COMMUNITY BROADCASTING - The Afrikaans community radio station, Radio Pretoria, has won a temporary reprieve to keep on broadcasting to centres throughout the country, pending an application to review a decision by the Independent Broadcasting Authority that it could not relay its signal to any outlying areas. According to "The Citizen", Justice IWB de Villiers granted an order to the radio station after an interim settlement was reached with the IBA. The chairperson of the board of Radio Pretoria Rev Christiaan van den Berg said in court papers: "The radio station which aimed to promote the religion, language and culture of the Boer Afrikaner community, had become so popular that supporters in various parts of the country obtained funds to put up their own radio masts so that the station's broadcasts could be relayed to other areas". Radio Pretoria obtained temporary licence for itself and 12 relay stations, but the IBA in April this year ruled that their signal could no longer be relayed. Van den Berg said the loss of the licence would lead to the station losing many of its 750 000 listeners, subscription fees, advertising income and donations. "If the IBA takes away the right of supporters to listen to the radio station that reflects their choice of language and culture, such a decision would seriously affect the right to freedom of speech," Van den Berg said.

DEFAMATION - "The Citizen" on July 1 reported that the Johannesburg High Court dismissed an application for an urgent interim interdict brought by two former Civil Co-operation Bureau agents to prevent the book "Dangerous Deceits" from being distributed or sold. Abram van Zyl and Leon Maree last week said that the book contained defamatory passages concerning them. The book, which was written by Frank Welsh and published in South Africa and abroad, implicated the two agents in an alleged conspiracy to kidnap and kill an ex-head of Tollgate Julian Askin, about five years ago. Justice Mohamed Navsa concluded in a 63 page judgement on June 30 that the applicants had failed to satisfy the requirements for the granting of an interim interdict, dismissing it with costs. He said this conclusion should however not be seen as an endorsement for the views or thesis put forward by the author in the book, adding it did appear that he was particularly scathing in respect of the South African system of justice, and was particularly sympathetic to Askin. In affidavits filed on their behalf, Van Zyl and Maree stated that neither the author nor the publishers had made any effort to communicate with them prior to the dissemination of the book in order to obtain comment from them. They complained further that their friends, business associates and family members may be influenced by the book into believing that they were dangerous criminals who have no regard for the law. They also argued that they both had a right to be protected in their dignity and good names, as set out in Section 10 of the SA Constitution. They submitted that the language they had complained of was a "clear violation" of that right. Jonathan Ball, the publisher, argued that the granting of an interdict was not an appropriate remedy for the past invasion of rights and that no purpose would be served by granting the interdict. Ball said that the applicants also failed to join the author and publisher whose rights to freedom of expression were threatened. Ball stated that inferences drawn and the comments made were capable of factual substantiations and were both fair and reasonable. He said the book raised matters of fundamental public concern.

PRESS FREEDOM - On June 29, ANC MP Ned Kekana told the National Assembly that South Africa's liberal media were racist, unpatriotic, suppressed and distorted the truth and encouraged a negative mood in the country. "Star" reported that Kekana, speaking during the debate on President Thabo Mbeki's state-of-the nation address, criticised "liberal" newspapers for their coverage of the election campaign and said government intervention was needed to ensure a more pluralistic press. Kekana said the ANC supported freedom of expression and the media, but these rights, which are guaranteed in the constitution, placed certain obligations on media organisations. "They have the responsibility to receive and impart information and ideas to the population. However, the government task group on communications had found the majority of the country's journalists to be "inexperienced, overworked" and prone to "an acceptable high rate of misjudgement and error," Kekana said. He added that during the election campaign, the media chose to be sensationalist rather than informative. "Government must take measures this year to encourage the development of local grassroots media and end the discrimination by advertisers and sponsors against community and new emerging media," he said.

DEMONSTRATIONS - The 46 disgruntled SA Roadies Association members who were arrested on June 29 on a charge of holding an illegal gathering at a Simply Red concert venue, outside the MTN Sundome, were each given a R500 bail on Friday, July 2, following their lawyer's intervention. The case was postponed to August 3. Sara is an agency representing freelance stagehands in the live entertainment industry. Sara members were held in custody because the court required proof of their identification. According to Sara spokesperson Kgomotso Molokwe, a group of 64 people held a peaceful demonstration outside the complex because the Simply Red tour manager had refused to hold a workshop with the technicians, whereby skills and ideas could be exchanged. Molokwe accused concert promoters Big Concerts of racism and not training and developing freelance workers. "Since 1994, Big Concerts has done everything in its power to prevent transformation and development. The rampant disregard for employment equity, affirmative action, training, the basic conditions of employment act speak volumes about the tide of rank disregard that is inherent and endemic at Big Concerts. "Simply Red tour manager, Nick Levitt has taken it upon himself to take sides in South Africa, and has refused to allow any workshop. 90% of the artists who have visited South Africa over the past five years have eagerly conducted workshops and shared their skills, to great benefit of SA local industry. Perhaps the poison from Big Concerts has rendered Levitt deaf and blind," said Sara in a statement. Big Concerts managing director Attie van Wyk said that Sara's gripe revolved around a mediation meeting held a month ago in which his company and Sara reached an impasse. Van Wyk said a consultative committee had overruled a demand by Sara that certain members be granted backstage access passes at international concert gigs. Sara then took the matter into their own hands. Meanwhile, FXI called for a review of the Regulations Gatherings Act, the law under which the demonstrators were charged. FXI believes that the protesters should have had the opportunity to demonstrate, express their dissatisfaction and draw the public's attention to what they perceived was ongoing discrimination within the industry. It is also the FXI's contention that peaceful demonstrations should be facilitated not disrupted for people to exercise their rights. It is understood that a large contingent of police including bomb squad, dogs and helicopter, was deployed to disperse the demonstration. In the light of the lack of police resource for crime prevention, thus seemed unnecessary to break up a peaceful demonstration.