Publication bill can gag the media.

[Dave A]

A controversial bill that brings censorship back to South Africa has drawn a lot of criticism.

Branded by many as an assault on the freedom of speech and the press, the bill is typical of the first steps of repressive legislation enacted by a state to inhibit criticism of the government.

Just as the loss of equality before the law was hung on the peg of redressing the racial history of our country (ie. if you oppose, you must be a racist), this bill has been hung on the peg of child pornography (ie. if you oppose, you are a child pornographer).

It seems the bill introduces control measures for the media in general. This affects the internet and also makes provision for control of the print media. Not surprisingly, the print media sees this particular aspect a major problem, but to my mind the control of the internet, which enables ordinary citizens to publish their news and opinions is possibly an even more serious assault on our freedoms.

Some have said that, being in flagrant contravention of our constitution, we can expect the bill to be rejected by the constitutional court. I am not so confident.

We have already seen government's response to the constitutional challenge to EE and BEE practices - the constitution was amended to allow for "fair" racial, sexual (and potentially even religious) discrimination. On track record, we can probably expect the same in respect of the provisions for the freedom of speech and the press.

The tactic is plain - by focusing on an exceptionally narrow need, the government is enabling exceptionally wide powers available for use as and whenever they need it. Government will probably say "Trust us to use this power responsibly", but how can we trust a cabinet that has actually endorsed this bill?

We all need to speak out against this assault on one of the cornerstones of a healthy democracy - freedom of speech. Add your voice here, and keep an eye out for the opportunity to express your rejection of this bill elsewhere.

Let's keep each other posted of where and when we can let government know that this bill is totally unacceptable.