The Weekly Report

Focus of the week

Universities crack down on the left

Generally, repression should not be a problem experienced universities. Universities are supposed to be places where intellectual freedom and the right to hold different opinions and views and also to express them is not only protected but also encouraged.

However as most universities in South Africa face financial difficulties that are forcing them to respond to markets, repression has emerged. There are attempts to silence the left intellectuals and student movements on campuses.

Cases of violations of the right to freedom of expression have been reported at the University of Durban Westville (UDW) and also at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), recently where demonstrations and meetings by the left have been refused on the two campuses. According to Fazel Khan a lecturer and an activist at UDW, “the university has created so much fear among students and staff members that participating in protests or demonstrations against government policies on campus is becoming difficult”.

According reports circulated through e-mail by the Socialist Students Movement (SSM) at UDW in the past few weeks the university has refused students and staff members, permission to meet on campus. On Wednesday 8 May 2002 the management of the UDW, banned a meeting scheduled for the following day by the (SSM). The meeting had been called to give students an opportunity to discuss the ANC’s neo-liberal cost recovery programme with people from communities facing mass evictions and disconnections of water and electricity.

The direct order to cancel the meeting was issued by deputy vice-chancellor Professor Dhiru Soni. A least one member of staff with well known left sympathies was threatened with dismissal if he didn’t act to stop the meeting. Management referred to the SSM as an illegal organisation (it is a student society affiliated to the SRC) and said that they would no longer allow the SSM or the campus’s large and vibrant branch of the Treatment Action Campaign to operate on the campus.

Reports says members of Treatment Action Campaign live in fear on campus after the university warned them that they will face the consequences if they continued embarrassing the government.

“The UDW campus is no place for politics and for the embarrassment of the government.” The university’s Vice Chancellor Mapule Ramashala was quoted by staff members as saying. In 2000 Ramashala banned mass gatherings on campus and called in the cops to disperse students with live ammunition who then duly shot at them killing Michael Makhabane.

UDW management has denied the allegations. According to a three-page pamphlet circulated from the Vice Chancellor’s office, the reason why meetings were banned, is because the SSM did not book for meetings in time. Reports from SSM at Wits also say the Wits University Student Representative Council (SRC) has been reluctant to register the Socialist Student Movement on campus saying SSM is an aggressive student organization. In 2001, Wits University took members of the SSM to court after they staged a demonstration against privatisation of the campus catering and cleaning facilities. The university obtained a court order that barred SSM members from attending any gathering on campus. However Wits has also denied the allegations saying they would welcome all student organisations on campus. It is worrying that universities have allowed neo-liberal thinking to dominate their agenda and take away their identity as places where debates of all kinds are encouraged and mushrooming of new ideas and thoughts is held supreme.

The diary

Complain against Jon Qwelane dismissed

The complaint against Radio 702’s talkshow host Jon Qwelane has been dismissed by the Broadcast Complaints Committee of South Africa BCCSA according a report realised by BCCSA on May 20, 2002.

On the 11th December 2001, Qwelane a well-known presenter of and Respondent, Radio 702, ventured into the field of the Birth of Christ, as annually celebrated by Christians on the 25th of December.

Qwelane stated his views clearly: he believed that a Man, Jesus, had lived and that He had a huge following. He, however, denied that he believed that Christ was the Son of God and that Mary had given birth to Jesus without the intervention of a male. Other matters, such as the resurrection and miracles, said to have been done by Jesus, were also rejected. Christians who were listening to the show also claim that the host said; “Go to hell Christian.”

According to the BCCSA, the presenter had the right to do so as long as the talk show was balanced within the framework of a talk show. Insofar as the alleged “go to hell Christian” was concerned, the BCCSA found that the presenter did not use the expression and that the BCCSA expressed no opinion as to whether that would have been unacceptable.

New report on the death of Cardoso

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a special report today calling on the government of Mozambique to step up its inquiry into the killing of investigative journalist Carlos Cardoso.

According to a report of May 23 by International Freedom Exchange IFEX the report, "The Murder of Carlos Cardoso," was written by CPJ Africa program coordinator Yves Sorokobi and is based on new interviews and extensive research conducted by a CPJ delegation that visited Mozambique last year.

Today, CPJ presented the report to Mozambican ambassador Armando Panguene, who promised to forward it to the government in Maputo and to convey CPJ's request for an official response.

Zimbabwe continues crack down on journalists

The Zimbabwe police have made at least six arrests on journalists since last. According to the Daily News newspaper of May 21 the journalists were charged under the new laws that are aimed at stifling the media.

For further detail contact: Freedom of Expression Institute Information and Communications Officer Scotch Tagwireyi Phone: 27 11 403 8403 Cell: 27 82 821 0756