COSATU yesterday condemned the SABC’s editorial decision not to broadcast footage of violent protests and images showing destruction of property.
Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the SABC should reconsider its decision.
“We call on the SABC board to reconsider this decision and allow the public broadcaster to tell the South African story uncensored, warts and all.
“While the federation totally condemns violent protests and wants all perpetrators of such anarchy and vandalism to be investigated, prosecuted and sent to prison, we do not want the sanitisation of the news to hide the reality,” he said.
Pamla said it was not the SABC’s mandate to “mask the challenges that this country is facing and gag itself” from exposing people’s anger, including criminal acts.
The SABC said it condemned the burning of public institutions and had taken a decision that it would not show footage of schools being torched and similar acts in any of its news bulletins.
The public broadcaster urged other SA broadcasters and print media to join it in no longer covering the growing number of violent protests the country was seeing.
Pamla said: “What we have learnt is that once censorship starts, it never stops because those who are empowered to censor and impose blackouts start to develop bottomless sensitivities and discover more activities that they feel should not be flighted on television. The fight against apartheid was also against censorship and news sanitisation and this decision cannot be allowed to stand.”
South Africans deserved access to all information so they could be empowered as active citizens, he said.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi has thrown her weight behind the decision.
“We unequivocally condemn the destruction of public and private infrastructure. It is our belief that the decision not to show footage of people burning public institutions… will go a long way to discourage attention-seeking anarchists,” Muthambi said.
She described the ban as positive because the SABC had a mandate to ensure “nation building and the promotion of social cohesion”.
“I believe the decision not to air footage of burning public institutions was taken in the spirit of social cohesion and nation building, not censorship.”
Since the announcement by the SABC last week, media houses and opposition parties have slammed the broadcaster for its decision.
The SA National Editors Forum said the decision amounted to censorship and should be condemned. – ANA