As beacons of hope go, our light is awfully dim

Avusa Public Editor: The ANC has been rattled by the international condemnation of its intention to restrict media freedom and shroud state information in secrecy - and it doesn't like it.

It hadn't bargained on being so roundly and harshly criticised, especially by the Western powers that supported its fight against apartheid.

Its bewildered reaction to the criticism has been most disappointing and not befitting of such a sophisticated party.

Instead of heeding the wise counsel against enacting laws and measures that are repugnant to democracy, the ANC has opted for a pugnacious line of attack, painting advocates of free speech as puppets of foreign powers seeking to weaken the country.

That argument has been a constant in all public debates between the media and the ANC about the proposed draconian media appeals tribunal and the unconstitutional Protection of Information Bill.

ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe angrily decried the fact that most of the criticism of the party came from the West, gleefully relishing the fact that none was from Africa.

The irony is clearly lost on him. Africa is not a shining example of press freedom. In fact, Africans hold us up as a model of freedom of speech. Much as we love the continent, there are areas in which we can't judge ourselves by "African standards". To do so would be aiming too low.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra) said as much on Monday.

"The press throughout Africa is crippled by an array of repressive measures, from the jailing and persecution of journalists to the widespread use of 'insult laws' and criminal defamation," it said.

The body called on African governments to "immediately repeal insult and criminal defamation laws to ensure that a free, strong and independent press is permitted a central role in safeguarding accountable and effective democratic governance across the continent".

South Africa does not have laws that give special protection to such "important people" as the president, ambassadors, Cabinet ministers, politicians and the rich.

Neither does this country jail journalists for "impairing the dignity" of VIPs, as they do not infrequently in Zimbabwe.

Ghana is the only African country to have fully repealed insult laws and criminal defamation. It did this under the administration of former president John Kufuor.

But South Africa did not totally escape criticism - thanks to the government's misguided attempts at censorship.

Wan-Ifra urged President Jacob Zuma and the ANC to withdraw proposals "that could severely restrict freedom of the press in a country that is a leader among African states in freedom of expression".

The world newspaper body's resolution calling on the Argentinian president, Cristina Kirchner, to reverse recent steps that undermine press freedom - such as using state advertising in pro-government publications - has a resonance here in South Africa.

Government advertising has been used to punish critical media, especially in Eastern Cape, and against the Sunday Times. Significantly, the ANC in Eastern Cape has urged the state to use advertising punitively.

Those with designs on curbing freedom of expression should be reminded of the vital role our rights-based Constitution played in helping our country shed its pariah status and gain admission to the world community of civilised nations.

The ANC national general council, which met recently in Durban, endorsed the party's idea that Parliament needs to investigate the desirability of regulations to protect the public from the media, so it is now up to parliamentary process to show the folly of the idea and discard it.

It took us a while to earn our celebrated status as a beacon of hope for Africa but we'll find the road to infamy and perdition much shorter.

We upped the ante for freedom and will, accordingly, be judged much more harshly than the states that are still grappling with the idea of granting their people the freedom to speak their mind and gain access to the information they need to make smart choices.