Two weeks ago ANC Good Cop, Pallo Jordan, addressed a group of academics in Grahamstown about the deteriorating relationship between the government and the print media.
Two weeks ago ANC Good Cop, Pallo Jordan, addressed a group of academics in Grahamstown about the deteriorating relationship between the government and the print media.
He said: “We should be a little less confrontational in our public discourse, this is unnecessary hyperbole and all it does is to push people into trenches. This dialogue turns out to be completely unproductive.”
Jordan worked hard to convince the academics that there is no need to get hysterical about perceived threats against media freedom because the ANC is perfectly aware of the importance of freedom of expression in a democracy.
At the same time, another ANC Good Cop, Kgalema Motlanthe agreed with the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) that there should be prior consultation between government and Sanef before any journalist is subpoenaed to give evidence. Making a mockery of Jordan’s smooth talking and Motlanthe’s agreement with Sanef, last Friday, two Pretoria detectives threatened to arrest two Port Alfred based journalists who asked questions about why they were being instructed to make statements.
It appears that the policemen wanted statements about a meeting that had taken place in Kenton-on-Sea earlier this month. When the two seasoned journalists enquired about the nature of the police investigations they were warned that “what happened in Mpumalanga, could happen here”. This was an apparent reference to ‘hit lists’ on journalists that reportedly circulate in that province, and the heavy handed arrest and midnight interrogation of Sunday Times journalist, Mzilikazi wa Afrika.
The calming intellectual rationale of Pallo Jordan used to allay fears of academics and the hostile threats against questioning journalists are in effect two sides of the same coin. We are simply seeing a reversioned good cop/bad cop strategy designed to make the country in general- and specifically the media- more compliant in accepting a draconian Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal.
