Although it seems clear that an anti-terrorism bill of some sort or another is on the cards for South Africa, the Muslim community of South Africa is still calling on President Thabo Mbeki to scrap the proposed bill entirely.
On Tuesday a petition, signed by 18 Muslim and charity organisations, was sent to Mbeki urging the government ”not to take us back to the dark days of fear, suspicion and injustice”.
This is while the amended Bill is being brought up for final debate and deliberations in parliament on Tuesday and Wednesday. The petition said that there was no place for such legislation in the new, democratic South Africa, and that existing anti-terrorist legislation more than adequately fulfilled the requirements of the UN.
It raised the apprehension of Pagad and the alleged Boeremag as a sign that the existing anti-terrorism legislation in South Africa was performing its function, and pointed out that, of all the Southern African Development Community states, only South Africa and Mauritius had felt it necessary to introduce new anti-terror legislation in response to a resolution from the UN.
The proposed bill has been the subject of hot debate this year. Even its title has provoked hours of discussion. It was introduced to parliament in March 2003 and public hearings on the draft Bill occurred in June.
At the hearings, legal associations, media interest groups, churches, human rights and civil society organisations all expressed their disapproval of specific clauses within the bill, as well as of its very existence.
Indeed, the National Executive Committee of the ANC noted in July that aspects of the Bill did not accord with ANC principles and policy, and that it should be amended.
Government seems to have no intention of scrapping the bill, but various amendments, rising from the public hearings, have been under consideration in parliament since June.
The objections raised in this particular petition are not new, and most civil organisations are yet to comment on whether they feel that the amendments made to the bill since the hearings have quelled some of their fears.
However, it was the view of the signatories of the petition that no amendments to the bill would make it acceptable.
”Our government should be the first to oppose a bill of this type because it goes against everything that the freedom struggle stood for”, it read.
”The Muslim community is deeply dismayed and disappointed that our government could even contemplate such legislation for our country”. – Sapa