The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editor's Forum have sent a letter of concern to President Jacob Zuma and group of prominent South African writers have issued a statement, adding their voices to the protests over the proposed Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, representing websites, newspapers and companies in over 120 countries, composed a letter to President Zuma, expressing their "serious concern" at the proposed tribunal and bill. President of WAN-IFRA, Gavin O'Reilly, asks the President to bear in mind the Declaration of Table Mountain, signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which "calls on African states to promote the highest standards of press freedom in furtherance of the principles proclaimed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other protocols and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press."

"We respectfully call on you to ensure that the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunals proposal are either amended in line with constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press or withdrawn altogether," writes O'Reilly, "We ask that you ensure that any future media reform in South Africa fully respects international standards of press freedom."

A group of prominent South African writers have also added their voices to growing protests over potential threats to media freeodm in South Africa. Organised by Nadine Gordimer and André Brink, the group argues that writers will also be affected by potential censorship, as will their readers.

"Writing presupposes an interaction with readers," the statement reads. "And so, if the work and the freedom of the writer are in jeopardy, the freedom of every reader in South Africa is in danger. Consequently our protest is an action undertaken by South Africans for all South Africans, committing ourselves to a demand for our free country: freedom of thought expressed, freedom of dialogue, freedom from fear of the truth about ourselves, all South Africans."

The statement has been signed by a number of internationally renowned writers, including Zakes Mda and Breyten Breytenbach, as well as journalists such as Fred Khumalo and Justice Malala.

The letter and statement appear in their entirety below.

-----------------------------------------------------

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, to express our serious concern at two recent moves by the ruling ANC that seriously threaten press freedom in South Africa.

The Protection of Information Bill currently before parliament seeks to replace apartheid-era legislation with far-reaching provisions that would virtually shield the government from press scrutiny and criminalize activities essential to investigative journalism.

Under the bill, officials would be empowered to classify any public or commercial data as confidential on vaguely defined "national interest" grounds without having to give any explanation. Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of such issues as public law enforcement and judicial matters, with political appointees having the final say over which information should be classified.

One of the serious deficiencies in the legislation is that there is no provision for a “public interest” defence by journalists and others to support the disclosure of classified information. Anyone found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of official or classified information could face heavy penalties.

We are also seriously concerned at an ANC proposal that parliament appoint a Media Appeals Tribunal to adjudicate on complaints against the press. Such a government-appointed agency could be used as an instrument of political censorship, as has happened many times across Africa, and members would inevitably face an inherent conflict of interest. We respectfully remind you that an effective self-regulatory system, including a Press Ombudsman and an Appeals Panel, is already in place and has repeatedly been shown to act with neutrality.

We bring to your attention the Declaration of Table Mountain, endorsed at the 60^th World Newspaper Congress and 14^th Editors Forum in Cape Town in June 2007 and recently signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in July 2010.  The Declaration of Table Mountain, among other things, calls on African states to promote the highest standards of press freedom in furtherance of the principles proclaimed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other protocols and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

We respectfully call on you to ensure that the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunals proposal are either amended in line with constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press or withdrawn altogether. We ask that you ensure that any future media reform in South Africa fully respects international standards of press freedom.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely, Gavin O’Reilly

President

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

WRITERS AGAINST PROTECTION OF INFORMATION BILL / MEDIA TRIBUNAL

Freedom of expression along with the vote – universal suffrage – is the basis of democracy.

Muzzling this freedom affects directly print and other media in the responsibility and necessity of their function, which is to keep citizens informed of all aspects that affect life in the country, whether by government edict, the law, economic practice, or the ethical standards of individual behaviour. Denial of freedom of expression makes a mockery of the profession of journalism – the print press and the media in general. This does not imply freedom should be granted for hate speech in any form, including advocation of violence: our Constitution deals with that: “Bill of Rights. Freedom of expression. The right does not extend to a) propaganda for war, b) incitement of imminent violence; or c) advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.”

As writers – whether novelists, poets, playwrights, essayists, historians, biographers or others - we too are threatened by denial of freedom of the word, our form of expression of the lives of the people of South Africa at the level of deep complexity, within the forces of government, the financial and personal codes of the powerful in relation to the ideal of equality and of human dignity, to which the new South Africa subscribes.

Among the signatures below are those of writers whose work was banned under the apartheid regime. We are threatened again, now with a gag over the word processor if we penetrate the ‘transparency’ promised in the new South Africa, which a Media Tribunal will replace with the descent of a shutter over the dialogue of the arts in the attempt of understanding who and what we are, where we come from and what we may yet become.

The press and all writers who use the word professionally are threatened by censorship, which is the reality lurking behind the euphemism ‘Media Tribunal’. But we do not protest against the institution of such a ‘Media Tribunal – Word Police’ merely on our own behalf. Writing presupposes an interaction with readers. And so, if the work and the freedom of the writer are in jeopardy, the freedom of every reader in South Africa is in danger. Consequently our protest is an action undertaken by South Africans for all South Africans, committing ourselves to a demand for our free country: freedom of thought expressed, freedom of dialogue, freedom from fear of the truth about ourselves, all South Africans.