As part of the Right to Know Campaign which opposes the Protection of
Information Bill, a march is to be held.
The March to oppose the current Protection of Information Bill are as follows:
Assembly point: March from outside Wits University, Senate House,
Jorissen Street to Constitutional Hill.
Date: 19 October 2010
Time: 12h30 (outside Wits)
From the poster:
SILENT MARCH: Tuesday 19th OCTOBER
@ 12h30 outside Wits University, Jorissen St to Constitution Hill,
PLEASE BRING MASKING TAPE ALONG TO TAPE MOUTHS SHUT!
Bring musical instruments or whistles to use at END of march!
To arrange transport contact Right2Know Campaign @ FXI on 0114821913
JOIN THE WEEK OF ACTION 19 - 27 OCTOBER 2010
Plan meetings, pickets, protests in your community
SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN sign the campaign statement (on back)
SMS "r2k" and your name to 32759
Visit www.right2know.org.za for resources
Call us 021 4617211 / 011 4821913 for info
A responsive and accountable democracy that can meet the basic needs
of our people is built upon transparency and free flow of information.
The gains of South Africans' struggle for freedom are threatened by
the Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill) currently before
Parliament. We accept the need to replace apartheid-era secrecy laws.
But this Bill extends the veil of secrecy in a manner reminiscent of
that apartheid past.This Bill fundamentally undermines the struggle
for whistleblower protection and access to information. It is one of
several proposed measures which could have the combined effect of
fundamentally eroding the rights to access information and freedom of
expression enshrined in the Constitution.
Our concerns:
The Bill will create a society of secrets:
• Any state agency, government department, even a parastatal and your
local municipality, can classify public information as secret.
• Anything and everything can potentially be classified as secret at
official discretion if it is in the 'national interest'. Even ordinary
information relating to service delivery can become secret. •
Commercial information can be made secret, making it very difficult to
hold business and government to account for inefficiency and
corruption. • Anyone involved in the 'unauthorised' handling
and disclosure of classified information can be prosecuted; not just
the state official who leaks information as is the case in other
democracies. • The disclosure even of some information which is
not formally classified can land citizens in jail. This will lead to
self-censorship and have a chilling effect on free speech. •
Whistleblowers and journalists could face more time in prison than
officials who deliberately conceal public information that should be
disclosed. • A complete veil is drawn over the workings of the
intelligence services. It will prevent public scrutiny of our spies
should they abuse their power or breach human rights.
Who will guard the guardians? • Officials do not need to provide
reason for making information secret • There is no independent
oversight mechanism to prevent information in the public interest from
being made secret. • The Minister of State Security, whose
business is secrecy, becomes the arbiter of what information across
all of government must remain secret or may be disclosed to the
public. • Even the leaking of secret information in the public
interest is criminalised. • Unusually severe penalties of up to
25 years in prison will silence whistleblowers, civil society and
journalists doing their job. • All these factors will limit
public scrutiny of business and government, whether through Parliament
or journalists. Accountability will be curtailed and service delivery
to the people will be undermined.
Our demands:
The Constitution demands accountable, open and responsive government,
realised among other things through freedom of expression and access
to information. Our elected representatives are bound by these
Constitutional values and any legislation they pass must comply. We
demand that the Protection of Information Bill - the Secrecy Bill -
must reflect the following:
• Limit secrecy to core state bodies in the security sector such as
the police, defense &intelligence agencies. • Limit secrecy to
strictly defined national security matters and no more. Officials must
give reasons for making information secret. • Exclude commercial
information from this Bill. • Do not exempt the intelligence
agencies from public scrutiny. • Do not apply penalties for
unauthorised disclosure to society at large, only those responsible
for keeping secrets.
• An independent body
appointed by Parliament, and not the Minister of Intelligence, should
be the arbiter of decisions about what may be made secret. • Do not
criminalise the legitimate disclosure of secrets in the public
interest.
--
Regards
Fatima Darries
E-LIS SA Editor
www.highedlibrarian.blogspot.com
www.openaccesslibrary.pbwiki.com
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