Eliminating Media Freedom: the ANC’s Proposed Media Tribunal for South Africa
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There are increasingly loud calls being heard from the ruling African National Congress/Communist Party alliance (ANC/SACP) for a State-appointed media tribunal to be established, and if it ever is set up this will be the end of media freedom in South Africa, and a major step in the creeping creation of an outright dictatorship by the ANC.
The reason for this latest attack against media freedom is because the ANC has been deeply embarrassed of late by the many exposures of its corrupt dealings and crooked politicians. Being a Marxist-dominated party, the ANC wants total control, and it does not want its shady doings brought to the light. As one ANC politician after another has been found guilty of some crime or other, and one corrupt ANC business deal or other shady transaction has come to light in the media, it has grown increasingly worried. A media tribunal would effectively silence all criticism of or opposition to the ANC. Its criminal deeds would then go unreported, and it could then exercise dictatorial sway over the country without the general public even knowing all of its crooked ways. If the tribunal were to become law, journalists could be fined, fired, or even imprisoned.
That it really is the ruling party’s desire to use this tribunal to protect its own interests is shown by the following statement from the discussion document on the tribunal: “Our objectives therefore are to vigorously communicate the ANC’s outlook and values [developmental state, collective rights, values of caring and sharing community, solidarity, ubuntu, non-sexism, working together] versus the current mainstream media’s ideological outlook [neo-liberalism, a weak and passive state, and over-emphasis on individual rights, market fundamentalism, etc.].” [1] What many do not understand is that SA is in the unusual situation of having a pro-Marxist government, but a liberal press in general. Liberals are what I call almost-Reds, but they do not ever go far enough to the satisfaction of the Reds themselves. Consequently there is often a clash between the liberal media and the hardcore Marxist government. It is a situation the government hates and wants to see changed.
This is how President Jacob Zuma defended the proposed tribunal: “The media says that this is a restriction on us, we are the watchdog of the people – they were never elected. They need to be governed themselves because at times they go overboard on the rights.” Of course those in the media must be subject to the law, just like everyone else. But Zuma means the media must be reined in. Listen to this from the president: “We at the ANC, we believe we [understand rights]. We fought for the rights. We understand what are the rights.” [2] Thus, according to Zuma and the ANC, they must be obeyed because they supposedly “fought” (in their Marxist revolution) for the right to have freedom of expression – which is not factually true anyway – so they have the right to take this freedom away!
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