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Gaza War

Goldstone cited for worldwide efforts

(source: Arutz Sheva)

The Swedish-based International Legal Assistance Consortium awarded South African justice Richard Goldstone its first Stockholm Human Rights Award on Thursday night. The award cites Goldstone for his work in South Africa, Yugoslavia and Rwanda, among other places, in addition to the report he wrote which accused Israel, and to a lesser extent Hamas of crimes in last winter’s Operation Cast Lead counterterror operation.

The consortium runs a program in what it calls the "Occupied Palestinian Territories" which "is mainly to support the Palestinian Bar Association," according to the group’s website. Those occupied territories include Gaza, which has not had a full-time Israeli presence since the Israeli government uprooted Gaza Jews in 2005.

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Defend and advance the freedom of expression for all

AIDC Statement on the threats to Press Freedom – 13 August 2010

(source: www.aidc.org.za.)

Press Freedom is a right enjoyed by a privileged minority of South Africans. Our print media is controlled by a cartel of four corporations. Broadcast Media is dominated by the SABC. The profiteering of private media and commercialization of the SABC have seen the mass media catering to the expression and information needs of lucrative markets (LSM 8- 10) representing under 15% of South Africans.

Rather than striving to extend the freedoms of expression and access to information to all South Africans, the ANC government is perusing a series of reforms that will further curtail these freedoms:

  • The Protection of Information Bill allows every organ of state – from government departments and parastatals to the smallest municipality – to throw a blanket of secrecy over its documents. If the law is passed whistle blowers leaking, and journalists reporting, on these documents can face up to 25 years in jail;
  • The ICASA Amendment Bill gives the Minster of Communications powers to determine the functions of individual ICASA councilors and to conduct performance appraisals of councilors; 
  • The Public Service Broadcasting Bill narrows the social mandate of community and public broadcasters to serve the "developmental goals of the Republic" and extends the powers of the Minister of Communications over the SABC and municipal officials over community radio; 
  • The proposed Media Appeals Tribunal will introduce formal censorship to print media limiting the role of the media in ensuring transparent and accountable government.  

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