(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 7 September 2006 IPI letter to South African President H.E. Thabo Mbeki: H.E. Thabo Mbeki President of South Africa The Presidency Union Buildings, West Wing Government Avenue Pretoria 0001 Republic of South Africa Fax: (+ 2712) 323 82 46 / 2573 Vienna, 7 September 2006 Your Excellency, The International […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is a 7 September 2006 IPI letter to South African President H.E. Thabo Mbeki:
H.E. Thabo Mbeki
President of South Africa
The Presidency
Union Buildings, West Wing
Government Avenue
Pretoria 0001
Republic of South Africa
Fax: (+ 2712) 323 82 46 / 2573
Vienna, 7 September 2006
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, leading journalists and media executives in over 112 countries, urges Your Excellency to make all necessary amendments to the Films and Publications Amendment Bill, 2006 (“the Bill”) to ensure that the print and electronic media are excluded from its remit.
According to IPI’s review of the Bill, the safeguard exempting print and electronic media from the Bill’s provisions has been removed, leaving media exposed to the possibility that the Film and Publications Board (the Board) will review their content.
Moreover, the Bill requires the Board to review content containing “descriptions or representations of or amounting to: sexual; propaganda for war; incitement to imminent violence; or the advocacy of hatred based on any identifiable group characteristic.” The Bill also orders those in charge of organisations to submit content to the Board before dissemination and contains fines and terms of imprisonment for those who breach its provisions.
Taking the Bill’s provisions into account, IPI believes that, if the Bill is passed in its present form, there is a danger that news media will become the captives of the changing values and mores of South African society as defined and expressed by the Board.
IPI also believes that the power to review media content on the basis of such hazy and ill-defined concepts as “propaganda for war” and “incitement to imminent violence” will not only cause confusion among media organisations, it may also induce the media to avoid these subjects in order to escape prosecution. If this were to happen, it would have a detrimental impact on press freedom and the free flow of information within South Africa.
IPI also notes the comments of Chief Executive Shokie Bopape-Dlomo in news reports that it would not be practical for the Board to “read entire newspapers before they are published,” as well as the comments made in the South African government’s 23 August 2006 cabinet meeting that the “government has no intention of muzzling the media.” Although IPI welcomes these comments, it remains confused as to why, despite its own reservations, the government is determined to continue with the Bill in its present form.
On reflection, IPI is left with the worrying impression that the South African government is leaving the Bill in its present form in the hope that it will garner sufficient support among the public and parliamentarians to enable the Bill to be passed without amendments.
By doing so, it appears that the South Africa government is reserving for itself a power that can be held over the media, perhaps for use at a later date. However, IPI wishes to point out that the reservation of provisions for later use is bad law because it creates uncertainty and confusion about the Bill’s applicability. This is particularly true in the present case where there are other competing bodies, some statutory, charged with regulating the media.
IPI also takes the view that the government is being misleading when it avows that it has no intention of muzzling the media through the provisions of this Bill. While this may be true, the government must surely be aware that it will be for the South African courts to interpret this act and that comments by ministers on this subject are speculative and not cast-iron guarantees.
As a result, the ambiguity of the Bill, when allied to the government’s apparent confusion about its own intentions, could allow the South African courts to create settled law that is contrary to both the government’s and the media’s wishes.
Therefore, IPI calls on Your Excellency to reverse your decision about maintaining the Bill in its present form and to carry out suitable amendments to ensure that the present media regulatory system in South Africa is allowed to continue without hindrance from the Films and Publications Board.
We thank you for your attention.
Your sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
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H.E. Thabo Mbeki
President of South Africa
The Presidency
Union Buildings, West Wing
Government Avenue
Pretoria 0001
Republic of South Africa
Fax: + 2712 323 82 46 / 2573
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