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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."

9 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 pixelpusher220 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Expect an even worse version to be submitted in the US in the near future.

      You sir are a pessimist.

      This is *America*. We can do censorship BETTER than anyone else...and we will!

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    4. 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.

    1. Re:Nukes by beuges · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Zuma was already not looking good a week ago, when his official spokesman, Mac Maharaj, laid charges against the Mail & Guardian, compelling them to redact about 70% of an article they were going to publish outlining how Maharaj lied during an in-camera hearing into corruption surrounding the infamous arms deal. Rather than defend himself, Maharaj's viewpoint is simply that the publication of in-camera evidence is against the law, so the M&G is breaking the law. Hasn't provided any sort of defence against the allegations of corruption against him.

      And this is exactly what the protesting against the POIB is about. The ANC has viciously resisted even the thought of adding a 'public interest' clause to the bill, meaning that evidence of corruption and lies, like in Zuma's spokesman's case, can be classified, and then rather than the corrupt person being held accountable, the journalists go to jail, for exposing corruption that the government is helping to hide.

      Zuma and his cronies haven't looked good for a while. If they were serious about their claims to want to fight corruption, they wouldn't be so hell-bent on passing a law that hides the evidence of that corruption. The minister of Intelligence was implicated in fraud involving travel allowances a few years back. None of the ANC MP's have been charged or even fined. He's the one that drafted the initial bill.

      My personal opinion, as a non-white who grew up in the last two decades of apartheid, is that the ANC government is worse for the people of this country than the apartheid one. At least with the Nats, you knew that if you were black, you were gonna be held back - it was government policy and they were open about it. With the ANC, they're keeping their own people back for their own selfish gains, blaming the 'legacy of apartheid' for their peoples misfortunes, when their people remain poor and uneducated purely due to the corrupt, selfish ANC government in power.

      It's a tragedy.

  3. Now South Africa needs Wikileaks and Anonymous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So please, hackers of the world, we need you to bust Zuma and the security apparatus in South Africa wide open, and publish on behalf of the people of this country, who have had their hopes dashed by a hopelessly corrupt government. Let the secrets which gave rise to this bill come to light!

  4. I'm a South African... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    and over the years I've seen a new apartheid being slowly, but meticulously built. The propaganda is rife everyday...

    Our country has mass unemployment, and those masses are uneducated. The government of this-not-so-young democracy has not drastically changed this landscape, why not? The uneducated are the uninformed, the uninformed are easy to manipulate with never ending promises. So the uneducated are kept uneducated. Money is spent on far more pressing expenses - BILLIONS are annually spent on celebrations, extravagant cars, houses for the MP's etc. Yet people go on uneducated, hungry, homeless, with no proper sanitation or running water. Where does the money come from? Well, the majority of the taxes paid are contributed by the minority whites/indians/etc who are often told to get out of the country. The problem is they're leaving by the millions.

    As the gentlemen above said, it's intent on destroying itself, and he's quite right. In time (5, 10 years, give or take), it will implode, hopefully never as bad as Zimbabwe. The government is stealing from their very own people and now they can dust it under the carpet easier than before. And what they can't dust, I'm sure they'll "Jik" the evidence away.

    The only reason anyone can be pro the South African government, is if 1. you aren't living here, or 2. you are the South African government.