Several events to mark the 36th anniversary of Black Wednesday are being held today in a number of venues around the country including Grahamstown.
Several events to mark the 36th anniversary of Black Wednesday are being held today in a number of venues around the country including Grahamstown.
The commemoration recalls the day back in 1977 when newspapers were banned and activists and journalists jailed for their opposition to the apartheid regime.
The panel discussion in the Arts Minor lecture theatre at Rhodes University at 5pm on Friday 18 October will consider the relevance of Black Wednesday in 2013 and the extent to which the rights to freedom of expression and media freedom have been secured.
Debate will no doubt focus on the Protection of Information, or Secrecy Bill, that the ANC is pushing through Parliament for a second time. Legislators made changes to the draft that President Jacob Zuma refused to sign because he said the Bill was unconstitutional in that form.
It is somewhat ironic that this Bill, which is shamelessly designed to stifle freedom of expression, should be going through Parliament at the same time as we recall the crude attempts of a previous regime to do just the same.
Parliament first approved the controversial Bill in November 2011, but it was held up for many months as the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) deliberated on what to do about it. It was eventually passed by the NCOP and sent to the President who last month refused to sign it and redirected it back to Parliament.
In an interesting aside, it is worth noting that there is nothing on the ANC’s website about commemorating Black Wednesday.
It seems certain that the President will sign into law the latest version of the Secrecy Bill causing some commentators to lament the end of freedom of expression in this country.
However, as the former press ombudsman, Joe Thloloe explained when he delivered the third annual Percy Qoboza memorial lecture in Pretoria, that the freedom of expression in this country still enjoys some important protection. He was clearly referring to the Bill of Rights contained in the South African Constitution which specifically guarantees the “freedom to receive or impart information or ideas”.
Once again it is somewhat ironic that Thloloe had to reassure the media of its rights at a memorial lecture named to honour the memory of Percy Qoboza, a journalist, author and outspoken critic of the apartheid government who was detained without charge on Black Wednesday in 1977.
The passage of the Secrecy Bill is unlikely to have any significant impact in the immediate future because most government departments, including Makana Municipality, try their best not to disclose any information under any circumstances.
