The Times
*ANC, SACP to march in support of secrecy law* *Paul Vecchiatto, The Times Business, Johannesburg, 29 March 2012*Two out of the three members of the tripartite alliance, the African National Congress (ANC) and the SA Communist Party (SACP), plan to march on Parliament in support of the Protection of State Information Bill.
The third member of the alliance, labour movement Cosatu will not be joining and has vociferously opposed the draft secrecy law saying that it would allow for increased corruption within government and would fail to protect whistleblowers.
The controversial bill that was passed by the ANC's majority in the National Assembly in November is now being examined by the National Council of Provinces through a series of public hearings that were scheduled to end on Friday, the same day as the planned march.
Instead of Cosatu, the SA National Civics Organisation (SANCO), which is a coalition of mainly black township residents who banded together to oppose apartheid era local government structures, will join the ANC and SACP.
SACP Western Cape spokesperson Benson Ngqentsu said: "Cosatu have their own issues (on the bill) and will not be joining in. It is part of the dynamics of the tripartite alliance. We, as the SACP, respect their right," he said.
In a joint statement issued by the ANC, SACP and SNCO they said that they had taken note of the consistent campaign of disinformation and hysteria propagated by the "Right to Know Campaign" against the Protection of State Information Bill.
The Right2Know Campaign has been opposing the bill and led the "Black Tuesday" demonstration outside Parliament when the National Assembly passed the first draft.
"This initiative is dominated by foreign-sponsored NGO's and western-owned media agencies. Their links with often foreign owned media houses ensure their campaign enjoys generous media coverage, force-feeding society their liberal propaganda to undermine our government," the ANC, SACP and SANCO statement said.
It went on to say that the campaign spreads false information to instil a fear that the ANC-led government was a threat to the Constitution and the freedoms that citizens and the media now enjoyed.
The statement described the opposition to the bill as hysterical and that the claims that it would conceal corruption were false.
"They are arguing for the 'public interest defence' and thus misleading the public with their supposition that the media is interest-free," it said.
The statement went on to say that the media did not act in the public interest and therefore they could not use the issue of a "public interest defence".
"The media projects a democratically-elected government as the enemy of the very public that elected the government in the first place. By what right do they assume this superiority?" the statement read.
The statement said the draft law provided for sanctions against people who knowingly classified information incorrectly to conceal corruption or any wrong doing.
It also made provision for the courts to adjudicate in cases where the media wanted to obtain and publish classified information.
"This is a fair process of legitimately obtaining state information for public good and it remains a mystery why the media would not want this accountability instrument," the statement said.
Murray Hunter, national coordinator of the Right2Know Campaign denied his organisation was media led or that it was funded by foreign powers.
"The Right2Know Campaign is a coalition of progressive forces responding to increasingly authoritarian tendencies within government. The SACP and SANCO are off base in that they have become victims of the ANC misinformation campaign around the bill," he said.
Hunter said the donors to the Right2Know Campaign were listed on their website and that it received money from individuals at their meetings and via deposits.
"We do more to publicise who donates to us than the ANC who consistently refuse to," he said.
*From: http://www.businesslive.co.za/southafrica/sa_generalnews/2012/03/29/anc-sacp-to-march-in-support-of-secrecy-law*
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