Youngsters now trying an alternate way of protesting to marching (photo from fOTOGLIF)

Julius Malema and his ANCYL comrades have been making waves in the press world again. This time it was a series of attacks on the press and journalists. But, instead of the usual sniggers and/or anger, they provoked a thoughtful response from internet savvy young adults. Sipho Hlongwane, a young law student initiated a campaign amongst his online peers to use the power of blogs protest this abuse.

Here is the text of the article, and a list of the known bloggers who are taking part in the protest. Little more needs to be said:

Bloggers for a free press

Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of ANC Youth League Spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the secretary-general of the ANC, against Shivambu. This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier to certain journalists, purporting to expose the money-laundering practices of Dumisani Lubisi, a journalist at City Press. The letter also detailed the intimidation that followed when these journalists refused to publish these revelations.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reprisals against journalists by Shivambu. His actions constitute a blatant attack on media freedom and a grave infringement on constitutional rights. It is a disturbing step towards dictatorial rule in South Africa.

We call on the ANC and the ANC Youth League to distance themselves from the actions of Shivambu. The media have, time and again, been a vital democratic safeguard by exposing the actions of individuals who have abused their positions of power for personal and political gain.

The press have played a vital role in the liberation struggle, operating under difficult and often dangerous conditions to document some of the most crucial moments in the struggle against apartheid. It is therefore distressing to note that certain people within the ruling party are willing to maliciously target journalists by invading their privacy and threatening their colleagues in a bid to silence them in their legitimate work.

We also note the breathtaking hubris displayed by Shivambu and ANC Youth League President Julius Malema in their response to the letter of complaint. Shivambu and Malema clearly have no respect for the media and the rights afforded to the media by the Constitution of South Africa. Such a response serves only to reinforce the position that the motive for leaking the so-called dossier was not a legitimate concern, but an insolent effort to intimidate and bully a journalist who had exposed embarrassing information about the youth league president.

We urge the ANC as a whole to reaffirm its commitment to media freedom and other constitutional rights we enjoy as a country.

Blog Roll

http://thoughtleader.co.za/siphohlongwane
http://rwrant.co.za
http://vocfm.co.za/blogs/munadia/
http://vocfm.co.za/blogs/shafiqmorton/
http://blogs.news24.com/needpoint
http://capetowngirl.co.za
http://thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo
http://thoughtleader.co.za/davidjsmith
http://letterdash.com/one-eye-only
http://boyuninterrupted.blogspot.com
http://amandasevasti.com
http://blog.empyrean.co.za/
http://letterdash.com/brencro
http://6000.co.za
http://chrisroper.co.za
http://pieftw.com
http://hamishpillay.wordpress.com
http://memoirs4kimya.blogspot.com
http://thoughtleader.co.za/azadessa
http://watkykjy.co.za
http://fredhatman.co.za
http://thelifeanddeathchronicles.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/common-dialogue/
http://clivesimpkins.blogs.com/
http://mashadutoit.wordpress.com
http://nicharalambous.com
http://sarocks.co.za
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/stompies/
http://helenmoffett.book.co.za/blog/
http://01universe.blogspot.com
http://groundwork.wordpress.com
http://www.iwrotethisforyou.me
http://fionasnyckers.book.co.za
http://attentiontodetail.wordpress.com
http://blogs.women24.com/editor
http://www.missmillib.blogspot.com
http://snowgoose.co.za
http://dreamfoundry.co.za
http://www.vanoodle.blogspot.com
http://www.exmi.co.za
http://cat-dubai.blogspot.com
http://alistairfairweather.com
http://www.zanedickens.com
http://www.nickhuntdavis.com
http://guysa.blogspot.com
http://book.co.za
http://baldy.co.za
http://skinnylaminx.com
http://blogs.african-writing.com/zukiswa
http://www.mielie.wordpress.com
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/gatherer/
http://thoughtleader.co.za/sarahbritten
http://stii.co.za
http://blogs.news24.com/FSB_AP
http://twistedkoeksuster.blogspot.com
http://whensmokegetsinyoureyes.blogspot.com/
http://trinklebean.wordpress.com
http://commentry.wordpress.com/
http://matthewbuckland.com
http://blogs.news24.com/colour-me-fran
http://gormendizer.co.za
http://helenmoffett.book.co.za/blog/
http://www.harassedmom.co.za
http://ravingfans.co.za
http://khadijapatel.co.za
http://simon.co.za/speakza
http://gnatj.com
http://moralfibre.co.za
http://www.exmi.co.za
http://fsi.org.za/
http://synapses.co.za
http://www.macgeek.co.za

Helen Zille and teh ANC Alliance Locking Horns (Benjamin Earwicker)

Lets’s look at the important bits of the letter that seemed to have raise the ire of the ANC and alliance:

“… And, more significantly, the ANC’s leader, Jacob Zuma, is a self-confessed womanizer with deeply sexist views, who put all his wives at risk by having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman. Even after this the ANC women’s league strongly endorsed his Presidential campaign. Their professions of support for women’s rights ring hollow indeed against this background. …”

Calling the country’s President a self-confessed womanizer with deeply sexist views is probably going over the top and should not be part of a media release. The observation about putting ‘all his wives at risk’ is reasonable and a simple statement of fact; but more in keeping with a conversation than a media release. The rest of the letter is an attempt to justify the composition of the Western Cape Provincial Cabinet and is along the lines of what the DA normally say.

Did the content of the letter justify the fury unleashed by the ANC and cohorts? Probably not. But, the continued hounding of Jacob Zuma (we talked about this previously) has exacerbated the situation and escalated the name calling to this point (excerpts from the ANC Youth League statement):

“… the racist girl Helen Zille …”

“… her stupid and sexist decision …”

“… all male cabinet of useless people, majority of whom are her boyfriends and concubines so that she can continue to sleep around with them …”

“… fake racist girl who was dropped on a head as child …”

This comes across as just plain childish. If children reacted in this way they would be sent to their rooms to think about things. That said, though, it has become very personal and I would not be surprised if Helen Zille did not make a(nother) call to the DA’s lawyers. Statements of this type are what we have come to expect from the ANC Youth League. It paints a woeful picture of the potential future leaders of the country.

Interestingly, we have not heard much from Jacob Zuma about the subject. He has let others do the dirty for him while he (in his inauguration speech) talked about working alongside the opposition. Is this a dignified silence or a calculated ploy to paint Helen Zille as a monster.

So, Helen Zille, it is time to back down for a bit and be more of a Premier and less of the leader of the National opposition. Let other members of your party do the politicking and dirty work. You are now the Premier of ALL the people in the Western Cape and not just those who voted for you. Help them realize their dreams they had on voting day. In the same way, Jacob Zuma is president of all the people of South Africa. He needs some time to get going.

What is YOUR take on all of this. Add a comment.

African National Congress Youth League

“HELEN ZILLE CONTNUES TO EXCEL AS NUMBER ONE RACIST AND DISTRACTOR OF GENDER STRUGGLES

The ANC YL is disgusted by remarks attributed to the racist girl Helen Zille, who when failing to defend her stupid and sexist decision to appoint predominantly white males into her cabinet, attacks the President of the Republic of South Africa. The ANC YL calls on Helen Zille to respect the office of the President of the Republic of South Africa and stop making stupid and degrading remarks against President Jacob Zuma. Zille has appointed an all male cabinet of useless people, majority of whom are her boyfriends and concubines so that she can continue to sleep around with them, yet she claims to have the moral authority to question our President.

If the fake racist girl Zille continues to speak hogwash like she has been doing during elections, we will take militant action against her, and demonstrate to her that she does not have monopoly over the Western Cape. The fake racist girl who was dropped on a head as child should understand that South Africa will never be a Mickey-mouse Republic like she wants to portray it. An absolute majority of South Africans support President Jacob Zuma and will find it very disgusting for a fake racist apartheid agent to continue undermining the highest office in South Africa.”

Here is a link to the original document that has subsequently been withdrawn from the ANC Youth League website. Interestingly, the file name reflects the press release from passing of Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburri, and may be an indication of the haste (and anger) with which the Helen Zille press release was prepared and posted.