Students Against Secrecy, a coalition of student organizations have put together a week of action to raise awareness about and activism against the Protection of Information Bill. Through a series of discussions, debates and campus displays we seek to provide a platform to engage UCT students in this vital question, which is at the very heart of our continent’s most vibrant democracy.
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MONDAY 1PM - Business on Secrecy...: Why Information is the Lifeblood of the Economy - Viola Manuel (Executive Director of the Cape Chamber of Commerce) - Leslie Social 2B
TUESDAY 1PM: The Secrecy Bill: An Introduction - Nkwame Cedile and Murray Hunter of Right2Know explain why the Protection of Information Bill still fails the freedom test. - Arts 100
TUESDAY 6PM - A Case Study: Uncovering and Reporting on the Arms Deal - Paul Hoffman (Director of the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa), Christi van der Westhueyzen (award-winning journalist author of White Power & the Rise and Fall of the National Party) and Hennie van Vuuren (head of the Institute for Security Studies) - Beatie 115
WEDNESDAY 1PM - Academics on Freedom - Dr. Max Price (UCT Vice-Chancellor) and Professor David Benatar (Head of the UCT Department of Philosophy) - Leslie Social 2B
THURSDAY 5.30PM - The Great Debate - Chair: Judge Dennis Davis. Panel: Martin Welz (Editor of Noseweek), Fatima Hassan (Co-Director of Ndifuna Ukwazi [Dare to Know]), Dario Milo (Senior Partner at Webber Wentzel) and Dennis Dlomo (Special Adviser to the Minister of State Security) - Jameson Hall. NB: Tickets must be collected from the SRC Office, Level 7, Steve Biko Building from Monday
SATURDAY 10AM - Right2Know March to Parliament from Kaizersgracht Street
ALL WEEK: Sign our petition on Jammie Plaza
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Important problems with the bill that have still not been resolved:
1) The lack of a ‘public interest defence’: the bill criminalizes whistleblowers and journalists who release classified information in the public interest. Penalties include prison sentences of up to a maximum of 25 years.
2) Exemption of state intelligence services from scrutiny: Clause 43 of the POIB hands down 15 year prison sentence for possessing or sharing any information relating in any way to any aspect of the security services-effectively protecting spies from any kind of accountability to the public.
3) The lack of an independent body to review what can and cannot be classified: the decision to
appoint a retired judge to review the criteria for classification was reversed
4) The bill criminalizes the “exposure of economic, scientific or technological secrets” potentially undermining vital academic freedoms
5) No indication of the financial implications to the state are stipulated in the bill
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=246063795428825
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