Hlaudi Motsoeneng says he has taken "this bold
decision to show that violent protests are not necessary" because the SABC has
a "mandate to educate the citizens".
With looming elections just a few months
away, the SABC in a statement says it has "made a decision that it will not
show footage of people burning public institutions like schools in any of its
news news bulletins with immediate effect" and that "we are not going to
provide publicity yo such actions that are destuctive and regressive".
Instead of reporting the news as it happens,
the SABC is now taking a editorial censorship aproach to covering the news, says
people have the right to "protest and voice their concerns on various issues
that they are not happy with but we also do not believe that destruction of
property is the best way to voice those grievances".
According to the SABC "we
will not cover people who are destroying public property".
"As a responsible public institution we will
not assist these individuals to push their agenda that seeks public attention," says Hlaudi Motsoeneng. "We would like to encourage citizens to protest peacefully without
destroying the very same institutions that are needed to restore their dignity".
Besides censoring its own news offering with
immediate effect, the SABC is calling on other South African broadcasters and
print media to stop broadcasting the destruction of property during protests
with the SABC saying it wants other media to "stand in solidarity with the
public broadcaster not to cover the violent protests that are on the rise and
in turn destroying public institutions".
