Show us proof of editors censoring govt info, SANEF tells Manyi

"We will await the outcome of that before we take the issue further. SANEF has not considered what further action can be taken and will not do so until there has been a response from Manyi," Louw pointed out.

Manyi levelled these accusations last week upon announcing the launch of a state newspaper, which he said will counter censorship of government information by the media.

Journalists came to government news conference where 10 issues were raised, but only one issue would be published, he was quoted as saying.

Note newspapers' role

SANEF said in a statement this week that newspapers' role was not to publish all government information. "They do, however, take great care to ensure that they publish important information supplied by the government or information about the government and its activities in the public interest.

"SANEF regards this as a serious omission in light of the important charges he has levelled against newspapers and requests Manyi to supply examples forthwith."

Louw said last night his organisation has a few avenues open to take the protest further, but declined to discuss them before giving Manyi a reasonable time to respond.

Some observers believe Manyi's 'grave' accusations, which they say sound like a 'declaration of war', will further complicate efforts to reconcile the two 'sworn enemies' - government and independent media - who have been involved in a hectic war of words, with one camp attacking the other whenever the occasion arises.

Tensions further heightened

Tension has been heightened further this week after deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe on Monday attacked South Africa's journalism training.

"Journalists are trained to believe the government by nature is inherently corrupt," the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) quoted Motlanthe as saying in a public lecture at New York University.

Meanwhile, SANEF has added another headache to deal with in its long list of government faux-pas: Right2Know members being barred from Parliament where the ad-hoc committee on communications was conducted.

"The Right2Know members were eventually allowed entry to Parliament but that was after the meeting had ended," Louw said last night.

"Serious attack on people's rights"

Photo from Right 2 Know on Facebook, entitled: "R2K packs out the committee meeting. A typical 'unseemly' R2K delegation."

"To prevent people from accessing Parliament to attend a committee meeting is a serious attack on people's rights and SANEF fears that, once this has been done to citizens, there is always the potential for similar action to be taken against journalists, though it is hard to believe that parliamentary officials would be as foolish as to bar journalists.

"Parliament has issued a statement stating that it was acting in terms of the National Key Points Act - Parliament is a key point - because on 16 February Right2Know campaigners staged a silent demonstration at a previous meeting of the ad-hoc committee which Parliament claimed disrupted that meeting."

He said it was strange officials did not arrest them in terms of the act if they had indeed disrupted the meeting. "It is hard to conceive that a silent protest could disrupt a meeting."

Louw warned Parliament officials that they were treading on delicate ground by barring people from entering an institution such as Parliament as it raises the fear that democracy was at risk.

Right2Know spokesperson Mark Weinberg was not available for comment.