News
- Invite to: Children – An Election Issue?
There are 19 million children in South Africa
12 million of them live below the poverty line – on less than R570 a month
But are local politicians’ plans for helping our children making the headlines ahead of polling day?
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- SAPS like hit squads of apartheid – union
ANDRIES Tatane’s death in Ficksburg has been condemned not only by political parties, but unions and civil society too.
“What we saw last night was a reminder of the notorious apartheid hit squads that used to kill and torture our people in townships and factories during the heights of apartheid,” the Free State branch of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa said.
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- Fiksburg killing slammed
Forty-five protesters arrested for public violence in Ficksburg were released on a warning by the local magistrate’s court on Thursday, Free State police said.
Spokesman Captain Phumelelo Dlamini said they were warned to appear in court again on May 24.
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- Police brutality: SABC ‘in trouble’ over footage of dead protester
The SABC is in ‘deep trouble’ over the footage of a brutal beating to death of a Free State protester by cops, shown this week on its TV news bulletins.
As the images grip the nation with grief and anger, the ruling ANC has called on regulator ICASA to investigate the public broadcaster for a possible breach of its mandate, while Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) said it was concerned about discrepancies in how the story was reported.
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- Catapults against stun grenades
Two municipal buildings were set alight while roads were blocked with stones, bricks and tyres, and another person was arrested as protest continued into the second day in Ficksburg.
On Wednesday in the eastern Free State town, a man was killed, allegedly by police officers.
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- Are a man’s dying moments appropriate for page 1?
The media is to be commended in focusing citizens’ attention on a case of police brutality which resulted in the death of a man, by leading news bulletins with reports of this incident, and by reporting it on their front pages.
What is of concern to MMA is that some newspapers chose to publish a front page image of Andries Tatane’s dying moments as he lay in the arms of a man, who was clearly stricken with grief.
MMA’s position is not that violent or traumatic images should never be published, but that if they are, this is as a result of measured consideration, and that the reasons for publishing such an image should be explained.
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- Parties condemn Ficksburg killing
The killing of a man during a protest in Ficksburg - allegedly at the hands of the police - was widely condemned by political parties, trade unions and civil society on Thursday.
Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) Free State secretary Sam Mashinini said: “This is really bad for the province and the country and we call for a thorough investigation into this matter and anyone who is found to have misused his powers… must face the might of the law.”
Media Monitoring Africa welcomed the decision by the SABC to give prominence and attention to the crime, but was concerned about discrepancies in how the story had been reported.
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- SABC: Violence Exposed, Ethics Ignored
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) welcomes the decision by SABC to give such prominence and attention to the death of a citizen following an incident of police brutality. Nevertheless MMA is concerned about discrepancies in how the story was reported.
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