The Weekly Mail editors and lawyers had an hour-long meeting this week with the Minister of Home Affairs, Stoffel Botha, to discuss his threat to act against the newspaper. Co-editors Anton Barber and Irwin Manoim and attorneys from the firm Bell, Dewar and Hall met Botha and four members of his department in Cape Town on Monday. Since the meeting was off-the-record, no details have emerged.
However, the Weekly Mail representatives said afterwards that there had been a polite exchange of views. "The meeting reached no formal conclusion and no undertakings were asked for or given by either side. However, both sides expressed their views on the situation in a cordial atmosphere," the co-editors said afterwards. Botha told parliament on Wednesday that the decision on whether or not the Weekly Mail would be banned "rested with its editors". Replying to a question in the budget debate on his department Botha said he hoped it would not be necessary for him to take further action. However, if the editors "decided to continue" publishing matters prohibited by the regulations then they had taken the decision into their own hands.
In his speech in the House of Representatives, Botha attacked "media terrorists" who are collaborators" in the attempts by "terrorists … to get publicity for their thought and deeds. They are people who are in a position to provide publicity for the revolutionaries. They achieve this in two-ways: by spreading the message of the revolutionaries and by providing publicity for acts of terrorism," he said. "It is said that actions such as those taken by the government against subversive and revolutionary publications amount to the violation of democratic principles. The contrasting question that I wish to pose is this: should the government in the name of democracy simply allow that fear, hatred, intimidation, murder, mutilation and other similar evils be furthered by certain publications? That is nonsense…
*The Weekly Mail editors yesterday thanked people involved in the campaign to stop the minister from acting against the press. "We were overwhelmed by the level and extent of support we have received. There has been a flood of letters, petitions, protests and other forms of support. "We have no doubt that these activities have had an important effect in assisting us to continue publishing," the editors said.
Meanwhile, a wide range of people added their voices to the call to "Save the Press": Twenty-three South African book publishers signed a statement last week calling on Botha to review and rescind the Emergency media regulations. The "statement of concern" was signed by David Philip of David Philip Publishers, Karin Dunker of AD Dunker, TV Bulpin of Books of Africa, Lynne Bryer of Chameleon Press, Piet Snyman of Century Hutchinson, Malcolm Edwards of Collins SA, Anite Theron of Heinemann SA, John Allen of Longman Penguin SA, Howard Dalton of Lowry Publishers, Don Nelson of Don Nelson (Pty) Ltd, James Clarke of Oxford University Press SA, Dorothy Wheeler of Ravan Press, Mothobi Mutloatse of Skotaville Publishers, Basil van Rooyen of Southern Books, Gerrit Struik of Struik Publishers and Timmins Publishers, Hans Strydom of Hans Strydom Uitgewers, John Miles of Taurus Uitgewers, M Moberly of the University of Natal Press, Professor Ample Coetzee of the University of the Western Cape Press, Professor Noel Carson of the Wits University Press and representatives of three university institute publishers.
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
