Black Tuesday

Between spending the weekend on a remote island in the Stockholm archipelago, dealing with sunsets at 3pm and writing exams on Friday I joined the Black Tuesday party a bit late. Had I known before deciding on my wardrobe yesterday I would’ve sported my best black outfit for the occasion.

For those who don’t know, the “Secrecy Bill” as it is being called in South Africa was voted into parliament yesterday with the MP’s voting 229 votes in favour, 107 against and 2 absentees. Black Tuesday is the protesting action that occurred yesterday, with everyone wearing black to oppose the bill being passed. People marched to parliament and I am proud to say my friends represented. Basically if the bill is added to the constitution it means that the government can classify certain information as “state secrets” and therefore it cannot be published by the media. Most people see this as an attempt to cover up corruption by the government and an assault on freedom of speech. Journalists can get upto 25 years in jail for publishing certain information. Do not take my definition of the bill as 100% accurate because, as I said, I was late to the party.

Therefore I reserve my opinion to:

1. Something is wrong in my country

2. This is bad

But…here are some (in my opinion) well-written articles that you should read and form your own opinion:

http://www.news24.com/Columnists/Khaya-Dlanga/Secrecy-bill-Opposition-to-blame-20111123