Mercury: 200 march against Information Bill

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/200-march-against-information-bill-1.689323

200 march against Information Bill

October 27 2010 at 03:41pm

Sibonelo Ngcobo, The Mercury

The Right2Know campaign will round off a week of action to highlight concerns over the possible introduction of the Protection of Information Bill with a marches in Durban and Cape Town, the organisers said. Photo: Sibonelo Ngcobo, The Mercury

About 200 people marched through the Durban central business district on Wednesday to express concern over the possible introduction of the Protection of Information Bill.

The protesters were part of the Right2know campaign, a coalition which claims a membership 370 organisations opposed to the bill currently before Parliament.

The protesters marched through Dr Pixely Ka Sema to the Durban City Hall.

Protesters held placards, some of which read: “Say no to the Cwele Gag Bill”; and “Our Freedom is your freedom”.

Some protesters wore white t-shits with the slogan: “We demand the Right2know”.

The memorandum was received by Bheki Nkwanyana, a representative of the office of KwaZulu-Natal premier Zweli Mkhize.

Convener of the march Desmond D’sa said the march consisted of shack dwellers (abahlali basemjondolo), students from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Durban University of Technology.

“There are community members from Meerbank, Isipingo, Wentworth, KwaMakhuthu and other areas,” said D’sa.

He said the march was part of a fight to protect the constitution.

“We can even go to jail for our voices to be heard.”

The intention of the bill is to widen the type of information the government can classify and critics believe this will lead to arbitrary classification of information to avoid scrutiny of possible wrongdoing by government officials.

The campaign included another march in Cape Town on Wednesday. The march began at Keizersgracht Street at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and was to end at Parliament by noon. –

Sapa