt to erode press freedom.
The difference this time is that the offending Protection of
Information Bill has been roundly condemned by civil society and even
government agencies themselves for its insidiousness.
The chorus of condemnation has come from, among others, the Institute
for Democracy in SA, the Human Rights Commission, the Southern African
Catholic Bishops' Conference, the SA Media and Gender Institute, Eskom,
the Open Democracy Advice Centre and Print Media Association.
In its current form, the bill provides definitions of national
security and national interest that are so absurdly broad they would
severely restrict access to information for just about anybody and any
institution; making nonsense of the ideal of open society and
transparency.
Sanef siad: We have far too many people in
Parliament who do not share our beliefs in constitutional democracy and
its imperatives of transparency and openness. Some of them have never
shared these values and actually once worked against them.
Yet others who once shared them have since
stopped doing so, after betraying the liberation struggle ideals of
reconstruction and development. Transparency and press freedom are
inimical to their corrupt ways; hence the attempts to curb the free flow
of information.
Why, otherwise, the Protection of Information
Bill that would result in journalists being jailed for lengthy periods
for doing their jobs, and also undermine the ability of parliamentarians
themselves, and elected officials, to hold the State accountable?
Update:
The Tribunal's Out
10th August 2010. Based on
article
from google.com
Proposed media regulations in South Africa have raised fears that the
government is trying to control news coverage, drawing comparisons to
apartheid-era censorship.
The ruling African National Congress is mulling a Media Appeals
Tribunal, while parliament is considering the Protection of Information
Bill, which media organisations say would hamper investigative
reporting.
The media tribunal, first mooted in 2007, would adjudicate complaints
on media reports in a bid to make journalists legally accountable, the
ANC said.
Media houses are wary of legal penalties, and say the Press Ombudsman
already hears complaints and can require newspapers to print prominent
apologies or corrections.
Recent reports on government spending on luxury vehicles have irked
the government of President Jacob Zuma, who also figured in a long
investigation into a multi-billion-dollar arms deal first reported in
South African media.
ANC secretary Gwede Mantashe said a media tribunal was required to
deal with the so-called dearth of media ethics in South Africa.
The party's general council will thrash out the idea at a meeting next
month.
