IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE - SOUTH AFRICA

9 May 2003

FXI releases report on the state of censorship in South Africa

SOURCE: Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), Johannesburg

(FXI/IFEX) - The following is a 7 May 2003 FXI press release:

FXI releases report on the state of censorship in South Africa

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) has just released a report on the
activities of its Anti-Censorship Programme (ACP), which has been in
existence since June 2002. A decision was taken to establish the Programme
last year, after the FXI experienced a sharp rise in the number of
censorship cases it was being called on to handle.

In the report, the FXI notes that its decision to establish the Programme
has been vindicated, as censorship is clearly increasing in South Africa.

The ACP has also noted that the more unmediated and popular forms of
expression are more under threat, especially those involving mass meetings,
assembly and demonstrations, and the use of popular media, like graffiti and
pamphlets. Very few of the ACP's cases relate to more 'traditional' forms of
media freedom violations, such as the censorship of journalists. These cases
involve not only instances of censorship at the hands of the state, but at
the hands of parastatals, the private sector and civil society
organisations, and involve disputes around the provision of electricity,
housing, health, land and a clean environment.

For example, the ACP is supporting an activist who has been accused of
defamation for the contents of a pamphlet against the conduct of an
inner-city property owner. In another case, anti-eviction activists have
been banned from participating in activities and organisations opposing
evictions in one of the most depressed townships in the country. In other
cases, attempts have been made to censor residents of communities suffering
environmental pollution by large companies. Union leaders have been
prevented from advocating anti-privatisation views, and landless people have
been subjected to harassment by the state intelligence agency and arrests by
the police, especially over the period when South Africa played host to the
United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, from August to
September 2002.

In analysing why censorship has increased, the FXI has noted that this
increase is linked to increases in unemployment and inequality in South
Africa. Presently, according to the expanded definition of unemployment,
fully 45% of the economically active population is unemployed. Income
inequalities have also increased. In 1995, the average white household
earned four times as much as the average African household. In 2000, the
former earned six times as much.

Extreme inequalities are giving rise to social contradictions, which in turn
are generating their own opposition. In the past two years, South Africa has
seen the rise of independent social movements taking up struggles around
access to basic services, affordable health treatment and against
privatisation; these include organisations such as the Social Movement
Indaba, the Treatment Action Campaign, the Landless Peoples' Movement, the
Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee and the Anti-Privatisation Forum. Their
style of politics have included direct action, leading to ongoing
confrontation with the authorities and, more recently, incidents of
censorship and repression. As a result, an increasing number of the ACP's
cases are coming from the social movements, and relate especially to the
overly restrictive regulation of assembly and demonstrations, through the
Regulation of Gatherings Act.

The ACP has also taken up cases of artists whose songs have been censored
for offensive lyrics. Attempts to censor 'hate speech' are taking place more
and more often. The health sector is also experiencing more censorship.

The ACP has also noted that it has been especially difficult sometimes to
get the full co-operation of victims of censorship in order to mount the
required defence and provide support. In certain cases, the victims are
reluctant to provide the required information for a host of reasons,
including fear of jeopardising their chances with their employers. The ACP
has also handled numerous cases on a confidential basis given the fact that
some victims of censorship have feared reprisals from their employers.
Hence, these cases are not listed here.

The ACP has also been campaigning against the Anti-Terrorism Bill and other
new pieces of censorship legislation coming into the statute books, and has
also been developing legal strategies to remove old apartheid legislation
from the books.

The ACP is in the process of devising strategies, campaigns and research on
how to deal with censorship in the country on a proactive basis. Networking
has also been strongly considered as one of the key elements for the
programme and will be factored into many of the ACP's intervention
strategies.

At the same time, the ACP has identified a need to root itself much more
strongly at the community level. This means that the programme should embark
on a nation-wide education and awareness campaign. The programme has
recognised that victims of censorship in the rural areas encounter serious
disadvantages in the sense that they have little or no institutional
support, and they are in many ways marginalised by the mainstream media.

The report is available on the FXI's website, at http://www.fxi.org.za/

For further information, contact FXI at P.O. Box 30668, Braamfontein, 2017,
Johannesburg (Street Address: 5th Floor Argon House, 87 Juta Street,
Braamfontein, Johannesburg), South Africa, tel: +27 11 403 8403/4, fax: +27
11 403 8309, e-mail: [email protected], Internet: http://fxi.org.za

The information contained in this press release is the sole responsibility
of FXI. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
FXI.
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