Stop the Secrecy Bill
To South African MPs and the Government:
As citizens across South Africa, we call on you to protect our Constitutional commitments to accountability, freedom of information and the media in the "Protection of Information" Bill. We urge you to ensure that the bill only applies to core state bodies in the security sector, and that intelligence agencies are held to account by public scrutiny. Secrets with a bearing on national security must be determined by an independent panel appointed by Parliament and not the Minister of State Security. Penalties for unauthorised disclosure should apply only to those responsible for keeping secrets, and investigative journalists and legitimate whistleblowers should always be protected to release information in the public interest. Our democracy was hard-won, and we will not give it up lightly.
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Zapiro's cartoon about the ANC's media proposals
© 2010 Zapiro - Printed with permission from www.zapiro.com
© 2010 Zapiro - Printed with permission from www.zapiro.com
In four days, MPs could pass an outrageous secrecy bill that undermines the constitution and South Africa's democracy -- helping the government keep wrongdoing from the people and enabling cover-ups of corruption and human rights abuses. But there are four people that could make or break this bill: the Chief Whips.
Despite top lawyers warning that the bill is unconstitutional, the majority of MPs are expected to vote it through. But it will be up to the Chief Whips to rally the MPs to vote for or against the bill. If we flood their inboxes with messages from across South Africa calling on them to respect the law and oppose the secrecy bill, they could think twice about pushing it through.
Let's appeal to the Whips' sense of democratic responsibility and call on them to protect hard-won constitutional rights and freedoms, and transparent government. Use the form on the right to send a message straight to their inboxes and urge them to say No to the Secrecy Bill, then share this with everyone -- we will release the number of messages sent to the media on the eve of the vote.
Stop the Secrecy Bill -- upcoming events
On Saturday 17 September from 10am to 1pm, thousands of South Africans will join in a march to Parliament to reject the final draft of the "Secrecy Bill". Join the march!
When: 17 September 2011, 10am-1pm
Cape Town: Starts on corner of Tennant St and Keizersgracht St (outside CPUT)
*** Come dressed in red, black and white! ***
On Monday 19 September there will be candlelight vigils in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg from 6pm - 8pm.
When: 19 September 2011, 6pm-8pm
Cape Town: outside Parliament, corner of Roeland and Plein Street
Durban: outside King's House
JHB: Kotze entrance to ConCourt on Hospital Rd
Addresses tbc -- for updates and more informations, check this page later
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