Opposition politicians abstain from Secrecy Bill sitting
Yesterday (Wednesday 14 November) we witnessed a further postponement of the Secrecy Bill’s passage into law following the absence of opposition politicians at the afternoon’s meeting of the National Council of Provinces ad hoc committee.
We call on the ruling ANC’s members of the NCOP to consider the letter and spirit of our Constitution and resist the pressures applied by the Department of State Security. We call on the NCOP’s ad hoc committee as well as the NCOP Council to fully engage with the submissions made by Right2Know Campaign, COSATU, LRC and other progressive organizations, heed the voice of millions of South Africans and bring this Bill in line with our Constitution. We demand that the widely held and well-articulated concerns of civil society organisations (supported by the opposition of millions of South Africans) be fully addressed before the Bill becomes law.
Currently, despite its many welcome amendments, the Bill remains an affront to the Constitutional values that thousands of our citizens paid the ultimate price to secure and many more struggle valiantly to uphold today. Among its still considerable flaws is its lack of a public domain defence that makes spies out of ordinary citizens. Its lack of a public interest defence in specific respect to the Hostile Offences and Espionage leaves these clauses open to abuse by increasingly corrupt elements of our government. The Bill in short, makes secrecy the norm and openness the exception. It should be the other way round.
We therefore support the delay in finalising the Bill and call on ordinary South Africans to collectively demand that the Bill’s finalisation be delayed until parliament fully engages with the demands of the people.
The Right2Know Campaign will be Camping Out For Openness, outside Parliament, day and night, from Monday 19th to demand that MPs act to defend our democracy. We call on all freedom loving South Africans to join us.
Details of the Camp Out for Openness program are here: https://www.r2k.org.za/2012/11/10/r2k-camp-out-for-openness-19-23-november/
Right2Know activists around the country will also be taking to the streets in the coming weeks as Parliament moves to pass the Secrecy Bill.
FOR INFORMATION/ OR COMMENT:
R2K National Coordinator: Mark Weinberg (084 993 0591)
R2K Gauteng spokesperson: Dale McKinley (072 429 4086)
R2K KZN spokesperson: Desmond D’Sa (083 982 6939)
R2K W. Cape spokesperson: Nkwame Cedile (078 227 6008)
R2K E. Cape spokesperson: Thembani Zion Onceya (078 843 7489)
