Press statement

2 September 2002

FXI statement on arrest of Executive Committee member Salim Vally

The Freedom of Expression Institute strongly condemns the arrest of its Executive Committee member, and former Chairperson, Salim Vally, earlier this evening. The arrest took place at the Johannesburg College of Education (JCE) of the University of the Witwatersrand, where Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was due to speak at 6.00 this evening as part of the events surrounding the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). A demonstration against Perez's presence on campus had ensued. Vally has been charged with contravening the Regulation of Gatherings Act, as well as trespassing, resisting arrest and obstructing the course of justice. He was allegedly assaulted during the arrest.

Vally, who is the Acting Director of the Education Policy Unit at the JCE, was attempting to reach his office when he was prevented from entering the university grounds. According to information given to the FXI, the police acted in concert with members of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) in screening who would be let into the JCE grounds. Reportedly, only white people were allowed in unhindered, with black people and anyone perceived to be of 'Muslim appearance' being stopped. Also, the police dispersed with force a demonstration outside the JCE, which was by all counts a peaceful one, and began with a prayer.

For Vally to have been charged with trespassing is simply ludicrous, as is the selectively applied charge of contravening the Act, as he is an employee of the University. The University administration needs to explain themselves as to why members of the SAJBD were allowed to play the role of gatekeepers: their reported racist selectivity points to the fact that they had been deployed to act as religious bouncers. The University administration also needs to explain why peaceful protestors, many of whom were Wits students, were not allowed in to hear Perez speak.

The combined actions of the administration, the police and the SAJBD against peaceful protestors gives the message that they acted in concert to suppress the constitutional rights of the demonstrators to express their opposition to Perez's presence on campus. In addition, their actions against an Al Jazeera journalist, while reportedly white journalists were left unhindered, strongly suggests that respect for the rights of journalists is based on the colour of their skins.

The FXI has also been informed that approximately eighteen people have been arrested after a number of the demonstrators from Wits marched to the Hillbrow police station, where Vally is being held, to demand his release. The march was dispersed by the police with water cannons and rubber bullets; in the process, two other members of the FXI's Executive Committee, Ahmed Veriava and Naeem Jeenah, have reportedly been injured, and Veriava has been hospitalised.

The extremity of the actions against unarmed demonstrators, whether the march was legal or not, confirms once again the charge that Johannesburg is experiencing an undeclared state of emergency during the WSSD period. In the process, the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and peaceful demonstration are being trampled on with impunity to preserve the sensitivities of heads of state at this elite forum.