Last night I participated in a candlelight vigil at Constitution Hill to protest against the Protection of Information Bill, also referred to as the Secrecy Bill by those opposed to it.
The protest formed part of the Right2Know Campaign, which is aimed at opposing the Secrecy Bill and raising awareness of the implications should it be passed.
In its current form, the Secrecy Bill would give the government broad powers to regulate and withhold information, potentially giving preference to state interests over transparency and freedom of expression. It would also exclude a public interest defence and provide for stringent criminal sanction against those who violate certain provisions.
As we gathered along the pavement, one of the organisers of the vigil, Dale McKinley, handed out candles and paper cups. I was pleased to see a diverse mix of people passing around lighters and flyers, debating the issues we were preparing to represent.
We stood together as the evening traffic sped past, singing songs and forming a chain of lights to symbolically barricade the Constitutional Court.
After being addressed by the organisers, members of the public were invited to speak to the crowd. Even the softly spoken little bird of a woman next to me, after wrestling with whether or not to have her say, ended up braving the cameras. Afterwards, she told me that the vigil brought back memories of protests held during the State of Emergency under the apartheid government. I later learned that she had been detained by the police all those years ago.
The vigil was especially close to my heart, as I helped organise a similar protest in Grahamstown last year. I was disappointed at the number of people, especially my fellow journalism students, who failed to participate that day. Sadly, yesterday’s protest left me with a similar feeling. Although about 150 people were present, I still felt that the numbers were lacking. Johannesburg is home to so many major media institutions and influential figures – in my mind, far more people should have been there dripping wax onto that pavement.
However, the controversy surrounding the Secrecy Bill shouldn’t only resonate with journalists. So many people manage to comfortably avoid such issues by telling themselves that only the media will really be affected should the Bill be passed. But the problem is bigger than this – the integrity of our Constitution, which so many brave people fought so incredibly hard to achieve, is what all of us as South Africans, not just journalists, should be fighting for.
So where was everyone?
Although the Bill has been temporarily shelved, we can’t allow this to distract from the underlying implications that need to be acknowledged and addressed should we continue to remain a democracy shielded by one of the most beautifully constructed Constitutions in the world.
Visit the Right2Know website for more information.
Photographs courtesy of Laura Maggs