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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Feb 09 2012 12:47 | LAST UPDATED Feb 09 2012 12:47 |
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Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has vowed to fight perceived attempts by the ruling party to undermine media freedom all the way to the Constitutional Court. "We will use every means at our disposal to defend our country and our democracy from the ANC's assault. We will take the fight all the way to the Constitutional Court if necessary," Zille wrote in her weekly newsletter. "We will never surrender our right to know." Zille took aim at the ANC's proposal for a statutory media tribunal and the much-contested Protection of Information Bill, which makes the publication of classified information a crime punishable with up to 25 years in jail. "If passed, the Protection of Information Bill will criminalise investigative journalism," Zille said of the draft Act described by the Freedom of Expression Institute as a bid to cover up wrongdoing and silence criticism of the government. Zille said the Bill recalled the draconian laws and actions of the apartheid state, and made clear that the ANC leaders in power did not subscribe to former president Nelson Mandela's view that constraints on media freedom were a disservice to society. "That ANC is long gone. The ANC of today wants to shut down criticism and present its version of reality as the only truth," Zille said. "Just like under apartheid, the government will invoke the national interest to cover up every abuse of power." Lawyers have told a parliamentary ad hoc committee the Bill would not withstand Constitutional Court scrutiny, in part because it made democratic values secondary to notions of national interest and security that were too widely defined.  CONTINUES BELOW Chief state law adviser Enver Daniels conceded that the Bill would probably end up in the Constitutional Court but said he believed it would be upheld. -- Sapa TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
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 DA leader Helen Zille is pictured with an unidentified supporter at the DA's recent federal congress in Cape Town. (David Harrison, M&G) Client Media Releases
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