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South Africa Passes Secrecy Bill, Makes Whistleblowing a Dangerous Act

Posted by timothy on from the let-it-not-be-said-that dept.

New submitter Hermanas writes with the story that South Africa's parliament has passed a Protection of Information Bill which could land whistle blowers and journalists who print classified information in jail for up to 25 years. From the Telegraph: "On the morning of the vote, a joint editorial in the country's largest newspapers heralded [a South African] 'day of reckoning for democracy.' 'The spreading culture of self-enrichment, either corrupt, or merely inappropriate, makes scrutiny fuelled by whistle blowers who have the public interest at heart more essential than ever since 1994,' the front page editorial said. As MPs voted on the bill in Cape Town's parliament, protesters dressed all in black gathered at the gates of the historic building where they were addressed by editors and freedom of information activists."

5 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Wow... by AngryDeuce · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would have expected this here in the U.S. or China, not South Africa. We're having a bad influence on the rest of the world, I think...

    1. Re:Wow... by mr1911 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Expect an even worse version to be submitted in the US in the near future. It will almost certainly be presented as a way to 1) save the children, or 2) protect us from terrorists.

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    2. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The 1% are in power and want to stay that way. The truth is not their friend.

    3. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you look at his past in today's context, he would be labeled a terrorist, and rightly so.

      He was labelled a terrorist back then. In fact, up until 2008, Mandela needed special waivers to travel to the US from the Secretary of State as a result of it.

      That said, for his part, he always did try to prevent people from getting hurt. He was going after buildings symbolic to the Apartheid government. The rest of his group didn't always adhere to that, and they got pretty violent, but it's hard to control people who have been oppressed for so long.

      People say that it's difficult to differentiate a terrorist from a freedom fighter. Here's my attempt: if you actually lay down arms and move towards reconciliation once you've ended the oppression, instead of trying to become the oppressor, then you're a freedom fighter. That's what Mandela did, and I have to call that noble, from the start. Because fighting for your freedom is a noble thing to do.

  2. Nukes by benjfowler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now I understand COMPLETELY, the decision by the then-white-minority government in South Africa, to relinquish their nuclear weapons and put their nuclear programme under international safeguards.

    And this does not make Jacob ('Bring Me My Machine Gun') Zuma and his cronies look too good.