The International Press Institute (IPI) on Wednesday condemned plans by the South African government to evict journalists from their offices in the national parliament.
The government announced some 18 months ago that it planned to move journalists from offices occupied by the press for more than a century, throughout apartheid rule, to premises outside the parliamentary grounds.
The Vienna-based media watchdog said it was ”highly unfortunate that the South African government has embarked on this retrograde step.”
”South Africa should not be surprised if people outside the country perceive this move as a serious inroad on media freedom and begin questioning South Africa’s integrity in furthering good governance,” it said in a statement.
The speaker of the South African national assembly has said the media needs to move to make space for parliamentary staff. But journalists protest that it will limit their access to information and negatively affect coverage of politics. – Sapa-AFP