The tragic irony of secrecy bill hearings in Sharpeville: Ilive

The following article was publishe online by Times Live.

This is a place where 69 people lost their lives in the name of freedom. In fact, Sharpeville was a turning point in the fight against Apartheid. And yet today, we witnessed another turning point. This time, driven by the very organisation that claims a monopoly on the struggle for freedom in our country.

The Protection of State Information Bill in its present form is a threat to our democracy and press freedom in South Africa. It is clear from all public consultations to date that ordinary South Africans are strongly opposed to this law and Gauteng is no different.

Furthermore, the consultation process itself is hugely inadequate particularly considering the size of Gauteng’s population. A single day spent at just two locations in the province resulted in a minimal portion of Gauteng’s 10 million residents being able to voice their opinions today.

Despite the limited participation in these hearings, the voices of the communities are clear. The state is attempting to enforce a piece of legislation that will effectively silence the media on many key issues that the South African public deserve to know.

Never before, in any democratic state, has a government held such power to determine what should be public knowledge and what is deemed to be out of the public interest.

The tragic irony of this moment is that our struggle for democracy in South Africa would not have been successful if the world did not learn of the death of Steve Biko, the actions of the Apartheid security forces, the uprisings, the detentions and the tragedy that took place in this very town on 21 March 1960.

Now 52 years later we witness a government that is demonstrating a short or selective memory of the struggle for democracy in South Africa.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will continue to fight to ensure that the Bill is not passed in its current form and that key amendments are adopted. Unless the relevant changes are made, it will be nothing less than an Apartheid piece of legislation used to hide state corruption and fraud.

The DA will exhaust every avenue possible, including legal recourse and public mobilisation, to ensure that this does not happen.

Source Times Live