HASH(0x895c8e8) (WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release: WAN Protests South African Investigation The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has expressed its serious concern to South African President Nelson Mandela about a government “investigation” of “media racism” by a Commission with powers of search, seizure and arrest. The announcement by the South African […]
HASH(0x895c8e8)
(WAN/IFEX) – The following is a WAN press release:
WAN Protests South African Investigation
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has expressed its serious concern
to South African President Nelson Mandela about a government
“investigation” of “media racism” by a Commission with powers of search,
seizure and arrest.
The announcement by the South African Human Rights Commission that it will
investigate “racism in the media” is an “unacceptable infringement of
freedom of the press,” WAN said in a letter to the South African President.
“It goes without saying that our organization finds racism intolerable and
opposes the use of media to encourage it. On the other hand, we find it
completely inappropriate for a government Commission to set itself up as a
judge in these matters or to interfere in any way at all with editorial
content,” said the letter, signed by WAN President Bengt Braun.
WAN also questioned the timing of the investigation in the run-up to
Parliamentary elections.
The Commission announced that it intends to investigate racism “in what is
produced and disseminated by the media.” The investigation, which will
“compel the witnesses to answer questions”, could be reinforced by the
Commission’s powers of search, seizure and arrest.
“We believe that the question of racism should be confronted within the
framework of any existing legal provisions which apply to all citizens of
society at large,” WAN said. “Specific measures applicable only to the media
would be an unacceptable infringement of freedom of the press. It is also
doubly unfortunate that these measures, centred on such an emotive issue as
racism, should be announced in the run-up to the Parliamentary elections.”
The Paris-based WAN, the global association of the newspaper industry,
defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 15,000
newspapers and its membership includes 57 national newspaper publisher
associations, individual newspaper executives in 90 countries, 17 news
agencies and seven regional press groups.
