Parliament should be investigating the anti-democratic provisions of the Secrecy Bill - not five people in masks

The Parliamentary Communication Services has issued a statement condemning the Right2Know's behaviour as "particularly unseemly" and threatening to apply the "full might of the law" against our supporters.

This is in response to an incident on Tuesday, when five Right2Know supporters silently donned masks depicting Minister of State Security Siyabonga Cwele during a sitting of the parliamentary committee dealing with the Protection of Information Bill (the Secrecy Bill).

Our five members did not utter a word during this minute-long episode. Indeed, they didn't even leave their seats. Yet Parliament insists that their actions were illegal and "extremely disrespectful to the institution of Parliament". Parliament's statement continues:

The demonstration yesterday by members of Right2Know was particularly unseemly. All members of the public and civil society organisations had been afforded the opportunity to make their views heard about the Protection of Information Bill. Through this process, submissions to the Ad-hoc Committee and, generally, public input on the bill has been encouraged and received.

It was the grossly flawed "public input" process that prompted the formation of the Right2Know campaign in the first place, as a collective response to the committee members' apparent disinterest in our concerns about the Secrecy Bill.

Nearly six months later, thousands of people across South Africa have united in opposition to the Bill. And yet the Secrecy Bill is still disastrously wide-reaching in the powers it would give to conceal government affairs from public scrutiny, and the prison sentences it would impose on whistleblowers, journalists and others who attempt to bring the truth to light.

Despite this, Parliament is now threatening supporters of the Right2Know who engaged in peaceful, non-disruptive expression with "the full might of the law". Perhaps MPs should investigate the anti-democratic provisions of the Secrecy Bill, rather than investigating ordinary people who are committed to our democracy.

Furthermore, it is clear from Tuesday's proceedings that Parliament has failed to prolong the mandate of the ad hoc Committee. This raises questions about the ability of the legislature to deal with this complex and far-reaching Bill. It may well be time for Parliament reject the Bill in its current form and open up a process for thorough public consultation.

Statement issued by the Right2Know campaign, February 17 2011

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