THE FIXED FXI

WHY DID THE FXI COLLAPSE?

2009-06-30T11:18:00.001+02:00

Dear Professor Harber,

As a Professor who professes (ha, ha!) to have an interest in freedom of expression in South Africa, I am surprised that you have not been publicly concerned about the fate of The FXI. Perhaps the reason is that you are reluctant to fall out with your friends at The FXI?

http://www.theharbinger.co.za/wordpress/2009/06/08/testing-the-limits-of-free-speech/

I think that you would agree that The FXI is now officially defunct. Jane Duncan has recently left, following Na'eem Jeenah's departure a while back. Nobody else has been appointed by The FXI's board and the phones at The FXI's offices are left unanswered.

Since I am not, thank God, a paid up member of the PC media elite, I am not privy to any stories about what has been going on behind The FXI's doors. However, I would imagine that The FXI has collapsed due to an inability to keep its international funders on board. So the question arises,..."Why have these funders turned their backs on The FXI?"

I believe that the answer is that The FXI's funders realized what The FXI was up to, and as a result, wisely decided that they would withhold further finance.

As you know, I regularly catalogued some of the things that The FXI was "up to" on my blog.... "FIX THE FXI", although I cannot be held fully responsible for its demise.

viva
blacklisted

THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION INSTITUTE

2009-06-29T16:31:00.001+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

It seems that The Freedom of Expression Institute is, on the verge of being fixed. Both of you have, thankfully, now absconded. And as far as I can gauge, nobody else appears to be "running" it.

Of course, this is a void that must be filled.

In such circumstances, I have decide to officially appoint myself.... executive director of The FFXI (The Fixed Freedom of Expression Institute).

If anybody has any objections, please let me know asap, and I will re-consider my nomination. Otherwise, I will contact the IFEX with the good news.

viva
blacklisted dictator (executive director of the FFXI)

ps: do you want to hand over The FXI's website?
http://www.fxi.org.za/

BLOGGER ARRESTED

2008-09-23T11:27:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan

The Malaysian government have arrested and imprisoned a blogger for "insulting Islam".

Does The Freedom of Expression Institute believe that bloggers should be arrested for "insulting Islam" ? If you don't, please ensure that The FXI supports the campaigns to release Raja Petra Kamarudin.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7630789.stm

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/97065/

viva
blacklisted

ps Why haven't you bothered to respond to my previous, attached, letter? Do you really believe that your ridiculous FXI statements are beyond reproach?

Dear Jane Duncan,

Why are you as executive director of The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) now pontificating about whether Zapiro might have defamed Jacob Zuma? Is that your job?? Do you represent Jacob Zuma?

Are you an attorney specializing in libel or are you the executive director of The FXI ?

You seem confused! As I have stated many times before, you have completely forgotten who you are!

Viva,

http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-09-09-zuma-cartoon-worth-a-thousand-words

Jane Duncan, the executive director of the Freedom of Expression Institute in Johannesburg, said on Tuesday she had initially thought the cartoon to be "quite risky”.

Duncan also believes that Zuma may have a case against Zapiro.

“Yes, Zuma can sue Zapiro for defamation because it could evoke an association with the rape trial and depicting him as a rapist while he was not found guilty," she said. "A cartoon is a creative form of expression and it can be read in different ways. So I think the cartoonist should be given the benefit of the doubt."

She added: “A cartoonist is a lot freer than a journalist”.

AMNESIA ?

2008-09-12T09:42:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

Why are you as executive director of The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) now pontificating about whether Zapiro might have defamed Jacob Zuma? Is that your job?? Do you represent Jacob Zuma?

Are you an attorney specializing in libel or are you the executive director of The FXI ?

You seem confused! As I have stated many times before, you have completely forgotten who you are!

Viva,
http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

THOUGHT LEADER AND THE FXI

2008-06-09T09:57:00.000+02:00

Dear Messrs Trapido, Friedman, Sacks, Jeenah and Harber,

You all have "Mail and Guardian" Thought Leader blogs.

You should ask the following question...

Why has the comments facility been removed from The Freedom Of Expression Institute website?
http://www.fxi.org.za/

What are the implications for freedom of expression in South Africa?

viva
blacklisted

CHOMSKY,THE MONSTER AND THE FXI

2008-06-06T08:58:00.001+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

In your lecture at the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Business, Management Sciences and Law, Walter Sisulu University on the 22 May 2008, you quoted Chomsky:

‘The responsibility of the writer as a moral agent is to try and bring the truth about matters of human significance to an audience that can do something about them. This is part of what it means to be a moral agent rather than a monster’ and you went on to say "Don’t allow your intellectual engagement to stop once you leave this University; make it your public duty to be heard."

Excellent advice!

However, let us assume that one of these graduates becomes a "writer" and decides it is his or her "public duty" to be heard on The Freedom of Expression Institute website. How would such a "writer" be heard if The FXI continued to prevent any comments from appearing on the site?

Perhaps, ironically enough, The FXI has transformed itself from a "moral agent" into a "monster"? An interesting topic for another lecture?

viva
blacklisted

FXI CENSORS COMMENTS ??

2008-06-05T13:20:00.005+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

I have just logged on to The Freedom of Expression Institute website to read your fascinating report on Ronno Einstein's "intelligence" shenanigans.I wanted to leave a comment but it appears that this facility has now been withdrawn by The FXI. Is it a technical error or just another misguided attempt by the FXI to censor visitors to your website?

viva
blacklisted

MO BEAR AND AL-JAZEERA

2008-04-04T13:36:00.001+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah,

I am extremely worried (you probably are as well!) that Al-Jazeerah international is facing serious problems. Will Al-Jazeerah's International's sugar-coated propaganda now be soured??

In the light of your thought provoking THOUGHT LEADER blog about Mo Bear, I thought that you might be interested in the following...

"And then there are cross-cultural ideological problems. It is said by one source that executives on the main Arabic al-Jazeera network are trying to exert more control over the English-language channel, which is mainly staffed by Western journalists.

One notable bone of contention allegedly came in the reporting of the arrest in Sudan last year of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons, for suggesting that a teddy bear be named Muhammad. There are claims that some at the top of al-Jazeera English wanted the station to take a “more Islamic slant”."

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=336167&area=/insight/insight__international/

viva
blacklisted

ps; Perhaps The Freedom of Expression Institute should now produce a handbook, using your hugely deserved grant from the George Soros "Open Society", on "Cross-cultural ideological problems and the global media"?

"FITNA" AND THE FXI

2008-03-30T23:07:00.000+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah and Jane Duncan,

I refer you to UN Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon's reaction to "Fitna":

"I condemn, in the strongest terms, the airing of Geert Wilders’ offensively anti-Islamic film. There is no justification for hate speech or incitement to violence. The right of free expression is not at stake here. I acknowledge the efforts of the Government of the Netherlands to stop the broadcast of this film, and appeal for calm to those understandably offended by it. Freedom must always be accompanied by social responsibility."

Do you both agree with him? Must freedom always be accompanied by social responsibility? Will The Freedom of Expression Institute uphold the freedom to broadcast "Fitna" in South Africa?

viva
blacklisted

PLEASE SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT

2008-03-30T09:54:00.001+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah,

In your THOUGHT LEADER profile, you boldly write that you are an "academic".

However, your WIkipedia entry states: "Jeenah currently works for the Freedom of Expression Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also taught Political Studies at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na'eem_Jeenah

Would it, therefore, be more accurate to state, assuming of course that you actually had tenure, that that you were an "academic"?

There is still no mention in your THOUGHT LEADER profile that you are spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee. Do you feel uncomfortable with this role or do you think that some people might conclude that it compromises your position at The Freedom of Expression Institute?

The Mail and Guardian believes that you can write whatever profile you like and this, of course, indicates that Ferial is not too bothered about accuracy. Surprise, surprise?

viva,
http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

Ps: Are you as "academic" as Dr Zapiro ? If so, what is your "academic" specialization?

"DR" ZAPIRO AND "DR" NA'EEM JEENAH

2008-03-28T10:44:00.001+02:00

Emailed to The Freedom of Expression Institute...

Dear Na'eem Jeenah,

Your THOUGHT LEADER blog profile states that you are an "academic" so you must be especially delighted that Zapiro has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Rhodes University. I think it would be fair to conclude that you and Dr Zapiro are now both "academics"!

I have noticed , however, for some strange reason, that Dr Zapiro's cartoons do not depict Ahmadinejad's Iranian shenanigans. I am sure that this is just an oversight on Dr Zapiro's behalf. Perhaps you could kindly bring it to his attention when you are both next in the common-room, smoking pipes and academically discussing international affairs? For even more academic contributions, you could always invite Profs Harber and Friedman as they are also leading lights in South Africa's intellectual community!

I have read that "human rights" are at the top of your lists, so please debate the merits of the attached extract....

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/david_alton/2008/03/irans_resistance.html

"Currently, Iran's rulers are carrying out their most ferocious crackdown on young people - especially women - in recent years. In January alone, the regime executed at least 23 prisoners, murdered a dissident student in the north-western city of Sanandaj, executed another wounded prisoner lying on a stretcher in the northern city of Khoy, amputated the limbs of five prisoners in the south-eastern city of Zahedan, and sentenced two teenagers to be thrown off a cliff in a sack in the southern city of Shiraz, a city famous for its poets, jasmine, and rose gardens."

viva
blacklisted

ANTISEMITIC AND DANISH CARTOONS

2008-03-27T11:24:00.000+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah ,

Tom Gross, the media analyst writes: "While many in the Islamic world and in the West have strongly condemned cartoons deemed offensive to Muslims, such as those that appeared in a Danish paper caricaturing Mohammed, there is near-silence among western media and NGOs about anti-Semitic cartoons that are spreading across the globe."

Gross includes, within the antisemitic category, Zapiros's cartoon of Olmert cutting up body parts.

Is The FXI/PSC, a prominent NGO, concerned about these double standards that have infected the South AfrIcan press? It seems that you are extremely worried about the Danish cartoons but you seem to support the appearance of cartoons that represent Israelis as Nazis. Is it because you are not only the director of the Freedom of Expression Institute but also spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee?

Alan Dershowitz in his book "The Case for Peace" writes:
"Notice that Israel is never compared to Stalin's Soviet Union, to Mussolini's Italy, to Franco's Spain, to Castro's Cuba, to Pinnochet's Chile, or even to Hirohito's Japan. It is always and only compared to Hiter's Nazi Germany. I have often wondered what could motivate any person of presumed decency to compare Israel's treatment of Palestinians to what the Nazis did to the Jews during the Holocaust. Israel's goal is to protect it's civillians from Palestinian terrorism, whereas the Nazi goal was to genocidally destroy every Jewish baby, child, woman and man so as to eliminate the Jewish race. The analogy is obscene and yet it is repeated daily on college campuses, by mainstream European political activists, and even by writers and intellectuals. It's target audience is the current generation of college students too young to remember the Holocaust and too caught up in the passions of the day to bother to research the history. When a lie is repeated often enough, it risks becoming conventional wisdom. Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany is anti-Semitism, pure and simple. There is no other explanation, especially in the light of the reality that there is no actual similarity between Hitler's systematic genocide of the Jews and Israel's efforts to defend itself from genocidal threats against it's Jewish population".

I look forward to your response.

VIVA
BLACKLISTED

This is not about freedom of speech
Na'eem Jeenah, Charles Amjad-Ali and Salim Vally: COMMENT
10 February 2006 06:00
That the real issue surrounding the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad is hate speech and incitement to violence, rather than freedom of expression, is clear when the intent behind their publication is understood.

The cartoons were meant to be inflammatory, showing disrespect and lack of moral maturity. The problem is not whether the Prophet should be pictured. It is that they portray him as an al-Qaeda image of violence; they portray Islam a violent religion. Aesthetically valueless, they were intended to incite right-wing racists to violence against “the terrorist within”.

The notion of “the enemy within” was used in Nazi Germany to demonise Jews and it became part of the propaganda arsenal that supported the Holocaust.

And cartoons too were a weapon used to demonise Jews, just as the radio was used in Rwanda to demonise Tutsis and to assist in that genocide.

An instructive exercise would be a comparison between the hate-filled Danish cartoons and the brilliant social commentary and caricatures, even of religious practice -- such as the Catholic fatwa against condom use -- by South Africa’s Zapiro.

We are not advocating that criticism of religion is taboo or religious topics are sacrosanct; religions themselves develop and advance through criticism. And, often, internal criticism is harsher than that by outsiders.

The 12 cartoons were published by Jyllands-Posten following its invitation to 40 cartoonists to parody Muhammad in order, as is clear from the invitation, to provoke Muslims.

They become truly dangerous in the context within which they were published: in a Europe that manifests increasing levels of Islamophobia and xenophobia, especially against Muslims, and where Muslims are demonised and scapegoated for increasing social misery. Further, they were published in Denmark, which has been named by the European Union Commission on Human Rights as the most racist country in Europe. It has witnessed a large number of attacks against Muslims, some resulting in the killings of Muslim immigrants. And, they were published by a newspaper with historical ties to German and Italian fascism and which called for a fascist dictatorship in Denmark. Jyllands-Posten is also anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim. Within such a context, these cartoons are clearly hate speech. Their publication is an ontological attack against the foundations of Islam.

How might Christians respond if Jesus was drawn wearing a crown of nuclear bombs instead of thorns? Or as a Roman soldier shoving his spear into the sides of Palestinians hanging on crosses? Or what would the Jewish reaction be to a cartoon of a Jew in the 1930s dreaming up a scheme to help relocate European Jews to Palestine and imagining the Holocaust as the way to do it.

Or of Moses as the pilot of an Apache helicopter firing on Palestinian homes.

When the debate erupted, we were quickly reminded that the West is a secular society with ideals of tolerance and open debate, even if such debate offends. But freedom of expression cannot be a carte blanche right to be used by racists and xenophobes to perpetrate violence. We can’t piss in Trafalgar Square or openly drink beer in the streets of New York or walk the malls of Johannesburg naked. If we can be punished for impinging on public space, should we not also be subject to limitations for hate speech against religious or cultural groups? We agree with Robert Fisk that this is not an issue of secularism vs Islam or of a clash of civilisations but is, rather, the childishness of civilisations.

The double standard goes beyond that. Since Holocaust denial is a criminal offence in many European countries, should Islamophobia and the assault on Muslim religious symbols not also be regulated? Jyllands-Posten refused to publish caricatures of Jesus in 2003 because they would “offend” its readers. Why then is its invitation to caricature Muhammad protected by free speech provisions?

In the current debate, the greater immaturity is not by the Muslim protestors but by those Westerners who refuse to see the bigotry, prejudice and Islamophobia and, in doing nothing, encourage hatred and violence.

Within the context of a Europe with escalating Islamophobia and racism, the responsibility is on us all -- Muslims and non-Muslims, atheists, secularists and believers -- to speak out.

Or we might have to live with the legacy of our silence as we, today, have to live with the legacy of genocides against Jews in Europe and Tutsis in Africa.

An additional issue raised by the current furore is of the dominance of liberal democratic notions of rights. Rights are only, according to such notions, individual. There is no space to consider the violation of the dignity of a community or the right, as a community, not to have one’s religious or cultural symbols denigrated, or the right of an entire people not to have its history under colonialism whitewashed. The notion of collective or communal rights is one that requires serious consideration in a young democracy like South Africa.

Disempowered Muslim communities in Europe and other parts of the world have expressed their right to free expression in the only manner they have available -- by taking to the streets in legitimate articulations of outrage and celebrations of democracy.

But some responses have been shortsighted, even immoral, as if to say: “If you insist on calling us terrorists, we will behave like terrorists.” The burning of embassies, the loss of life in Afghanistan for the sake of some stupid, albeit offensive, drawings and the placards that threaten bombs have not been in keeping with Islamic or Western democratic norms of protest and expression. Muslims’ right to dignity should be protected in their protests too. And their legitimate revulsion for attacks against religious symbols should also be expressed when we witness incidents such as the Taliban’s destruction of the Bamayan Buddhist statues.

Legitimate protest should not be allowed to be hijacked by dictatorial regimes whose primary agenda for jumping on the popular bandwagon is to deflect attention from their repression and denial of rights. Nor by the United States’s neo-cons who pontificate about the Danish cartoons when it was their theology of civilisational clashes, the new American century, Pax Americana and us-and-them polarisation that created the global conditions for such denigration to take place.

In South Africa, threats to the Mail & Guardian editor, phone calls to her mother and threats against property have been part of this phenomenon. There is a distinction between gratuitous reproduction of the cartoons as hate speech and the use of one cartoon by the M&G for didactic and illustrative purposes. Living in a rights-based society requires people to acknowledge and respect the rights of others as much as they require similar recognition for their rights.

Na’eem Jeenah is president of the Muslim Youth Movement, Professor Charles Amjad-Ali is a Christian theologian and Salim Vally is the former chairperson of the Freedom of Expression Institute

SATIRE

2008-03-25T15:02:00.001+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

Is there freedom of expression in South Africa?

http://supernatural.blogs.com/weblog/2008/03/zapiros-cartoon.html?cid=108185164#comment-108185164

"I think that my point stands... the SA press does not satirize Islamic fundamentalism. It is an extremely important point, and with regard to this discussion about Zap's Israel cartoons, needs to be emphasized.
I have explained some of the reasons for the press failure to satirize Islamic fundamentalism and I believe that it is a craven response to the bullying tactics of the MRN/PSC/RONNO EINSTEIN etc lobby."

Posted by: BLACKLISTED DICTATOR | March 25, 2008 at 10:47

Please ensure that The Freedom of Expression Institute/ Palestine Solidarity Committee responds asap.

viva
Blacklisted

INSULTING CARTOONS

2008-03-24T15:50:00.000+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah and Jane Duncan,

Does The FXI/PSC agree with Amyan al-Zawahri ? It is important to know where precisely the Freedom of Expression Institute/ Palestine Solidarity Committee stands on this issue...

"Like bin Laden, the al-Qaeda second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. issued a threat against those countries in which cartoons of Muhammad were published, saying that "They cannot insult our prophet and support Israel and then expect to live in peace in the countries."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1205420761278&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

So... should the Danes live in peace or should they be bombed into submission?

Btw, are we safe in South Africa?

viva
blacklisted

ps; I have cc'd Prof Anton Harber (Wits School Of Journalism) as I know that he is particularly concerned about freedom of expression. Perhaps he can write a joint paper with Steven Friedman ?

PROF HUSSEIN SOLOMON AND JOHN SOLOMON

2008-03-09T20:30:00.004+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah and Jane Duncan,

Can The Freedom of Expression Institute ensure that Prof Hussein Solomon is not allowed to speak in South Africa?
viva
blacklisted

Updated Press Release: SA Muslim community vilified in presentation at counter-terrorism conference

03/06/2008

Press Release:
SA Muslim community vilified in presentation at counter-terrorism conference

Media Review Network is outraged at the defamatory statements made by Professor Hussein Solomon during a presentation at the 7th International Conference of the International Institute for Counter Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel on 10 September 2007.

Hussein Solomon’s was speaking in his capacity as director of the Centre for International Political Study (CiPS) at the University of Pretoria.

During this presentation Solomons claimed:

* South African Muslim organizations, mosques and the Muslim media were psychologically preparing local Muslims for terrorism;

* military training is occurring at various South African Muslim high schools;

* Muslims were a potential threat to the 2010 World Cup;

* South African madressahs (religious schools) were a breeding ground for terrorism;

He went on to state that the local Muslim community was “volatile” and would provide safe-houses and money to potential terrorists.

Nowhere in his 25 minute presentation on “radical” Islam in South Africa, did Solomon provide any shred of evidence to substantiate his distortions and wild allegations.

Solomon’s irresponsible claims unjustly sustain the misconception that Islam and SA Muslims are a threat to domestic and world peace. This erroneous perception leads to the unfair profiling of Islamic schools, charities and religious organizations, and creates a climate where all Muslims are feared and despised.

The content of Prof. Solomon’s presentation vilifies the entire Muslim community of South Africa, and is one of the most rabid forms of Islamophobia ever encountered. That the conference hosts and fellow speakers allowed such baseless allegations to masquerade as an academic presentation reveals the deep-seated anti-Islamic sentiments of this gathering.

Solomon’s participation at this anti-Muslim conference in apartheid Israel alongside known Islamophobes and Muslim-bashers such as Steven Emerson, Daniel Pipes, Binyamin Netanyahu, Reuven Paz and others is an indication of his role in fuelling alarm and suspicion against Muslims in SA.

We believe that Solomons has an obligation to provide indisputable evidence to back-up his incriminating allegations or to retract and apologise. If Solomons persists in making these incredible allegations we demand that Professor Solomon substantiate his contemptible claims, and explain to the Muslim community of this country how he arrived at such ludicrous conclusions.

Issued by:
Suraya Dadoo (Researcher Media Review Network)

TIMESONLINE (From The Times February 4, 2008)
Sean O’Neill, Crime and Security Editor
South Africans may be required to obtain visas to visit Britain under moves to close routes exploited by people-smugglers and terrorists.

Law enforcement agencies have been putting pressure on ministers to overhaul immigration rules that allow South African passport holders to enter Britain without a visa and stay for six months.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) recently smashed a people-smuggling gang that brought more than 6,000 illegal immigrants into Britain on forged or stolen South African passports.

Intelligence services and anti-terrorist police have also shut an al-Qaeda cell, members of which had been travelling to terrorist training camps in Pakistan via southern Africa.

With 450,000 South African nationals entering Britain annually it has proved relatively easy for terrorists and illegal migrants to go undetected.

Sir Stephen Lander, chairman of Soca, has been pressing for a tightened visa regime in the wake of the people-smuggling case, codenamed Operation Coptine. He told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee that the case was “likely to lead to the reintroduction of a visa regime”. The Home Office confirmed that it is looking at the situation.

The five-year operation against people-smugglers — which involved agencies in South Africa, the United States and Canada — resulted in the convictions of more than 40 people.

They were members of a gang operating out of Leicester which, over a decade, smuggled people out of villages in Gujarat, India, to South Africa, where they were supplied with false or stolen passports.

The migrants, who paid the gang between £5,000 and £8,000 each, were then brought to Britain where many registered as students or found work. About a quarter of the illegals acquired British passports under different identities for travel to the United States and Canada.

One woman arrived in Britain using a fraudulently obtained South African passport in the name of Swati Mistry. She was subsequently detected trying to fly to Orlando, Florida, from Gatwick airport using a false British passport in the name Fazila Saleh.

Yusuf Mewaswala, 49, the leader of the gang, received a ten-year jail sentence — his third conviction for people-smuggling — but is believed to have made millions of pounds in profit from his operation.

Others convicted included specialist forgers and facilitators, and men and women who were paid £1,000 each to act as couriers accompanying the illegal migrants on transatlantic flights.

Details of the alleged terror cell — which is also understood to have exploited lax controls — linked to South Africa cannot be revealed at present for legal reasons.

Intelligence experts are concerned that al-Qaeda has been using South Africa as a support base for training and fundraising for operations elsewhere. JOHN SOLOMON, Head of Terrorism Research for World-Check, has studied the terrorist presence in South Africa and concluded that there was “a discernible pattern” of activity.

He said: “Prominent global jihadis . . . have used southern Africa as a possible medium through which not only to stage operations, but also to secure refuge, money and recruits.”

A British terror suspect, Haroon Rashid Aswat, was held in Zambia in 2005. Aswat, a former lieutenant of Abu Hamza al-Masri, is believed to have been hiding in southern Africa and may have had links to an al-Qaeda support network. He is in Britain awaiting US extradition proceedings.

The Home Office confirmed that Liam Byrne, the Immigration Minister, was reviewing the visa arrangements for South Africa and a number of other countries outside the European Economic Area. The review is expected to conclude later this year.

MPs are to be asked to give ministers powers to order an inquest to sit without a jury or to appoint a coroner to prevent sensitive information from being disclosed. Provisions in the counter-terrorism Bill would allow the Home Secretary to intervene in a hearing into a sudden or unexplained death in the interests of national security.

The proposals have generated concern among lawyers and some coroners as such powers are not confined to inquests into the deaths of terrorist suspects.

MORE CENSORSHIP

2008-03-09T12:19:00.003+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

I want to make an urgent formal complaint to The Freedom of Expression Institute about the censorship of comments on Na'eem Jeenah's "Thought Leader" blog.

Please let me know how I should proceed. Is there a FXI form that I should fill in or is this email sufficient ?

Further censorship details can, of course, be accessed on my blog : http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

viva
blacklisted.

ps : it seems that "Sting" is having similar problems.

COMMENTS ON NA'EEM JEENAH'S THOUGHT LEADER BLOG (coconuts, racism and SABC politics)

My previous comment was censored (or not accepted; whatever suits you), which astounds and alarms me, because it violated none of Thought Leader’s rules. I can’t help wondering what I’ve said that is so offensive that it doesn’t warrant inclusion among these remarks.

(This non-inclusion is especially ironic, I am sure you will agree, considering that I’m commenting on a column written by someone who is the “Director of Operations” at the Freedom of Expression Institute of South Africa).

Here it is again, as I can best remember it. (Rats, I should have kept a copy, but I didn’t, because I post comments - albeit anonymously, which is my right - in the belief that I’m entitled to my opionion.)

“Not the sharpest pencil in the box, are you, Na’eem? What is it about the term ‘racist’ that you don’t understand? Or are you arguing, God forbid, for two different sets of standards? One for everone (ie, democracy) and another for ‘black’ people (ie, democracy-Lite) who, poor souls, are too ignorant to handle the real thing?. Your comments are hollow and deeply insulting.”
Sting on March 9th, 2008 at 2:32 am

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Sting,

I have also had a problem with the censorship of my comments and would refer you and other readers to my blog which gives details..

http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

It is particularly ironic that I have been censored when both Jeenah /”MidaFo” have had extremely vitriolic comment directed at me published.

One has to wonder whether Thought Leader might be protecting Jeenah.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on March 9th, 2008 at 11:57 am

Your comment is awaiting moderation.
If anybody feels that they have been unfairly censored on Jeenah’s blog by THOUGHT LEADER, please email me… aposner@iburst.co.za

I will take the matter up with Jane Duncan and Na’eem Jeenah at The FXI.
If they do nothing about it ( they probably will ignore my complaint since it is made by Jeenah’s critics), it will be further evidence that they do not really believe in freedom of expression!

http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on March 9th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

RACISTS AND THE FXI

2008-03-06T23:43:00.002+02:00

Some questions are being addressed to the Director of the Freedom of Expression Institute on his Thought Leader blog....
Coconuts, racism and SABC politics

Na’eem,
You write:
“Those who are powerless cannot be racists.”

How did Hitler get into power ? He started out as a “powerless racist”.
Before you start pontificating, it might be an idea if you read some history books !
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on March 6th, 2008 at 9:13 am

I wonder when, or if, comrade Na’eem is going to revisit his own blog and answer the many well-considered rebuttals of his twisted thesis..?
Or is he the type who likes to begin a spurious argument about “racism” (which cannot exist anyway if “race does not exist”) and then run away rather than confront the inconvenient truth that by his own self-contradictory utterances he himself may be the very embodiment of the racism he strives to expose..?

And before Na’eem tries to exonerate himself by bleating “I cannot be a racist because I dont have any power..!” Given that he has a blog on a major news site - presumably read daily by thousands - on which he can disseminate deceitful white-bashing drivel like the above piece of nonsense, doesnt he possess infinitely more power than a white “racist” - who would certainly not be permitted an M&G mouthpiece or, for that matter, the video-making “gang of four” young white student pranksters..?
invinoveritas on March 6th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

Invino,
Yes, the emperor/ director of The FXI has no clothes. Well spotted!

Who can believe that Jeenah has the intellectual honesty and ability to address the spurious ramifications of his racist theory ?

Jeenah has his own political agenda and freedom of expression and proper debate are not at the top of his list.
http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/ on March 6th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

AM I BEING CENSORED ?

2008-03-03T16:00:00.004+02:00

My previous blog was not included as a comment on Na'eem Jeenah's THOUGHT LEADER piece about his brother.

I phoned the Mail and Guardian's THOUGHT LEADER editor and was told that my comment was rejected on the basis that Na'eem is under no obligation to reveal that he is spokesperson for The PSC.

I retorted that the exclusion of my comment was tantamount to censorship. After further persuasion, THOUGHT LEADER"S editor asked me to re-submit my comment and said that it would be included.

If my comment is not included, I will of course, immediately refer the the matter to Na'eem Jeenah at the Freedom of Expression Institute.

(Good news... my comment was published so I won't have to take the censorship issue up with Na'eem Jeenah. However, it will be interesting to see whether he personally addresses the issue on his blog or whether "MidaFo" writes on his behalf.)

IS THE FXI OBSESSED WITH ZIONISTS ?

2008-03-03T11:01:00.001+02:00

Na’eem,

Is The Freedom of Expression Institute obsessed with Zionists?

You write on THOUGHT LEADER blog
“Some Zionists who have suddenly decided that the South African struggle is a good example of peaceful resistance from which those barbaric Palestinians should learn. We are lectured by young Zionist students who were not even born when my brother was brutally murdered, telling us what the South African struggle was about and how it was fought. The Palestinians should learn from South Africa, they say; they should struggle and resist non-violently and peacefully.”

Is the above written from your perspective as spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee ? If it is, why don’t you make your formal allegiance to the cause clearer ?

It seems to me that you are obsessed by “zionists”; you even have to bring them into a very sad story about your brother’s murder.

BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on March 3rd, 2008 at 10:56 am

PROFESSORS AND THE FXI

2008-03-02T10:28:00.010+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

It seems that Prof Harber has nailed his colours to The FXI's mast. Of course, he has, also nailed his colours to Ronno Einstein's mast so one can conclude that the Prof is,at least, politically consistent. In this regard, Harber has perhaps taken a leaf out of Stephen Friedman's book ?

Prof Harber and Prof Friedman have taught me never to disregard the tawdry web of political allegiances in post apartheid South Africa.

viva
blacklisted.

RE: Na'eem Jeenah's ( Director of the Freedom of Expression Institute) THOUGHT LEADER blog :" Lash those name-givers"

Congratulations to Naéem on an excellent post.
For those who insist that religious intolerance is a Muslim preserve, please note that the state of Texas a few days ago forced an educationist to resign from public service because she circulated an e-mail informing her colleagues of a public lecture on Darwin’s theory of evolution. We can also be confident that the Rabbis who tried to get a pizza parlour outside Tel Aviv closed down because women were allowed in are dreaming up new assaults on freedom as we speak.
Those of us who believe that religion and democracy are compatible have a tough task - posts like Na’ eems help to keep the fight alive.

Steven Friedman on December 6th, 2007 at 10:17 am

Dear Na'eem,

Why didn't you publicly castigate Stephen Friedman for misspelling your first name ?

You were, after all, acerbic when Robert MacDonald wrote "Jeemah" in his letter to you.

Have you double standards?

viva
blacklisted

"ACADEMIC" ?

2008-03-01T13:26:00.004+02:00

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/naeemjeenah/2007/10/05/dear-robert-macdonald-and-your-boss/#comment-18966

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Naeem,
Why are you so condescending??
You write:
“Firstly, Mr Macdonald, the name is Jeenah, not Jeemah. Fortunately, I am not one to be offended by the misspelling or mispronunciation of my name; it happens all the time. Besides, noting that that was not the only spelling error in your comment makes me feel better.”

Na’eem, do you want me to correct all your grammatical errors ? Your blog is littered with them and indicates that you are not an “academic” .

Please set the record straight and tell us why you (Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute) continue to tout yourself as an “academic”.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on March 1st, 2008 at 1:09 pm

The above was copied to various people, including Prof Harber. He replied:

On 01 Mar 2008, at 1:54 PM, Anton Harber wrote:

I have asked before and will ask again. Please defrain from including me in these emails. I have not interest in this petty, small-minded exchange which seems to serve no useful purpose and is often offensive.

Anton Harber

In response to the above email, I replied:

Dear Professor Harber,

Whilst you are a highly respected academic at Wits School of Journalism, Na'eem Jeenah is not even a lousy academic at The Freedom of Expression Institute. In fact, there seems to be no evidence in the public domain to suggest that he is an academic of any kind whatsoever.

The truth is that Na'eem Jeenah is an Islamic activist. This includes being spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee.

Jeenah's profile on THOUGHT LEADER is misleading in that it states that he is an "academic" and excludes the fact that he is spokesperson for The PSC. The profile states: "Na'eem Jeenah is the director of operations at the Freedom of Expression Institute. He is also a social activist, an academic and a commentator on a range of issues."

As a "highly respected academic" and a world-renowned journalist, I am extremely surprised that you consider such matters as "petty". I think that they are extremely important.

kind regards
Anthony Posner

THE FXI'S REPUTATION

2008-02-23T09:00:00.003+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

Do you think that it is right that Na'eem Jeenah ( director of The Freedom of Expression Institute) holds so many political portfolios ?

Isn't it possible that his various allegiances might conflict withn his work at The FXI ?

Aren't you concerned that The FXI's reputation might be tarnished as a result of his "other" agendas ?

viva
blacklisted

DUNCAN IN TEHRAN OR TEL AVIV ?

2008-02-21T16:08:00.002+02:00

Dear Jane,

Let us assume that you were sacked as exec director of the Freedom of Expression Institute and were forced to spend the rest of your life, as a freedom of expression "activist" in either Tehran or Tel Aviv... which city would you choose ?

viva etc
blacklisted etc

"ADDICTED" TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ?

2008-01-21T17:18:00.000+02:00

Subject: NA'EEM JEENAH'S M&G BLOG
Date: 21 January 2008 4:20:11 PM
To: geoffs@icon.co.za, karma@telkomsa.net, jpollak@law.harvard.edu, almost.supernatural@gmail.com, jduncan@fxi.org.za, wgkopp@gmail.com
Cc: wendy@beyachad.co.za, editoronline@mg.co.za, kgovender@ukzn.ac.za, Thomas.Wheeler@wits.ac.za, david@beyachad.co.za, jorgeR@Advantage.am, anton@harber.co.za, ferialhp@mg.co.za, hugh@raichlinattorneys.co.za, naeem@fxi.org.za, letters@citizen.co.za, jeftic.tanya@gmail.com

Dear All,

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/naeemjeenah/2007/11/30/lash-those-name-givers/

Since I exposed Na'eem Jeenah's "addiction" to freedom of expression on The Mail and Guardian's THOUGHT LEADER blog in Dec 2007, the director of The Freedom of Expression Institute has remained silent. He has not responded to my allegations and he has not written a further word.

Do you think that he has the intellectual courage to enter into further debate ? Or is he now attending "Freedom of Expression Anonymous" ?

VIVA < FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION > VIVA

The Blacklisted Dictator.

IS JEENAH "MIDAFO" ?

2007-12-08T08:18:00.000+02:00

The following comments have been posted on Khadija Sharife's THOUGHT LEADER (M&G) blog
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/khadijasharife/2007/12/04/palestine-defining-the-graveyard-narrative/

Khadija,
You have written in truth and well and you are right about the erosion of Western civilisation. I am a Western educated African and I am worried too.

While any oppressed group has angry individuals within as the duplicitous FXwhatever takes pains to claim here that only Hamas has, and even that Hamas only has, it always remains true that you cannot deal with opposition by only looking at the worst side. One has to find the best in people. You clearly do look for the best and offer it while this maladroit FXwhatever attempting to fasten his teeth onto you only looks for the worst in those he disagrees with. If his approach is valid we can all only kill or be killed.

Which of course is what the actions of the apartheid clone called Israel is doing.

By the way FXwhatever has also used the name Mangy Cur and his tactics are used by bloggers on the Al-Jazeera site with the clear intent to muddy the waters and destroy the possibility that blogging gives us of sharing insights.
Fxwhatever is not opposition. He is an operative, bitter, lonely and disliked anywhere, possibly even paid and trained in this propagandist tactic, a tactic which is designed to swamp and destroy your generous voice.
I suggest you ignore him. Read the post and comments below and see what I mean. http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/naeemjeenah/2007/11/
30/lash-those-name-givers/
He cannot touch you. Remember that if you speak to fools you will be a fool.
Be aware that he sees you as a danger because you are too clever for him, too generous. He is a classic mediocrity and shows it in his pathological desire to destroy anyone beyond him. And you and almost all people are are beyond him and those very possibly with him in this thrust of his.

And let him speak Thought Leader! He is self-destructive enough to trash his agenda and destroy the name of those he supports. Those who go with him deserve what they get.
MidaFo on December 6th, 2007 at 3:03 pm

Both Jeenah and Midafo have attacked me personally and both should carefully consider whether they are breaching THOUGHT LEADER’S guidelines.
For my part, I have always used polite language and believe that important issues should be debated without recourse to personal attacks eg’s Jeenah comment that I usually “write worse than a 12-year-old.”

In the circumstances, I want to make it quite clear that I am not anti-Islam.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR /FIX THE FXI on December 7th, 2007 at 12:57 pm

Na’eem,
Is MidaFo your pseudonym ? Some people have emiled me suggesting that it might be.
Please set the record straight.
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR /FIX THE FXI on December 7th, 2007 at 11:20 pm

Dear Jane Duncan,

The following comment has appeared on Khadija Sharife's THOUGHT LEADER blog in response to a comment that I posted about Hamas.

I think that you would agree that the attached is a convoluted attempt to limit freedom of expression. It has been written by somebody using "MidaFo" as a pseudonym. Do you, by any chance, recognize the writer's style ?

Does The Freedom of Expression Institute approve of the sentiments expressed by "MidaFo"? Perhaps you could kindly pass this email onto Na'eem Jeenah for further comment?

You should also bear in mind that previous comments written by "MidaFo" have been edited by THOUGHT LEADER owing to their venomous comment; they broke the Mail and Guardian's guidelines with regard to personal attacks.

viva etc
blacklisted etc

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/khadijasharife/2007/12/04/palestine-defining-the-graveyard-narrative/

The Good and the Ugly

This is very long but it is not rocket science.

Some people blog to beat, and others blog to win.

The first never learn from the activity because they deny the losers any validity and never honour those who win against them. The result of engaging with any one of this group of beaters is that you are sucked into an embrace that leads to an infinite regression of mutual self destruction. Sometimes extremist and always de contextualised views from your side are assiduously hunted out, often with the help of clerks in army uniform (you are facing propaganda remember), and thrown into your face in an attempt to force you in your obvious good will and honesty to run around in circles checking your sources and it usually ends up that all you can do is hunt out the inevitably plentiful extremist views from the beater’s side (Al-Jazeera can help) and throw them at him in a sort of intellectual mud-pie contest. Then you are lost because his side has the position and guns to throw explosives as well as propaganda, economic hardship, social devastation and starvation at you and your side.

We do not have to imagine this: we can see it in the history of events in “Israel” and read it in the Republican propaganda in the USA with its resultant use of explosives and death in Iraq and Afghanistan. The man of multiple names wants this to happen to you and from my small but intimate experience of agents in South Africa there is self-hate in his stance so he will do it to the point of death because nothing can shame him. Witness G.W. Bush and the “Israeli” people, which should show you that this is a criminal mind set that cannot admit defeat because there is nowhere else to go for them: for them it is beat or damnation.

The second kind, those who blog to win, can and do learn because the losers are congratulated for competing.

On the word count the comparative elegance should be clear.

The present regimes in “Israel” and the USA cannot see the difference between beating and winning and the damage they cause is plain to see. Likewise the Nationalist Party did enormous damage in South Africa because it couldn’t see.

The ANC dramatically restructured the politics of winning after the unspeakably dreary years of White/Nat rule. With all the ANC’s current problems this remains true and it is interesting to see how many in white SA cannot see this. The latter’s plentiful utterances and those of the man with many names speak more about them than they do about anything else.

This latter, which is by far the biggest problem in SA, is indicated by a number of unrestructured racists and Nats on this blog, which is unfortunately in turn indicative of the structure of the middle class.

Beating

Beating reduces competing to the level of warfare. This is well expressed in what is known as Game Theory which has as one of its fundamental tenets that in order to compete you must believe absolutely in the implacable desire of your opponent to destroy you. This is all very well in Chess or cricket or rugby and so on, because they have rules of the game, a referee, and an ambulance nearby and other than the fact that in accordance with the self-hatred mentioned above it still destroys the sport over time, it can be tolerated in that sport is a limited field of play, you don’t often die and the culprits are usually rooted out before that time. It is when the ethos is applied outside sport as in politics or business, economics or religion that it becomes clear it makes these activities become alternative ways of fighting a full scale war, for the simple reason that the board or field is everywhere unlimited. This means that the term Game Theory as use by the “Israelis” and the Americans is in fact a propagandist term to hide the systematic ill will of naked warfare being applied in peace time. In short, in our present reality, Game Theory is a propagandist’s term for War Theory. The effect has been to make gangsters out of presidents.

Names are not necessary.

Although it may be possible to right the seriously unbalanced people who live in this way it is also true that their destructive power is often underestimated. Again just look into SA’n history, or again the Nazi’s, or again the “Israelis”, or again the Americans under their recent crop of leaders. Of course this list is vastly incomplete but this little observation should make it clear that there is indeed a problem in the West as some bloggers here and elsewhere have already observed.

We need to be able to recognise these war mongers who suck those who are blinded by stupidity and pride into their maelstrom.

They are sectarian and accordingly completely dedicated to defining and finding fault with the Other, they are Right, they are lacking in generosity, fearful (with all the connotations of heroic noise to disguise this) hence either cosying up to those who are extraordinarily over-endowed with penile substitutes such as arms and ammunitions, or are themselves so endowed, and they display their mediocrity by being avidly on the attack against those who are more generous in conception or too weak to prevent easy theft.

There are many problems associated with this list in the paragraph above, not the least being that it is incomplete and will be out of date as soon as it is read because war mongers are duplicitous. Again look at the “Israelis” and the Americans.

I will deal with two problems.

Firstly this list is incomplete and hence not definitive:
It is however indicative of the mentality of the war monger and the evidence is that the people who read and contribute to this blog are capable of extending it in this meaning themselves.

Secondly, the warmonger has no integrity and will immediately proclaim the opposite of what can be shown to define him as a warmonger or else accuse others of the behaviour (remember when the Nats controlled the news?):
Well good luck with this one but somehow I believe people can tell a liar and, as with the supporters of the Nats, that it is the liars that support the liars. This is indeed so indefinite as to be unworkable when applied to others, but it is not so when we apply it to ourselves. So when we blog and read blogs we must be honest and watch for the sectarian, Right, lack of generosity etc in ourselves.

And to do this is simple.

Again I now have two suggestions as to how.
One is that we must seek to enjoy and agree with those who come from another intellectual space.
Then let us recognise that to be a fool one merely has to speak to fools and so we must stay away from the avid attacker, the presumptuous superiorist of the right, even if he happens to be affectionately on our side at any time, unless of course you believe he can be jolted into his senses. If you try to jolt and are not successful then ignore him totally and immediately otherwise you are effectively accepting an abusive lover.

Remember that the warmonger, in his mediocrity, never stops because he simply has to destroy those beyond him, and as they say, you cannot do business with a crook, but you better not love an abuser or a wife beater.

IS JEENAH AN ACADEMIC ?

2007-12-05T10:32:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

Your colleague at The Freedom of Expression Institute states on his THOUGHT LEADER profile that he is an "academic".

For the record, which university is he affiliated to ? Is he a lecturer ?

viva etc
blacklisted etc

Subject: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Date: 05 December 2007 12:08:16 PM
To: letters@mg.co.za, editoronline@mg.co.za
Cc: jduncan@fxi.org.za, naeem@fxi.org.za, ferialhp@mg.co.za

Dear Madam,

What is The Mail and Guardian's definition of an "academic"? On Na'eem Jeenah's THOUGHT LEADER profile, he states that he is an "academic". Does that mean he is a lecturer at a university ?

If he does not hold such a position, don't you think that he should amend his profile?

JEENAH, THE M&G AND THE PSC

2007-12-05T09:30:00.000+02:00

Na’eem Jeenah ( Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute),

The Mail and Guardian on-line editor has asked you to consider inserting the fact that you are the spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee on your THOUGHT LEADER profile.

Sorry to sound like a 12 yrs old but why have you not done so ?

-----Original Message-----

Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 12:37 PM
To: Riaan Wolmarans
Cc: Jane Duncan; na'eem jeenah; Ferial Haffajee Personal
Subject: Re: NA'EEM JEENAH'S BLOG

Dear Riaan ,

Did Na'eem reply to your email ? ( his profile still hasn't been
amended to include that he is spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity
Committee. )

It is evident that Na'eem is using his FXI credentials to further his
PSC work. To my mind, this is a blatant abuse of the THOUGHT LEADER
platform that M&G has given him.

Riaan Wolmarans
Editor: Mail & Guardian Online
Tel: +27 11 250 7353
E-mail: riaanw@mg.co.za
Website: www.mg.co.za

He did receive my email, he said.

However, though you may have a point about his interests, his bio remains his business. We don't prescribe to TL contributors what to write on their blogs, and we are not prescribing what they should put in their bios either.

All we can do is request someone to consider changing their bio, which is what we have done.

JEENAH AND AHMADINEJAD

2007-12-04T10:24:00.000+02:00

As Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute, Na'eem Jeenah always dodges difficult issues on his THOUGHT LEADER blog. He is skilled at propaganda but proper analysis seems to leave him floundering. Perhaps he is not quite so "academic" as he boasts (take a look at his M&G profile) ?

Naeem, I reiterate my questions :

What do you think about the way that Ahmadinejad’s regime persecutes women in Iran who are demanding basic rights ? Should they be imprisoned and lashed? Do you approve of Ahmadinejad’s clothing regulations for women?

Or do you give “Ahmadinejad>Hizbollah>Hamas” a green light because they pray/plot for Israel’s destruction ?

If you do, one would have to conclude that your Islamic political agenda is at odds with your freedom of expression portfolio.

WILL JEENAH AMEND HIS PROFILE ?

2007-12-03T13:26:00.000+02:00

Subject: NA'EEM JEENAH'S BLOG
Date: 03 December 2007 1:14:46 PM
To: thoughtleader@mg.co.za

I refer to Na'eem Jeenah's THOUGHT LEADER profile. It states...
"Na'eem Jeenah is the director of operations at the Freedom of Expression Institute. He is also a social activist, an academic and a commentator on a range of issues."

However, it does not mention that Jeenah is spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee. I think that such information is highly relevant as Jeenah is using his blog for PSC propaganda purposes. As a result, the editor of THOUGHT LEADER should immediately amend Jeenah's profile.

Dear Anthony

We do not write contributors' bios for their blogs -- that is their own
business.

I will ask him whether he would like to include what you have suggested.

Riaan Wolmarans
Editor: Mail & Guardian Online
Tel: +27 11 250 7353
E-mail: riaanw@mg.co.za
Website: www.mg.co.za

JEENAH IS SILENT...

2007-12-03T10:00:00.000+02:00

Na'eem Jeenah, Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute, has a blog on THOUGHT LEADER. So far, inter alia, he has remained silent with regard to the following:

5 Responses to “Lash those name-givers!”

Na’eem,
Your Olmert (omelette) pun is ingenious. As spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee and Director of The FXI, would you have time to do some stand-up comedy? I think that you have a natural talent. Perhaps you could do a few gigs in Gaza?

BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on December 2nd, 2007 at 3:00 pm

Na’eem,
Your blog fails to identify the reasons for the extreme fundamentalist concoction within modern Isalm.
I would really like to know why some Muslims have gone down this dark alley. Please let us know your views on this matter.

FIX THE FXI on December 2nd, 2007 at 3:24 pm

Na’eem,

Mo Bear should be viewed in a wider context as it seems that people are bing persecuted in the Islamic world for many different reasons…

What do you think about the way that women are being arrested (+ sentenced to lashings) in Iran for demanding some basic rights ?

Do you support Ahmadinejad’s regulations re female clothing ?

FIX THE FXI on December 2nd, 2007 at 6:23 pm

Na’eem,

And what do you think about the sentence handed to the woman in Saudi Arabia ( 200 lashes and imprisonment) for “getting herself” raped ?

Can you understand that this barbarity leads to Islamophobia ?

Before criticizing America, plus Israel and The West, it is about time that Islamic commentators like yourself started to put your own house in order!

BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on December 2nd, 2007 at 6:52 pm

Na’eem- I’m going to have to use this for some of my comedy material:)

But I agree with ‘Fix the Fxi’- you should answer and speak on behalf of all the millions of Muslims in the world and defend or explain their actions!![not..]

Bilal on December 2nd, 2007 at 10:35 pm

Your comment is awaiting moderation.
Bilal,
Seems to me that Na’eem’s loyalties are split.

As Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute he is supposed to believe in freedom of expression.

But as an Islamic / PSC activist, he is ambivalent about the doctrinaire / reactionary strands which characterize the ideologies of regimes that he admires ( eg Ahmadinejad’s Iran and Hamas). Moreover, with regard to the antisemitic Hamas charter, Na’eem remains silent.

I have tried to discuss such matters in numerous emails to The FXI but they remain unanswered. Clearly The FXI is in a bit of a fix.. it needs to be fixed!

FIX THE FXI on December 3rd, 2007 at 9:58 am

Blacklisted Dictator, I’m confused about this statement;

“Can you understand that this barbarity leads to Islamophobia ?”

Are you saying that there are some valid reasons for Islamophobia? I’m fascinated.

Ndumiso Ngcobo on December 3rd, 2007 at 1:09 pm

Ndumiso, of course there are valid reasons for Islamophobia, you fool! Just as there are valid reasons for racism (Black people are stupid) and valid reasons for anti-semitism (Jews want to take over the world) and valid reasons for sexism (women become silly and emotional when they menstruate) and just as women sometimes ask to be raped (like when they dress improperly). With logic like this we can justify apartheid, mysogyny and the oppression of virtually any group anywhere in the world at any time.

Na'eem Jeenah on December 3rd, 2007 at 2:39 pm

Na’eem,

I agree that…
(1) Black people aren’t stupid
(2) Jews don”t want to take over the world etc

However, your conclusion is illogical because, it is beyond doubt, that Islamic “justice” (eg in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran) is currently extereme/ barbarous. As a result, it can lead to Islamophobia.

Why dont you answer the other questions that I have raised ? Is it because you are reluctant to engage in a frank discussion ?

THE FXI AND MO BEAR

2007-12-02T16:59:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

I hope that you are getting time to read Na'eem Jeenah's "THOUGHT LEADER" Mail and Guardian blog. It is very funny and shows that The Freedom of Expression Institute isn't just high-minded and serious... Na'eem is quite a laugh ! He seems to have a natural talent for humour which might be getting over-looked in his day to day "hum-drum" work at the FXI.

I have, as a result, suggested that Na'eem does some stand-up comedy gigs in Gaza. If he can't get a booking there, he could try Khartoum?

I know that you are "The Brains" at The FXI so please you could elucidate (assuming that Na'eem can't) some of the reasons for the extreme fundamentalist concoction within modern Islam? Perhaps you could post a comment on "Lash those name-givers!" ?
viva etc
blacklisted etc

Na'eem Jeenah writes:
Lash those name-givers!

A few years ago, at a conference in the Middle East, I met a man called Mustapha (which is another name for the Prophet Muhammad). Interesting guy, Mustapha. Passionate about social justice issues, outspoken against Islamophobia, strident critic of Israeli occupation, a strong believer in equal rights.

But … someone needs to take Mustapha’s parents out into the street and lash them! You see, Mustapha’s family is Christian. And Mustapha himself is a Marxist and an atheist.

Following on the recent Sudanese decision about Gillian Gibbons, I have decided to start a campaign to evaluate the conduct of all Muhammads, Ahmads and Mustaphas (and any others who also have a name that was attached to the Prophet Muhammad). If any of them falls short in his general conduct (as well as those who happen to have decided to become atheists), his parents (or whichever relative gave him his name) should be taken into the street and flogged publicly.

This, really, is the ridiculousness of that Sudanese ruling.

Oh, and talking of that decision, what about the parents of the little boy whose name is Muhammad and who suggested naming the teddy bear “Muhammad”? Surely they deserve more than just a lashing for naming a son such as him with such a noble name! Lash them too!

By the way, we should organise a little vigilante force to find the parents of the president of Sudan (if they are still alive) and have them also lashed. How dare they give that insolent boy the name (Hassan) of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad?! Actually, without giving it too much thought, I think the one Muslim I can quickly think of whose parents shouldn’t be lashed is the Pakistani general-ex-general-president. Now those were parents with foresight, naming their son Perverse (sorry Pervez).

If we consider the name-lashing thing to go beyond the Muslim community (as I suggested it should with Mustapha’s parents), then another set of parents I would regard as safe from the threat of lashing would be the mother and father of the Israeli prime minister. Omelette (sorry Olmert) is a really inspired name. Oops, scratch that. That won’t work; we are dealing only with first names here.

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/naeemjeenah/2007/11/30/lash-those-name-givers/
2 Responses to “Lash those name-givers!”

Na’eem,
Your Olmert (omelette) pun is ingenious. As spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee and Director of The FXI, would you have time to do some stand-up comedy? I think that you have a natural talent. Perhaps you could do a few gigs in Gaza?
BLACKLISTED DICTATOR on December 2nd, 2007 at 3:00 pm

Na’eem,
Your blog fails to identify the reasons for the extreme fundamentalist concoction within modern Isalm.
I would really like to know why some Muslims have gone down this dark alley. Please let us know your views on this matter.
FIX THE FXI on December 2nd, 2007 at 3:24 pm

Na’eem,
Mo Bear should be viewed in a wider context as it seems that people are bing persecuted in the Islamic world for many different reasons…

What do you think about the way that women are being arrested (+ sentenced to lashings) in Iran for demanding some basic rights ?

Do you support Ahmadinejad’s regulations re female clothing ?

DOES THE FXI SUPPORT HAMAS ?

2007-11-30T16:03:00.000+02:00

The following are questions for Na'eem Jeenah, Spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee and Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute (they have also been raised on Na'eem Jeenah's THOUGHT LEADER blog)

Naeem,
1:Do you support Hamas ?
2:What do you think about its antisemitic charter ?
3: What do you think about the bloodshed perpetrated by Hamas at the recent Arafat demo in Gaza. Do you condone it ?

p.s: Hamas on Thursday called on the UN to rescind the 1947 decision to partition Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs.
The group said in a statement, released on the 60th anniversary of the UN vote, that "Palestine is Arab Islamic land, from the river to the sea, including Jerusalem... there is no room in it for the Jews."

DOES NA'EEM JEENAH AGREE WITH THE FXI ?

2007-11-29T23:14:00.000+02:00

Dear Na'eem Jeenah ,
Delighted to see that you have a blog on The M&G's "Thought Leader". It really shows that The Freedom of Expression Institute is not just a front for The Palestine Solidarity Committee but is, when you come to think of it, nothing less than a true guardian of freedom of expression in South Africa.

viva etc
blacklisted etc

p.s I attach some of my comments and doubt that you will have enough freedom of expression/ guts to reply.

ttp://www.thoughtleader.co.za/naeemjeenah/2007/11/27/on-cacti-and-keys-memory-and-forgetfulness/
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
On cacti and keys; memory and forgetfulness

Na’eem,
What I really admire about you is the way that you so brilliantly combine your roles as spokesperson for The Palestine Solidarity Committee and Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI). Many people in your positions would end up sullying the reputation of The FXI. However, you have only served to enhance it.
How do you manage to retain such credibilty ?
Is it because you were breast-fed The Truth ?

http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/naeemjeenah/2007/11/23/independent-newspapers-censors-withdraws-and-censors-again/
Independent Newspapers censors, withdraws and censors again
Naeem,
You write:
” PS: Like all my other posts on Thought Leader, this one does not purport to represent the views of the Freedom of Expression Institute and the FXI does not necessarily agree with any of what I have said here.”

Your post deals with freedom of expression issues. Do you hold different views when you walk into The FXI’s office ?

Why on earth wouldn’t The FXI agree? You are the Director of The FXI !
Surely you can agree with yourself ? If you can’t agree with yourself, you should perhaps seek help?
FIX THE FXI on November 29th, 2007 at 6:57 pm

Na’eem,

What do you think about the recent Hamas attack on the Arafat demo in Gaza? It led to many deaths and much bloodshed.

You write:
“To insist that one cannot hear the voice of the oppressed unless one also hears the voice of the oppressor is, at best, cowardly acquiescence and, at worst, collaboration with oppression.”

Were the demonstrators murdered?
Are you a “coward” who “at worst is collaborating with Hamas oppression”?

WILL KASRILS BE FXI'S DIRECTOR ?

2007-11-27T16:44:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

I know that The Freedom of Expression Institute is having a spot of bother with Ronno Einstein in the constitutional court. However, this shouldn't poison your relationship. This sort of thing happens every now and then. I am not suggesting that you "kiss and make-up" but you should put any squabbles over secret documents to one side. After all, the "Zionist / US jewish lobby" is still alive and kicking and it is essential that you and Mr Einstein continue to act, hand in glove, to counteract its malevolence.

In the circumstances, The FXI's board, should (assuming that Na'eem Jeenah moves to The MRN) consider Mr Einstein as a potential candidate for the position of Anti-Zionist Director of The FXI (assuming that Ronno, for some strange reason, fails to gain an appointment in Jacob Zuma's new government.)

viva etc
blacklisted etc

Assuming that Ronnie Kasrils is not invited by Jacob Zuma to be part of the new government, which of the following positions is he best qualified for :

(a) Hamas Minister of Intelligence ?
(b) Ahmadinejad's Foreign Secretary ?
(c) Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute ?
(d) Spokesperson for The MRN ?
(e) Executive Director of Durban II (world anti-racism etc) ?
(f) Special envoy to The UN Human Right's Council ?
(g) Chairman of the SAHRC ?
(h) Features editor for The Mail and Guardian ?

KASRILS .."SHROUDED IN MYSTERY"

2007-11-22T18:36:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute writes with regard to their case against South Africa's Minister of intelligence:
"All over the world, the work of intelligence agencies is shrouded in mystery."

Is The FXI also suggesting that Ronno Einstein's recent state visit to Iran is "shrouded in mystery."?

Why did Ronno Einstein ( Minister of Intelligence) go to Iran ?

Should South Africa be closely connected to Ahmadinejad's repressive regime ? It is after all, a regime that denies women equality and imprisons those who complain.

The FXI should also try to uncover the answers to these questions. To my mind they are "shrouded in mystery"!!

FXI / MRN BID FOR SUNDAY TIMES ?

2007-11-19T00:29:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

Perhaps "The Freedom of Expression Institute/ Media Review Network" should now put in a bid for The Sunday Times ? Why not have a word with George Soros... he might back you ?

(Soros funds The FXI so you could have a quiet word in his ear ?)

The Sunday Times suggestion that South Africa is a "skunk" really is the last straw...

http://supernatural.blogs.com/weblog/
November 18, 2007

South Africa's Depraved Foreign Policy Exposed

The Sunday Times, one of South Africa’s leading weekend newspapers, today ran a front page story exposing the South African government for a foreign policy that runs counter to South Africa’s human rights ethos. Many of the most abhorrent examples of South Africa’s voting record at the United Nations, which we have consistently exposed over the last few years, have now thankfully found there way into the mainstream South African media.

Sunday Times: SA now skunk of the world

South Africa’s human rights reputation is in tatters after a series of “sell-out” votes at the UN on issues ranging from rape and gay rights to tyranny.
This week the watchdog UNWatch ranked South Africa last, alongside China, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, on a human rights list.

Human rights organisations have branded Pretoria “the chief human rights villain”.

SA is accused of shielding Sudan, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.

A major source for the article was UN Watch, a human rights organisation based in Geneva, who we also regularly rely on for our information. Their reports, documenting the voting pattern of UN Human Rights Council member countries, show South Africa to have consistently taken anti-Human Rights positions. In fact we rank as one of the worst, along with China, Russia, Pakistan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch described South Africa (and India) as “the biggest disappointments among free democracies”. Thomas Wheeler, of the SA Institute of International Affairs, echoed these sentiments complaining that South Africa had “lost the moral high ground.”

The South African government’s response has been posted on the Sunday Time’s website (although it was not published in the newspaper). Rather than dealing with the substance of the accusations, they have chosen to attack the messengers by casting aspersions about UNWatch’s agenda. The government’s response claims that

‘UNWatch is one organization that is actively campaigning to undermine a key South African initiative at the global level, the World Conference Against Racism.

While the world is grappling with and trying to find solutions to the problems of racial hatred and intolerance UN Watch posts articles on its website describing the conference as a “global festival of hatred”.

It is therefore important that while quoting these organizations the Sunday Times should also inform its readers about the extent of their agenda.’

It’s not surprising that the government has chosen to respond to such a serious issue in this manner. Sadly these type of paranoid accusations against any criticism have become commonplace in the twilight of the Mbeki presidency. UN Watch’s objections to the World Conference Against Racism have nothing to do with South Africa. They are guided by a concern for fighting the international institutionalization of anti-Semitism.

I was a delegate to that conference in Durban and I would say ‘global festival of hatred’ is a pretty appropriate title. Does the South African government think it is appropriate for Nazi like cartoons depicting Jews as bloodthirsty animals are acceptable murals for a conference against racism. Or pamphlets bewailing that Hitler lost the war, because there would then have been no Israel. Does selling the protocols of the Elders of Zion (available for R20 , an official publication of the government of Iran) set the right tone for solving the problem of racial hatred I wonder? Here are some of the posters that littered the conference (courtesy eyeontheun.org where you can find more of these monstrous posters).

If this is the case, then it has become clear that the South Africa international agenda is diametrically opposed to that of world Jewry and in fact the entire free world.

Steve adds

Something from our democracy of hypocrisy’s response that also deserves mention is the credit that South Africa claims for the replacement of the now defunct UN Human Rights Commission with the new UN Human Rights Council.

South Africa claims to have supported the creation of a new Human Rights Council because it lost it credibility due to problems of double standards, selectivity and politicization. Further to this South Africa explains that by double standards, they mean that the previous Human Rights body only concerned itself with human rights problems “in some and not in other countries.”

Ok, we can all agree with that. But has the problem of selectivity and double standards been remedied? The smuggness of the South African response suggests that it has.

Perhaps they take us for fools. The new Human Rights Council has only ever passed resolutions against one single country – Israel. No other country, not Sudan, Cuba, China, Myanmar nor Zimbabwe has been condemned by the Council. The problems that afflicted the old guard have been replicated in the new – South Africa should look to other places for credit because there is none to be found in the wretched UN Human Rights Council.

South Africa also respond with the tired and old ‘divisions of labour between the organs of the United Nations.’ This doesn’t fly. If South Africa’s voting could honestly be explained by these technical reasons then their diplomatic relations with the despotic nations would not match their voting records.

Case in point – look at the lavish welcome that the Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir recently received from President Mbeki. No highfalutin explanations of the types of human rights that we protect, or technical meanderings about matching the appropriate UN forum to the right abuse can explain these facts on the ground.

Previously at IAS

A warm SA welcome for the President of Sudan
SA/AU aid and abet Sudanese regime
South African solidarity visit with Belarus
South Africa votes against resolution calling for an end to human rights abuses in Burma
South Africa betrays gay people at the UN
South Africa protects Mugabe at the UN
South Africa expresses support for Iran's nuclear drive
The South Africa/Iran nuclear nexus
South Africa fails to back UN resolution on Holocaust denial

THE FXI'S "IDEOLOGICAL EXCLUSION"

2007-11-15T13:00:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

RE: "IDEOLOGICAL EXCLUSION"

I refer to The Freedom of Expression Institute's letter/ petition to Condoleeza Rice re Prof Adam Habib.

It states : " I do not tolerate the censorship of ideas in any country and believe that freedom of expression and academic freedom must be jealously guarded."

As you are both well aware, The FXI has failed to live up to such ideals,

On numerous occasions FIX THE FXI has drawn your attention to censorship in Iran and this has only been met by silence on your behalf. You have even failed to support women rights activists in Iran who have been sentenced to imprisonment and flogging. Clearly, The FXI, in practice, tolerates censorship in Iran.

As a result, it is evident that The FXI has extremely ambivalent attitudes about freedom of expression. Unfortunately, FIX THE FXI has to conclude that the sentiment reflected in the petition is based on a narrow anti-US agenda.

This "ideological exclusion" on behalf of The FXI re censorship In Iran is, therefore, a clear reflection of The FXI's partisan politics !

viva etc
blacklisted etc.

THE FXI PETITION

Dear Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
United States of America

On your watch, the State Department has helped to resurrect the discredited practice of ideological exclusion, the practice of denying visas to non-citizens whose politics the government disfavors.

This policy has led to a number of unjust exclusions, including most recently, that of South African academic and human rights activist Professor Adam Habib.

Censoring ideas at the borders is toxic for academic freedom and freedom of speech. We believe that it certainly is a violation of US First Amendment rights. If you believe that the United States should remain a vibrant place for the exchange of ideas where political discourse is not just welcome, but encouraged I call on you to end the policy of ideological exclusion immediately and grant Adam Habib a visa today.

I do not tolerate the censorship of ideas in any country and believe that freedom of expression and academic freedom must be jealously guarded.

Saturday, November 10, 2007
DELARAM ALI AND NA'EEM JEENAH.

FIX THE FXI is calling upon Na'eem Jeenah (director of the Freedom of Expression Institute) to demand the immediate release of Delaram Ali in Iran.

Na'eem Jeenah is particularly interested in "Islamic Feminism' and has produced a MA political science thesis on the subject so he should, of course, be demanding the release of a 24 yrs old Iranian woman who is fighting for women's rights.

Delaram Ali has been sentenced in Iran to a 2yrs 6mths prison sentence and a flogging for campaigning for women's rights.

In the circumstances Na'eem Jeenah and Jane Duncan of The Freedom of Expression Institute should immediately ask deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad to contact the Iranian ambassador with regard the imprisonment and flogging of Delaram Ali.

Na'eem Jeenah is also interested in Islamic jurisprudence and he should immediately consider whether a "flogging" is an appropriate punishment.

If both Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah remain silent, it will be further evidence that the organization that they represent should be renmamed The Freedom of Censorship Institute.

PROPAGANDA versus PROPER ANALYSIS

2007-11-14T14:48:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

The Media Review Network has still not written a word, or included a news item, about the Arafat demo massacre in Gaza.

It is clear evidence that The MRN's commitment to Hamas has, when a "problematic" story arises ( i.e Hamas massacring Fatah at a peaceful rally in Gaza), actually left The MRN speechless.

The MRN, and asssociated No 1 fan, Ronno Einstein ( Minister of Intelligence), have found that the realities of the political dynamics in the region, is too much to comprehend. The MRN / Ronno "brain", together with sites like The Electronic Intifada, can't handle it. Silence prevails on the latter website as well.

I conclude that a blind faith in Hamas leaves no room for a proper debate/ discourse.

I wonder, however, if The Mail and Guardian or The Weekender will now ask Iqbal Jassat (MRN) to write an article about the Gaza massacre ?? Further evidence that propaganda, rather than proper analysis, prevails in The South African press.

In the light of the above, The Freedom of Expression Institute and the South African press, should start to re-evaluate their own relationships with The MRN. Uncritical subservience, on behalf of The FXI and The South African press, does little to foster freedom of expression in this country.

viva etc

BLACKLISTED DICTATOR

ANC ANARCHY

2007-11-14T11:55:00.000+02:00

Is The Freedom of Expression Institute really part of Mbeki's masquerade?

Is The FXI "weeping crocodile tears and pretending to be as holy as The Bible"?

Does The FXI have the guts to stand up to literary intimidation from The President ?

Are there any poets at The Freedom of Expression Institute, who could rise to President Mbeki's challenge and compose their own version of Shelley's "Mask of Anarchy"?

Mbeki writes in the latest ANC newsletter:

"Near enough two centuries ago, the English poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, composed the famous poem, "The Mask of Anarchy", to denounce the massacre of working people at Peterloo, England, in 1819.
In many instances, the answering of the questions we have listed has produced the ghastly masquerade of which Shelley wrote. This is a masquerade of canards paraded by people who disguise their purposes by wearing ermined gowns, by weeping crocodile tears, by pretending to be as holy as the Bible, and by giving themselves a cloak of majesty even to the point of clothing this in pretensions of divinity."

The literary President also writes:

"Media freedom in danger?
Or take another more recent example, this being an attempt to legitimise canards by claiming that press freedom is under threat. A newspaper receives and keeps stolen property, namely, private medical records. It then proceeds to publish articles it claims are based on these records.
In this regard we must bear in mind a number of facts. Theft is a crime.
Receipt of stolen goods is a crime. Unauthorised ownership of private medical records is a crime. Publication of such records without the consent of the person concerned is a crime.
For these reasons, the police institute an investigation to respond to the crimes of theft and receipt of stolen property. The newspaper in question then publishes entirely false reports that some among its staff are about to be arrested, that our government has instructed the law-enforcement agencies to find as much 'dirt' as they can about some of the journalists working for the newspaper, and that these agencies are now 'spying' on these journalists.
To justify criminal misconduct of all sorts and dissuade the law-enforcement agencies from doing their work mandated by the Constitution and the law, the newspaper cries out in a loud voice - the constitutionally guaranteed media freedom is under threat!
In this instance the freedom we have achieved is obviously interpreted as the freedom to do anything and everything the media chooses to do to advance its agenda, with no regard to our Constitution and our laws - including the right to peddle canards all in the interest of entrenching democracy in our country! And once again, this strange claim has its adherents among some in the international community, including and especially some in the British and US media."

NB: THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT ADDRESS THE QUESTION.."ARE THE SUNDAY TIMES ALLEGATIONS WITH REGARD TO MANTO ACTUALLY TRUE ?"

At the end of the ANC newsletter, Mbeki writes:
"I do not know if we have the poets to compose their own version of Shelley's Mask of Anarchy, to unmask the ghastly masquerade of fraud, hypocrisy, anarchy and destruction, which seek to legitimise themselves by claiming to be the sentinels who are standing on guard to protect our freedom and democracy!"

Well Mr President, one poet has risen to the challenge. The following is The Blacklisted Dictator's version of Shelley's "Mask of Anarchy". written in Johannesburg, Nov 2007...188 years after the massacre at Peterloo..

"ANC ANARCHY"

I met Murder on the way -
He had a mask like Mugabe
Very smooth he looked, yet grim
Seven South African government ministers followed him.

Next came Fraud, and she drove on,
Like an ANC politician, a Porsche Cayenne
Manto's tears, for she wept well,
Turned to HIV as they fell.
And the little Aids orphans, who
Round her feet played to and fro,
Thinking every tear a gem,
Had their brains knocked out by them.

Clothed with the Bible, as with light,
And the Marxists of the night,
Like Mbeki, next, Hypocrisy
On a crocodile rode by

And many more Destructions played
In this ghastly African masquerade,
All disguised, even to the eyes,
Like Bishops, lawyers, MPs and spies.....

'Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number -
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many - Mbeki's crew are few.'

CENSORSHIP AT THE MRN ?

2007-11-13T12:24:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

Does The Freedom of Expression Institute know why the Media Review Network website has, so far, remained silent about the appalling Hamas attack on Arafat supporters in Gaza ? It is an important story and the MRN "omission" does have the smell of censorship... a whiff that I know you abhor.

It is obvious that there is a close link between The FXI and The MRN and I wondered whether you have discussed this "omission".

For the record, does The FXI hold regular meetings with The MRN ? If it doesn't, why does The MRN write on The FXI's behalf ?

viva etc
blacklisted etc

ps.The small terrorist group, Islamic Jihad, which has clashed occasionally with Hamas but shares its ideology, condemned Hamas for the violence.

"Despite all of the political differences...it's forbidden and taboo to open fire randomly on a mass popular demonstration," the group said Tuesday.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE UK

2007-11-12T19:15:00.000+02:00

Perhaps Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah of The Freedom of Expression Institute can kindly inform FIX THE FXI what they think about the following article written by Melanie Phillips:

The Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Mohammed Abdul Bari, has repeated in an interview with the Daily Telegraph the thrust of remarks he made last year, also to the Telegraph, that Britain should be Islamised. The first time he said this, there wasn’t a peep of reaction. This time, there’s been a bit of a furore. Which is progress.

Much of the latest interview was the usual whingeing and fanatical stuff. Apparently there is an argument for stoning in Britain. And of course, it is not insignificant that Bari chairs the East London mosque, in whose bookshop the recent Policy Exchange report found dangerous incitement on sale but which Bari does not condemn and whose sale says he will do nothing to stop. The most wicked part of his remarks was his comparison of Britain with Nazi Germany (a comparison he has also made before):
Every society has to be really careful so the situation doesn't lead us to a time when people's minds can be poisoned as they were in the 1930s. If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable. We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for any society.
Of course, it is the Islamists who have the fascist agenda in wanting to destroy British values and make this country submit to Islam. Bari is thus exhibiting the classic Islamist trick of taking aberrant behaviour by certain Muslims and ascribing it to their victims — the trick that is pulled from Israel to Islamabad and from Dewsbury to Damascus. But Bari is here pulling another common Islamist trick that has not been commented upon. He is taking a ball that has been rolled to him by liberal opinion and running with it. For the air is currently thick, is it not, with denunciations of the government’s proposed extension to the 28 day detention limit for terrorist suspects on the grounds that it would spell the end of the liberty for which this country fought Hitler etc. What is not realised is that, far from such measures turning us into a fascist state, such liberals themselves are providing Islamists like Bari with the weapons with which to undermine our defences against being turned into a fascist state.

On Saturday morning, BBC Radio Four’s Today programme (0832) featured a discussion about these matters between the MCB’s Assistant Secretary-General, Inayat Bunglawala, and the former chairman of the Joint Intelligence committee, Sir Paul Lever. Asked about Bari’s comparison between Britain and Nazi Germany, Bunglawala immediately responded:
He didn’t say that.
When it was pointed out that he had in fact said precisely that, Bunglawala observed:
He made a fair point. Just as in the 1930s the Jewish community in Germany was collectively vilified, and we saw what happened, I think we need to be careful not to allow the terror threat to lead us to make generalisations about entire communities.
The Jewish community in Germany in the 1930s was not simply ‘collectively vilified’. It was singled out for genocide. The collective vilification was part of that process of mass murder and ethnic obliteration. The comparison made by Bunglawala between Nazi Germany and Britain’s attitude towards its Muslim community is obscene.

When it was further put to him that many listeners had rung in to say, a propos Bari’s remarks, that in the 1930s there had been no Jews — no ‘minority of Jewish groups’ — committing acts of terrorism and so the comparison was odious, Bunglawala replied:
No that’s true; and today we don’t see the entire Muslim community engaged in acts of terrorism.
But no-one has ever said this; what is always said is that a minority of British Muslims are thus engaged. No-one has ever ‘demonised’ all British Muslims, nor even the majority. Bunglawala went on:
What you had in the 1930s was that all sorts of popular fictions were being spread about the Jewish community: they were in control of money in Nazi Germany, they were responsible for all the ills that were occurring in Germany, they were made into folk devils. And I think the danger is that the word Muslim in the UK is becoming synonymous with bad news.
Can hypocrisy be any more brazen? This is the same Bunglawala who, as I reported here, wrote some years ago:
The Jews consider themselves to be God’s chosen people - although the blessed prophet Jesus called them the children of the Devil (John 8:44) - and so can do just whatever the hell they like.
He cited claims that the Zionist movement was
at the core of international banking and commerce
and observed:
Nonsense? You be the judge…The chairman of Carlton Communications is Michael Green of the Tribe of Judah. He has joined an elite club whose members include fellow Jews Michael Grade [then the chief executive of Channel 4 and later BBC chairman] and Alan Yentob[then BBC2 controller and friend of Salman Rushdie].The three are reported to be ‘close friends’ so that’s what they mean by a ‘free media.’
According to a report by the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, Islam in Britain, he also wrote that Hamas was an
authentically Islamic movement
and
a source of comfort for Muslims all over the world.
The report went on:
In the same article, Bunglawala supported the radical Wahabbi Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia, Salman al-’Awadh and Safar al-Hawali (later linked to Osama bin Laden) and the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria. In other issues of Trends he attacked the Bin-’Ali regime in Tunisia while supporting the Islamist Egyptian cleric ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Rahman, spiritual leader of the Egyptian Islamic jihad terrorist group, who was arrested by the US authorities for alleged links to the first bombing of the Twin Towers. Bunglawala claimed ‘Umar was simply ‘calling on Muslims to fulfil their duty to Allah and to fight against oppression and oppressors everywhere’. This looks like clear agreement with the violent Islamist call for jihad by terror anywhere and at any time.
And as the Telegraph also reported:
In January 1993, Mr Bunglawala wrote a letter to Private Eye, the satirical magazine, in which he called the blind Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman ‘courageous’ - just a month before he bombed the World Trade Center in New York. After Rahman’s arrest in July that year, Mr Bunglawala said that it was probably only because of his ‘calling on Muslims to fulfil their duty to Allah and to fight against oppression and oppressors everywhere’. Five months before 9/11, Mr Bunglawala also circulated writings of Osama bin Laden, who he regarded as a ‘freedom fighter’, to hundreds of Muslims in Britain.
Meanwhile, as I reported here, Bunglawala told me on the Moral Maze last July that he was certainly committed to turning Britain into an Islamic state. By peaceful means, of course.

I’m sure we are all relieved to know that.

WILL JANE DUNCAN AND NA'EEM JEENAH SIGN?

2007-11-11T09:55:00.000+02:00

FIX THE FXI calls upon that The Freedom of Expression Institute to sign the "Change For Equality" petition.

PROTEST THE JAILING OF IRANIAN WOMEN ACTIVISTS

The Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace (WLP) is asking you to join its letter writing campaign in support of women activists who were sentenced to prison in April - for organising a women's protest in Tehran.

The women activists had organised a peaceful protest in Tehran in June 2006 to demand equal rights for women. Under the guise of "endangering national security", Fariba Davoudi Mohajer was sentenced on 18 April to four years in prison, three of which are suspended. Parvin Ardalan and Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani were sentenced to three years (two and a half years suspended). Sussan Tahmasebi received two years (one and a half years suspended). The women will be required to serve the suspended sentences if "found guilty of another crime" during the next five years.

Human Rights Watch reports that an additional woman was sentenced on 24 April - Shahla Entesari was given three years in prison. Earlier in the month, Azadeh Forghani, also a women's rights activist, received a suspended sentence of two years for "acting against national security by participating in an illegal gathering."

All of the women supported the recently launched "Change for Equality" campaign, an effort to collect one million signatures to protest Iran's discriminatory laws against women. The campaign seeks specific reforms, such as making women's testimony in court carry the same weight as men's, equality of inheritance rights between men and women and the elimination of polygamy.

To sign the "Change for Equality" petition and help reach the goal of one million signatures, see:
- English petition: http://tinyurl.com/3bcyxy
- Persian petition: http://tinyurl.com/39yeej

To protest the sentencing of the activists, write to the following people:
- Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader: info@leader.ir
- Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Head of the Judiciary: irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
- M. Javad Zarif, Ambassador to the United Nations: jzarif@un.int

Visit these links:
- WLP: http://tinyurl.com/2fkx7g
- Human Rights Watch, "National security laws used to jail women's rights activists": http://tinyurl.com/ytyegv
- Human Rights Watch photo essay featuring bios of detained women's rights activists: http://www.hrw.org/photos/2007/iran03/index.html
- Human Rights News from Iran: http://www.hriran.org

(8 May 2007)

DELARAM ALI AND NA'EEM JEENAH.

2007-11-10T19:03:00.000+02:00

FIX THE FXI is calling upon Na'eem Jeenah (director of the Freedom of Expression Institute) to demand the immediate release of Delaram Ali in Iran.

Na'eem Jeenah is particularly interested in "Islamic Feminism' and has produced a MA political science thesis on the subject so he should, of course, be demanding the release of a 24 yrs old Iranian woman who is fighting for women's rights.

Delaram Ali has been sentenced in Iran to a 2yrs 6mths prison sentence and a flogging for campaigning for women's rights.

In the circumstances Na'eem Jeenah and Jane Duncan of The Freedom of Expression Institute should immediately ask deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad to contact the Iranian ambassador with regard the imprisonment and flogging of Delaram Ali.

Na'eem Jeenah is also interested in Islamic jurisprudence and he should immediately consider whether a "flogging" is an appropriate punishment.

If both Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah remain silent, it will be further evidence that the organization that they represent should be renmamed The Freedom of Censorship Institute.

DELARAM ALI AND JANE DUNCAN

2007-11-10T15:24:00.000+02:00

FIX THE FXI alerts Jane Duncan of The Freedom of Expression Institute to the case of Delaram Ali.
FIX THE FXI hopes that The FXI, together with Prof Adam Habib, joins Amnesty International and other human rights groups in condemning the Iranian regime.
Of course, it is possible that Jane Duncan will remain silent as freedom of expression for Muslim women in Muslim countries is not usually on her anti-western agenda!

BBC WEBSITE
Iran 'must free' woman activist

Many Iranian women say their rights have been stamped on
Seven human rights groups including Amnesty International have urged Iran to set aside a prison sentence for women's rights activist Delaram Ali.
She has been ordered to begin her sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison and a flogging on Saturday.

Ms Ali, 24, joined a protest last year calling for greater legal rights for Iranian women.

Dozens of journalists and activists have been detained or jailed recently, accused of acting against the state.

Police broke up the demonstration Ms Ali was part of last year which called for greater rights for women in Iran's Islamic legal system.

Ms Ali says the security forces broke her left hand when they beat up the demonstrators.

Chilling warning

Delaram Ali has been free while awaiting the result of an appeal.

But she has now been told to give herself up by Saturday so the sentence can be implemented.

She says she has not been allowed to file a complaint against the police.

Instead an internal inquiry recently exonerated the police even though foreign journalists witnessed them beating the women who were singing feminist songs while sitting peacefully on the grass in a public square.

What is notable about Delaram Ali is that she is not a well-known leader of Iran's feminist movement who has repeatedly challenged the government.

The BBC's Frances Harrison says her punishment will be a chilling warning to anyone thinking of dabbling with politics.

It comes as the Iranian Writers Association has talked of the increasing suppression of the press - with writers, journalists, academics, labour and social activists being arrested and newspapers closed down one after another.

One of Iran's most outspoken human rights activists, Emadeddin Baghi, was arrested last month and there has been no news of him since.

He was a man who tirelessly campaigned for the rights of political prisoners - only to become one himself, our correspondent says.

Courts have also recently upheld jail sentences for the leaders of Iran's bus drivers' union and teachers' organisations after protests over low pay.

DIPLOMATIC FALL-OUT ?

2007-11-09T20:43:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute must be aware that Pretoria and Washington are heading for a major fall-out when The American Civil Liberties Union case on behalf of Prof Adam Habib reaches court.

Prof Habib is certainly not an ivory tower academic. It seems that he has been highly influential in moulding South African foreign policy and as a result the ACLU case has important diplomatic ramifications. The ACLU have, after all, named Condoleeza Rica as a defendant. This is not Mickey Mouse stuff.

South Africa has recently been jumping into bed with Iran and Hamas and it is unlikely that Ms Rice applauds such wayward proclivities.

FIX THE FXI believes that South Africa will ultimately pay an extremely heavy price for taking on the US govt by ACLU proxy.
Perhaps the South African anti-US lobby, of which The FXI is a vocal part, will find that taking pot-shots at Ms Rice might be fun, but comes at a high diplomatic price. A price that South Africa can ill-afford to pay ?

ACLU Sues Over Exclusion of South African Democracy Scholar from U.S. (9/25/2007)

Ideological Exclusion Violates First Amendment Rights, ACLU Says

BOSTON – The Departments of State and Homeland Security are illegally blocking South African scholar Adam Habib from entering the U.S. under circumstances that suggest it is because of his political views, according to a lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Massachusetts. Censorship at the border prevents U.S. citizens and residents from hearing speech that is protected by the First Amendment, the ACLU charges.

“Once again, the Bush administration is stifling debate by preventing U.S. audiences from engaging prominent scholars face-to-face,” said Melissa Goodman, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s National Security Project. “When the government excludes scholars from the U.S. – particularly scholars who frequently traveled to this country without any problems in the past, but who happen to be vocal critics of U.S. policies – it sends the cowardly message that our government is afraid of opposing voices. This kind of political litmus test is both unconstitutional and un-American.”

The ACLU’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of organizations that have invited Professor Habib to speak in the U.S. in the near future, including the American Sociological Association (ASA), the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights (BCPR). The lawsuit, which names Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff as defendants, seeks the immediate processing of Professor Habib’s pending visa application and a declaration that his exclusion without explanation since October 2006 Habib violates the First Amendment rights of U.S. organizations, citizens, and residents.

Habib is a renowned scholar, sought after analyst, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Advancement at the University of Johannesburg. He is also a Muslim who has been a vocal critic of the war in Iraq and certain U.S. terrorism-related policies. Until the government suddenly revoked his visa last October without explanation, he never experienced any trouble entering the U.S.; in fact, Habib lived in New York for years while earning a Ph.D. in Political Science from the City University of New York.

The October 2006 revocation of Professor Habib’s visa prevented him from attending a series of meetings with representatives from institutions such as the National Institutes for Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Bank, Columbia University and the Gates Foundation. When he landed in New York in advance of these meetings, Habib was detained for 7 hours and interrogated about his associations and political views. Armed guards eventually escorted him to a plane and deported him back to South Africa. The State Department later revoked the visas of Professor Habib’s wife and two small children, again, without explanation.

“I find it profoundly disturbing that the U.S. government continues to deny me the opportunity to participate in the kind of robust academic and political debate that is central to the American democratic system,” said Habib. “Now more than ever, people from around the world recognize the consequences of American isolation within the global community. By letting in outsiders who represent ideological diversity, the U.S. can make good on its democratic ideals.”

Last May, Habib applied for a new visa that would allow him to travel to the U.S. to attend speaking engagements, including the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in August 2007. However, on the eve of his scheduled departure to New York, the State Department informed Habib that his visa application would not be processed in time for the meeting. As a result of the State Department’s unexplained visa denial, Habib was prevented from speaking to the ASA and its members. His visa application continues to languish.

Professor Habib’s exclusion is part of a larger pattern. Over the past few years, numerous foreign scholars, human rights activists, and writers – all vocal critics of U.S. policy – have been barred from the U.S. without explanation or on unspecified national security grounds.

“Immigration officials should not be in the business of blocking our borders to people with political views they dislike,” said Sarah Wunsch, staff attorney with the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Silencing critics and forbidding Americans the right to hear dissenting voices harms academic and political freedom in the United States.”

In 2006, the ACLU filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of U.S. academic groups and Professor Tariq Ramadan, a widely respected Swiss scholar of the Muslim world. When the government revoked his visa in 2004, Professor Ramadan was prevented from assuming a tenured teaching position at the University of Notre Dame. The Ramadan lawsuit challenges the legality of his exclusion and the constitutionality of the Patriot Act provision under which he was initially excluded. He remains excluded from the U.S. today.

Today, the ACLU launched a new interactive web feature that tells the stories of the artists, scholars and politicians the U.S. government has kept out of the country since the inception of ideological exclusion in 1952. It is available at: www.aclu.org/passportflash

A copy of today’s complaint is available at:
www.aclu.org/safefree/general/31921lgl20070925.html

More information about ideological exclusion is available at:
www.aclu.org/exclusion

Attorneys in the case are Goodman, Jameel Jaffer, Nasrina Bargzie, and Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU, and Wunsch and John Reinstein of the ACLU of Massachusetts.

ADAM HABIB AND THE UNITED NATIONS

2007-11-09T10:56:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute may find that South Africa pays a heavy price when encouraging a diplomatic fall-out with The United States...

I wonder whether the US will support South Africa in its goal to get a permanent seat on The United Nations security council.
Interesting to also consider whether Prof Adam Habib might have helped to influence South Africa's appalling voting record at The United Nations.

On Jan 26th 2007, Prof Habib wrote the following in The M&G:
"Our role in the Security Council, temporary though it may be, is not to mindlessly follow the dictates of great powers, but to engage them and provide an example of responsible international leadership."

"An example of responsible international leadership"??? Is that Prof Habib's euphemism for South Africa's dismal voting record at The UN ? ( Remember South Africa used its inaugural vote at the United Nations (UN) Security Council earlier in January to vote against a resolution demanding an end to human rights abuses in Myanmar.)

If Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad takes up Adam Habib's case with Condoleeza Rice, South Africa will probably only alienate the US even further and might well negate her dream of a permanent seat on The UN security council.

The US has given detailed consideration regarding Prof Habib's recent attempts to gain entry to the US. As a result, the refusal to admit him does seem to suggest that the US might be indicating that it is extremely unhappy about the direction of South African foreign policy. It is quite clear that Prof Habib's inability to enter the US is more than an administrative mistake. The following excerpts from the case being brought on his behalf makes it quite clear that Prof Habib's visa application was considered at the highest levels:

AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION; AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS; AMERICAN-ARAB ANTIDISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE; BOSTON COALITION FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS, and ADAM HABIB, Plaintiffs, v. MICHAEL CHERTOFF, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; CONDOLEEZZA RICE, in her official capacity as Secretary of State, Defendants.

Oct 21st 2006
Upon arrival at JFK airport, neither Professor Habib’s wife nor any member of the HSRC delegation encountered a problem entering the country. Professor Habib, however, was detained for more than seven hours, questioned by U.S. Customs.
During his detention, Professor Habib was questioned about his political views and was asked whether he belonged to or had supported any terrorist organizations. 32. Eventually, border officials told Professor Habib that his visa had been revoked by the Department of State, specifically by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Affairs Tony Edson, and that he could either withdraw his application for admission or be deported to South Africa. Professor Habib chose to withdraw his application. He was escorted by armed guards to a return flight to Johannesburg. He arrived back in South Africa approximately 40 hours after he had left for the U.S.

On August 1, 2007, plaintiffs’ counsel wrote to Mr. Jones, asking whether he would be willing to pass along another inquiry to the State Department and expressing hope that “this problem will be resolved and that the State Department will act on Professor Habib’s visa before the New York conference date.” Mr. Jones agreed to convey the message and inquiry to the State Department.
On August 3, 2007, Mr. Jones’ colleague, Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Vassallo, called plaintiffs’ counsel and reported that the State Department was aware of Professor Habib’s August conference date and travel plans and that the Department was still processing the visa application.
47. On August 7, 2007, 48 hours before Professor Habib was scheduled to depart to New York, consular officials informed Professor Habib that officials in Washington were still processing his visa application and that it would not be adjudicated before his scheduled departure to the U.S. That next day, Professor Habib informed the ASA that he would be unable to speak at his scheduled panel on August 11, 2007. Professor Habib, who was in Italy at the time, flew back to Johannesburg, instead of to New York, as he had planned.

MY IRANIAN VISA

2007-11-07T17:51:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

I might need the assistance of The Freedom of Expression Institute...

I am applying for an Iranian visa having been invited to speak by the revolutionary guard at Tehran University on the reasons why Ahmadinejad's nuclear policy should be reversed. I am also hoping to lecture various Ayatollahs in Ishfahan and Qom.

Like you, I do not believe all the nonsense about political dissidents, or anyone else, being thrown into jail and tortured in Iran.

If for any reason I am refused a visa to Iran, will The FXI take up my case, as you have just done for Prof Adam Habib re the US, with deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad ?

viva etc
blacklisted etc

ADAM HABIB, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE US

2007-11-07T12:37:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute is calling upon Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad to intervene on Prof Adam Habib's behalf regarding the refusal to give him a US entry visa. Although it appears to be based on the notion that Habib might be involved in terrorist activities, The FXI believes that the real reason is that Habib is a leading Muslim South African critic of US foreign policy.

However, it seems strange to exclude Prof Adam Habib on either basis when President Ahmadinejad was recently given entry and a platform to speak at Colombia University.

Perhaps the real reason is more complicated. Prof Adam Habib has been influential in moulding South Africa's foreign policy and this might be why The US has decided to exclude him from their shores. Following this logic, the US might, in fact, be informing South Africa that it does not, like most of the western world, approve of its close links to Iran and Hamas. After all, Minister of Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils has recently done his best to foster good relations with these regimes on visits both to Tehran and Gaza.

Pretoria has inevitably made enemies in Washington and, like it or not, Prof Adam Habib has paid the price. It might be that The US believes that Habib has indirectly used his position of prominence within South Africa to endorse or espouse terrorist activity, emanating from Iran and Hamas, and as a result should be excluded.

Of course it would be wrong to fall for The FXI's argument that this issue is really all about freedom of expression. The FXI is, once again, following a narrow political agenda; it recently backed Prof Habib as a nominee to The SABC's board and it is evident that The FXI implicitly supports Prof Habib's foreign policy ideas.

Would The FXI come to my aid if I ever had an opportunity to apply for an Iranian visa in order to attend public meetings in Tehran criticizing Ahmadinejad's foreign policy? Would The FXI take the matter up with Aziz Pahad? And if I ever actually gained access to such forums (non-existent!) in Iran, inevitably ending up in a Tehran Jail, would Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah of The FXI fight at the highest levels for my release ?

FXI WEBSITE
FXI on US government's ideological exclusion of Adam Habib
Tuesday, 06 November 2007
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) is concerned about the reasons given by the United States (US) Department of State to University of Johannesburg Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Adam Habib, for his being denied entry into the US. Habib is a political scientist and prominent political commentator.

The reasons were sent to him by the US Consulate General in Johannesburg on October 26, 2007, following an application from Habib for a waiver of his ineligibility to enter the US.

In its letter to Habib, the US government upheld the ban on his entry into the US, citing a section of the US Immigration and Nationality Act which relates to terrorist activities.

The section states that any 'alien' who has engaged in a terrorist activity, or who the US believes to be a terrorist threat or who has signalled an intention to engage in terrorist activity, can be denied entry.

The section adds that anyone who is a representative of a foreign terrorist organisation, or an organisation that endorses terrorist views, or who has used his/ her position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity, can also be excluded. The letter does not make it clear how Habib is supposed to have violated this section.

Habib was denied entry to the US last year, after having been invited to participate in a panel discussion on globalisation and South African social movements by the American Sociological Association (ASA).

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) also invited him to its 2008 Annual General Meeting, to discuss US travel bans on international scholars who are critical of US foreign policy.

The ban prevents Habib from honouring these speaking engagements. This in turn denies US citizens the right to hear him, which interferes with their US first amendment right to freedom of speech.

The FXI further believes that the banning of Habib is part of a pattern where the US government denies entry to prominent individuals who have criticised US foreign policy. This practice has been termed 'ideological exclusion', and amounts to censorship of views it does not agree with, in the process ensuring that critical debate amongst academics cannot take place.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has taken up Habib's case in the US, has argued that the above mentioned section of the Immigration Act is nominally aimed at those who 'espouse or endorse terrorist activity', but it is vaguely written and easily manipulated to exclude the US government's critics, who are branded terrorists simply by virtue of being critical.

In fact, according to the ACLU, the State Department's foreign affairs manual interprets the section to apply to foreign nationals who have voiced 'irresponsible expressions of opinion'. The practice of ideological exclusion is therefore a violation of freedom of expression and academic freedom.

Recently, Swiss academic Professor Tariq Ramadan was denied entry to the US under its ideological exclusion programme, which cited the same provision in the above mentioned Act.

It is also noteworthy that Habib is Muslim, and this combined with his critical stance on aspects of US foreign policy may well have contributed to his being 'profiled' as a potential terrorist.

A further concern in this case is that Habib’s wife and two children have also been banned from entering the US. Even if any legitimate reason did exist for the US to rule Habib’s entry into that country inadmissible, it is alarming that the US authorities then extend a ban onto his family as well, while they have been innocent of any wrong-doing.

The FXI calls on the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take the matter up with the US government, and to seek a review of the ban. If Habib has been banned on the basis of ideological exclusion, then the Ministry has a duty to protect the freedom of expression of its citizens, including in the international arena.

The FXI is also seeking a meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad, to make representations to him in this regard. The FXI also supports the attempt by the ACLU to have the decision reviewed.

THE FXI AND ZIKALALA

2007-11-05T17:05:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

I note that The SABC has today carried a report stating the The Freedom of Expression Institue is worried about the prospective take-over of The Sunday Times by Mbeki's mates.

Do you think that The SABC would carry a similar report stating ... "SACK SNUKI. NO ANC AT THE SABC" ?

Viva etc
Blacklisted etc

SABC NEWS WEBSITE
FXI distressed by R7bn Johncom bid

November 05, 2007, 08:30
Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) executive director Jane Duncan says the proposed takeover of Johnnic Communication by Koni Media Holdings is very worrying. Johnnic Communication owns the Sunday Times, The Times, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch.

The bid has been tainted with criticism. The DA said the move is a "bold manoeuvre " to put the Sunday Times and Business Day in the hands of the President and would be detrimental to media freedom.

Duncan says some individuals at Koni are very closely connected to the Mbeki administration. She says the bid must be seen in the context of these newspapers reporting on government issues.

"For me this really can't be seen out of context of the government's unhappiness with the Sunday Times' reporting on the Health Minister. But also we should bear in mind that there are other (sides) to the issue here. For instance, Johncom owns the Daily Dispatch, and we know that government has been desperately unhappy with the Daily Dispatch's reporting on the Frere Hospital baby deaths incidents.

UP THE ROAD IN HARARE

2007-09-13T23:09:00.000+02:00

The shenanigans at The ANCB are not a million miles away from the censorship of the press in Zimbabwe. It is a tragedy that The Freedom of Expression Institute, together with Anton Harber, are not more outspoken about these issues.

Four years after being banned, newspapers still in legal battle to resume publishing

Country/Topic: Zimbabwe
Date: 12 September 2007
Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Person(s):
Target(s): newspaper(s) , publisher(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): banned , closed
Urgency: Bulletin
(MISA/IFEX) - On 11 September 2003, the Supreme Court passed its "dirty hands" judgment against Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of the banned "Daily News" and "Daily News on Sunday" newspapers.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku's judgment led to the closure of the publishing company on 12 September 2003, when police armed with automatic rifles burst into the newspapers' offices in central Harare at about 5:00 p.m. (local time) and ordered all staff to leave. Nqobile Nyathi, the editor, and Simon Ngena, the production manager, were arrested and taken to Harare Central Police Station. They were later released.

Dr Tafataona Mahoso, chairman of the governmental Media and Information Commission, was quoted as saying he would have been surprised if the police had not taken any action because "the 'Daily News' does not exist in terms of the laws of the country" (quoted in "The Herald" of 13 September 2003). These actions were widely condemned by both local and international actors as a serious violation of media freedom.

Four years later, the matter is still pending before the courts as the ANZ continues its fight to be duly registered and licensed to resume publication, as required under the restrictive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), in what can easily pass as one the longest unresolved court cases in Zimbabwe's judicial history.

Many a reader of the popular "Daily News" look back with nostalgia to the reportage by its dedicated editorial team as they fulfilled their journalistic roles as the thermometers and stethoscopes of the country's daily socio-economic, political and cultural temperature and pulse. Their role was simply that of telling truth to power without fear or favour.

What is certain, though, is that some day in the future, the "Daily News" and "Daily News on Sunday", together with other publications which met with a similar fate - such as "The Tribune" and "Weekly Times" - will, like the proverbial phoenix, rise again to afford Zimbabweans increased access to alternative views, opinions and ideas that foster democracy and spur Zimbabwe's socio-economic development.

MORE INFORMATION:

For further information, contact Zoé Titus, Programme Specialist, Media Freedom Monitoring, MISA, Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia, tel: +264 61 232 975, fax: +264 61 248 016, e-mail: research@misa.org, Internet: http://www.misa.org

"BLACK FEMALE RAGE IS SABC'S BURDEN ?"

2007-09-13T13:53:00.000+02:00

SABC board approved despite bitter protests
Michael Hamlyn | Cape Town, South Africa
I3 September 2007 04:10

Dene Smuts (DA) was especially upset by the inclusion of Christine Qunta.

"She's the long-standing Africanist associate of our president," Smuts said. "We cannot support her. We have never supported the racial prism through which she views all criticism -- criticism of the president, criticism of corruption against black South Africans covered in the general media and now, upon our questioning, all criticism of the SABC."

Under two hours of questioning by the committee, Qunta confirmed that all criticism of the SABC by the commercial media had a racial bias, Smuts said.

"Further she confirmed ... her confidence in the man we are convinced is the source of much of the trouble at the SABC, the news head, Mr Snuki Zikalala."

This is a better board, Smuts admitted, but to include Qunta in it is to deny the crisis at the SABC.

"It is our fear that the honourable sitting president will appoint her as the chair, and in doing so will perpetuate some of the crisis," Smuts said.

FIX THE FXI writes:
The odds are that Christine Qunta (Mbeki sycophant) will get a second term as chair of The ANCB (African National Congress Broadcasting).

Whatever you think of the following article, it is undeniable that we are, as Qunta writes " living in truly interesting times."

Like Manto, Qunta is contemptuous of The TAC, but I suppose that is just a bizarre feature of our.... "truly interesting times."

So.. for those of you who missed it first time round, here is the heroine of The ANCB....

WHITE MALES' RAGE IS BLACKS' BURDEN
By Christine Qunta (Business Day, 23 May 2003)

WATCHING white male rage is a truly unedifying spectacle. Being a victim of such rage is even worse.
And it seems as if unrestrained white male rage is back in vogue. All one has to do is to open a newspaper or listen to a radio station.
Health Minister Manto TshabalalaMsimang recently had a taste of some righteous white male rage, courtesy of one German businessman.
After verbally abusing her, he rushes from the plane and contacts a radio station and speaks to another white male whose greatest contribution to this country was breaking the sports boycott as an Irish rugby player during the wonderful old days when everyone knew their place and life was much simpler than now.
Our brave and fearless German man was lucky. He could have ended up with a bloodied nose if it had been a white male or for that matter an African male no doubt a fact that he was keenly aware of at the time of choosing his victim.
Then we have Mark Heywood and Nathan Geffen of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), current media darlings who seem congenitally angry and quite excited about the prospect of doing outrageous things while trying to get Zackie Achmat declared an international martyr with a little help from the University of Natal and Time magazine.
It seems as if white male rage is the black man's (and woman's) burden.
My apologies to those white males who are positive and are rolling up their sleeves to fashion a new society from the ashes of the old. They are, of course, too boring to be courted by the media.
Sometimes amid the anguish and rage about affirmative action and the numerous bogeys white males terrorise themselves with, even I feel some stirrings of compassion.
That is, until I am reminded of the reality we live in when I read, as I did about two weeks ago, about the labour department's employment equity report for 2001 and 2002. It shows that 75% of top management positions in companies in SA are occupied by white males.
At one level one can sympathise with the culture shock they have had to go through since 1994. One minute the only black women they interact with are those who clean their houses and the next minute they have to share their workplace with them, sit next to them in business class, have them make policies that affect their lives and, even worse, have them as bosses.
However, if the black middle class can observe white male rage at close quarters, the poor people of this country are in the paradoxical situation of suddenly having acquired white male champions in Parliament, at Afrikaans universities and on the streets.
As to the cause of the poverty and their role in creating it, they assume black people's memories are short and their hearts big.
It's interesting seeing these recent converts to the cause of poverty get their three minutes of fame, sometimes with Africans in the background like extras on a movie set. They do not speak. They are spoken for in the proud white liberal tradition of this country.
If the issues facing poor people in this country were not so serious, the situation would be quite comical.
As the election gets closer we might even see some stranger sights, such as Tony Leon and Douglas Gibson of the Democratic Alliance toyi-toying. Who knows, the TAC might even become a political party and join forces with Patricia de Lille.
The real business of managing SA and attending to the needs of the poor in a serious, systematic way will go on regardless of these entertaining sideshows.
If you are white and male, you can scream marginalisation, even extinction, while holding sway in the economy and smiling all the way to the top of the corporate ladder (and the bank). This can be done all at once, with a straight face. We are living in truly interesting times.

DALI MPOFU CEO ANCB

2007-09-13T08:48:00.000+02:00

The following is from the SABC's website and refers to the appointment of Dali Mpofu. It is Zikalala Klassick.

New SABC GCEO takes firm stance against corruption
Dali Mpofu, the SABC's newly appointed GCEO

August 01, 2005, 19:15
"Dali Mpofu, the new Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the SABC, took up his new job today with a firm stance against corruption. Mpofu takes over management of the national broadcaster from Peter Matlare who resigned earlier this year.

Day one in the hot seat and Dali Mpofu is clear about his vision for the SABC. He says he hopes to bring values like team building, integrity and respect to the corporation. He made it clear that corruption and mismanagement will not be tolerated.

"For anybody to steal even one cent from the people of this country with resources stretched as they are, is an unforgivable crime. The issue of zero tolerance is going to be practiced. The first person that is caught will be used as an example," Mpofu said.

The SABC board has expressed confidence in Mpofu's track record - with a career path that meanders through law and business. Eddie Funde, the SABC board chairperson said: “He understands what needs to happen with the external stakeholders and what needs to happen with the internal stakeholders, staff and management. It's a dynamic combination for us."

SABC man resigns but CEO Mpofu keeps mum
Sue Blaine Business Day 27 August, 2007

SABC CEO Dali Mpofu was tight-lipped yesterday about whether his friend and business partner,Mafika Sihlali, resigned or was suspended on Friday.

SOUTH African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) group CEO Dali Mpofu was tight-lipped yesterday about whether his friend and business partner, Mafika Sihlali, the SABC’s legal services chief, resigned or was suspended on Friday.
It is alleged Sihlali defrauded the SABC of up to R2m, although no criminal charges have been laid.

Sihlali apparently resigned before he was suspended on Friday but Mpofu said he had seen no resignation letter, and refused to comment on the SABC decision to suspend Sihlali with immediate effect and on full pay, months after the fraud allegations were made.

“I have not seen the letter. I am on the South Coast (of KwaZulu-Natal),” Mpofu said.

Mpofu was apparently advised to let Sihlali go in April, three months before the Mail & Guardian published allegations that Sihlali and his attorney Barry Aaron had defrauded the SABC of about R1,8m. The newspaper’s story was based on a leaked audit report.

“I can’t comment about my friendship. This is about the SABC, not me,” said Mpofu.

Mpofu, however, also refused to comment on Sihlali’s allegation, in the Sunday press, that his suspension had to do with a “scramble” for SABC board seats.

Sihlali was not available for comment yesterday.

His lawyer, Barry Aaron, said he had not heard from Sihlali “for two weeks” and he had no idea what his intentions were.

“I was never really doing a labour matter. I got thrust into it when I did the urgent application,” Aaron said.

Earlier this month Sihlali lost an urgent application in the Johannesburg High Court to stop the SABC from discussing his suspension.

Mpofu apparently has business links with Sihlali in at least nine companies whose interests range from mining to investment and financial services.

SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said there was no date yet set for Sihlali’s disciplinary hearing and could not even say whether it would be this year.

Sihlali’s suspension followed a “comprehensive” investigation commissioned by the SABC board’s audit committee after allegations of corruption and abuse of power were levelled against him, Kganyago said.

The SABC viewed the allegations “in a very serious light” but respected Sihlali’s right in law, and under SABC policy, to have his version of events heard before any further action was taken against him, Kganyago sai

What Dali Mpofu didn't say ...
Stefaans Brümmer and Adriaan Basson
07 September 2007 08:08 (M&G)

When South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) boss Dali Mpofu led the public broadcaster to quit the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) last week in protest against the “profit-driven” media’s treatment of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, he neglected to mention a commercial interest that might have clouded his own judgement.

Mpofu, chief executive and editor-in-chief of the SABC, outlined the SABC’s reasons for quitting Sanef in a four-page letter to its chairperson, Jovial Rantao, last Friday.

He has outside interests, not least in Deutsche Bank and in the Elephant Consortium that bought into Telkom.

It was Martin Kingston, Tshabalala-Msimang’s son-in-law, who gave Mpofu the leg-up in the Deutsche deal some months before he started at the SABC two years ago.

Kingston was Deutsche’s chief country officer at the time.

Mpofu chairs empowerment ve-hicle Uthajiri, which gained a 15% stake in Deutsche’s local operations. He was appointed and remains a director of Deutsche....

Mpofu and four partners, including now-disgraced SABC legal head Mafika Sihlali, formed the Uthajiri group in 2004. Its first, and perhaps only, significant deal came in February 2005 when Deutsche announced its empowerment deal, which Kingston drove. In an interview with the Mail & Guardian late last year Kingston said it was among his proudest achievements in BEE.

Kingston is married to Pulane Kingston, Tshabalala-Msimang’s daughter from an earlier marriage. Tshabalala-Msimang is now married to ANC treasurer general Mendi Msimang. After Kingston left Deutsche in June last year he formed his own investment advisory firm, Longcross Capital, with his wife and the ANC treasurer as co-directors.

Mpofu said in response to M&G questions that he had declared his interests to the SABC and that the M&G “either does not understand the concept of conflict of interest or it is dishonestly clutching at straws in a typical attempt to trivialise the important issues raised by the SABC in the Sanef letter …

“To contrive a conflict based on a son-in-law who used to, but no longer works for a company in which I was part of a BEE deal in 2004 as a reason for the decision taken by the entire group executive and supported by the board of the SABC in 2007 is nonsensical and stretches credulity beyond acceptable limits.

“It is not exactly clear what commercial benefit I might possibly gain from this ‘conflict of interest’ by writing the Sanef letter.”

The M&G, meanwhile, has obtained a copy of Pauw’s letter of resignation. It states: “I did not intend to resign today, but after the publication of [Mpofu’s letter to Sanef], I have no other option but to offer my resignation … I take offence against a statement that the SABC is ‘not prepared to associate with the enemies of our freedom and our people’ …

“It is false to describe newspapers like the Sunday Times and Mail & Guardian as ‘enemies of our freedom and our people’ … The letter smacks of political jargon and could just as well have been written by the Presidency. I have lost any confidence in the leadership of the corporation. It is clear that the SABC has deteriorated into nothing less than a state broadcaster.”

Pauw confirmed his resignation, but referred other queries to the SABC.

HARBER'S VIEWS ON BLOGS

2007-09-13T02:23:00.000+02:00

I wonder whether the following quote might apply to The Harbinger ?
(Evens money Prof Anton would tell his students that it applies to.... FIX THE FXI !)

"The strength of blogs," writes journalism professor Anton Harber in his column "The Harbinger" on www.journalism.co.za, "is that they are relaxed, unedited, unmediated and are not bound by many of the standard limitations of journalism -- and it is also their greatest weakness."

IS ANTON HARBER A NEO-CONSERVATIVE ?

2007-09-12T14:30:00.000+02:00

Does The Freedom of Expression Institute think that Anton Harber is a neo-conservative?

FIX THE FXI posted the following on Anton Harber's blog (The Harbinger) re his article "Are these the thoughts of a neo-conservative?"

September 12th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I think you are an old style ANC leftist. I am not fooled by your attempt to distance yourself from the neo-conservative label. All “old style ANC leftists” are neo-conservatives. It is a particular breed that identifies with the ANC establishment and has to toe the party line either to keep employment or to get rich quick. That, of course, is the awful irony of the New South Africa. Dali Mpofu should be astute enough to realize this.
Anton, give us a straight answer to a straight question..Do you think Snuki Zikalala should be sacked?
http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

Why doesn't Harber call for Snuki's sacking in the following article? Surely, Zikalala's role as head of news and current affairs at The ANCB (AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS BROADCASTING) should be mentioned? Harber has clearly backed off at a time when he should be sharpening his pen. So... it might be best to take Harber's "beliefs" with a large pinch of politically correct salt. In his position as head of journalism at Wits, Harber is now very much part of the establishment.

Actually, having thought about it a bit more, Harber is a "left-wing ANC neo-conservative". According to the latest edition of The DSM ( The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), this political shizophrenia is not treatable and ultimately leads to censorship and national insanity.

WHAT DOES ANTON HARBER REALLY BELIEVE ?
(1) He believes that he can gently criticize govt but he must not rock the boat.
(2) he believes that if he rocks the boat he will not have a long-term future in South Africa.
(3) He believes that he should be politically correct.
(4) He believes that he should support Ronno Einstein’s anti-zionist escapades.
(5) He believes that Zikalala should be sacked but he doesn’t believe that he has the guts to shout it from the rooftops.
(6) He believes he should have a public spat with Dali Mpofu so that he can underline that his "beliefs"
do not threaten Mbeki's government.
(7) He believes that it is not even worth discussing what a "right wing neo-conservative" actually believes.
(8) He believes that any beliefs he once had must be flushed down The ANC's democratic toilet.
(9) He believes that it is not worth fighting tooth and nail for freedom of expression in South Africa.
(10) He believes, when he turns off the light at night, that he doesn't have any beliefs.

Are these the thoughts of a neo-conservative?
by Anton Harber
September 3rd, 2007
SABC boss Dali Mpofu called me a rightwing neo-conservative in the weekend papers. It is the second time he has done that. But you can judge for yourself.
Let me spell out a few things about myself.
I believe in a public broadcaster, and I would like it to get greater state support and become less dependent on advertising so it can make editorial decisions with greater freedom than the commercial media. The public broadcaster should be able to do more things which commercial media can’t do - those things that may not make commercial sense but make for good journalism, education and public debate. I believe the public broadcaster should be setting the standards for journalism in this country.
I believe the government should, through the Media Development and Democracy Agency, be putting more resources into growing community media. Small, local media is the bedrock of media diversity and will feed the bigger national media. We need more of it, and the government’s role should be to enable and stimulate it.
I support local content regulations and would like to see them gradually increased to promote local drama, music and our indigenous cultural industry.
I believe we need more media in more of our official languages and the government should be subsidising this through channels such as the Pan-Language Board.
I believe the government should be closely watching the development or potential development of media monopolies, or over-powerful media groups, in order to protect and encourage diversity. I believe the state should be ensuring that we have an equitable and accessible newspaper distribution system which is open to all and encourages new and more voices, and is not controlled by the big at the expense of the small players.
I believe we need to strengthen the broadcasting and telecoms regulator and take the power of appointment of councillors away from the Minister, who has too great an influence on this body. I believe we should encourage them to license more television and radio stations.
I believe the state should be much more aggressive and interventionist in promoting cheap broadband access for all South Africans. We cannot fully exercise our economic and political rights without it.
I believe the state should stop taxing books and spend a lot more on libraries and related services.
I believe in a journalism which is fiercely independent, critical and outspoken. I don’t care much whether stories are positive or negative, but I do care if they are insightful, probing, informative and thought-provoking. I believe journalists are there to prod us into thinking about things, to cause trouble for the complacent, and to get up the noses of anyone with power and authority. I believe that patriotic journalism is when we play our proper role in ensuring that power is not abused and that political and financial power is wielded with accountability and transparency. I believe that we practice developmental journalism not when we spend our time telling everyone what government, business or NGOs are doing, but when we ask tough questions on behalf of those who can’t ask themselves, and demand proper answers.
These are all views I have expressed from time to time in my writings. You can decide whether these are the views of a neo-con.

ANTON HARBER BIOGRAPHY
In 1996, Harber helped put together a consortium to bid for privatised radio licences, a group which was the only one to win two licences. In March 1997, Harber was appointed CEO of Kagiso Broadcasting, owners of a number of media interests, and in October 1997 an executive director of Kagiso Media Limited, listed on the JSE. He served as a member of the boards of East Coast Radio (Pty) Ltd, Jacaranda 94.2fm (Pty) Ltd; Ofm (Pty) Ltd, Systems Publishers (Pty) Ltd, Radmark (Pty) Ltd and Kagiso Exhibitions (Pty) Ltd.
He was chairperson of the National Association of Broadcasters for two years (1999/2000), a member of the board of South African Advertising Research Foundation and a trustee of the Media Industry Trust. He has served as a media adviser to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Fellowship for Journalists programme of the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a trustee of the Phil Harber Jazz Education Trust and the Anthony Sampson Foundation and he is a member of the board of directors of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. He is convenor of judges for the Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year Awards and the Taco Kuiper Awards and Grants for Investigative Journalism.

CHANGE "SABC" TO "ANCB"!

2007-09-12T09:05:00.000+02:00

Well, it seems that the new SABC Board will support Snuki Zikalala.

FIX THE FXI believes that Dene Smuts's assessment is over-optimistic. Dene Smuts said: “You can see the hand of Luthuli House in those appointments, but there are enough good people on the board to counteract the Luthuli House agenda.”

Until Zikalala is sacked the SABC will remain the ANCB (African National Congress Broadcasting). Perhaps it should get with the times and jettison the old "apartheid" nomenclature ? if place names can be changed why can't it apply to the SABC?

ANC backs Qunta, dumps Ginwala for SABC board
Brendan Boyle Published:Sep 12, 2007 (THE TIMES)

TRUSTED: Christine Qunta
Hand of Luthuli House seen in nominations.

ANC MPs rejected former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala’s bid for a seat on the SABC board, but handed controversial lawyer Christine Qunta a second term.

Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications made 12 nominations from a list of 142 names yesterday , returning six former members and adding to the board a prominent businesswoman and President Thabo Mbeki’s former spokesman.

The board, which has played a key role in positioning the state- owned public broadcaster as a consistent supporter of the ANC , must be formally approved by the national assembly on Thursday. It will serve for up to five years from January.

It is now up to Mbeki to appoint a chairman and deputy chairman of the SABC board from the portfolio committee’s nominations.

Ginwala, who declined to take up her seat in parliament after she was dumped as Speaker, was not supported by her own party, though several opposition members thought she would be a useful addition to the board.

She is a trustee of the Reuters news agency, sitting on a panel that guards the editorial objectivity of the company.

The current chairman of the SABC board, Eddie Funde, was one of 37 candidates selected for an interview, but withdrew from the process.

Speculation among some MPs and candidates was that he had been told that he would not be reappointed as chairman.

Dene Smuts, the DA’ s communications spokesman, said the selection included eight people on her party’s own short list. She said: “This is definitely a better board.”

Smuts said the DA had opposed the appointment of Qunta, of former member Andile Mbeki and of Gloria Serobe.

Smuts said: “You can see the hand of Luthuli House in those appointments, but there are enough good people on the board to counteract the Luthuli House agenda.”

Qunta has supported SABC news chief Snuki Zikalala, who banned a number of commentators from the state airwaves and has accused the commercial print media of a racist campaign against the broadcaster.

Serobe is a shareholder in the Elephant Consortium, which owns a major stake in Telkom, which is bidding for a broadcasting licence that would allow it to compete with the SABC.

The candidacy of Mbeki’s former spokesman, Bheki Khumalo, now a general manager at Sasol, was supported by the ANC and DA, but not by the IFP.

Khumalo has written many articles supporting Mbeki recently, but said during the selection interviews he would be impartial on the board.

Members reappointed to the board are Alison Gilwald, Fadila Lagadien, Andile Mbeki, Khanyi Mkhonza, Qunta and Ashwin Trikamjee.

The new members are Nadia Bulbulia, a former broadcasting regulator, Mpumalanga 2010 World Cup chief Desmond Golding, Khumalo, Serobe, Pansy Tlakula, chief electoral officer of the IEC, and advertising veteran and banker Peter Vundla.

"SOMETHING IS STIRRING... "

2007-09-12T08:32:00.000+02:00

Will other blogs emerge in South Africa, fighting for freedom of expression and demanding that The Freedom of Expression Institute is fixed?
According to the latest research it could just be a matter of time....

SA BLOGS ON THE RISE
Zahira Kharsany | Johannesburg, South Africa (M&G)
06 September 2007 05:00

"Something is stirring in the South African blogosphere. This year will probably be remembered as a time when blogs came of age, with more than 600 000 internet users visiting blogs by their fellow South Africans in just one month.

Electronic-media analyst Arthur Goldstuck has provided the online world with relevant South African statistics on the number of bloggers in South Africa for the month of August 2007.

In a blog entry posted this week on the Mail & Guardian Online's Thought Leader, Goldstuck says he believes that by August next year, "blogs will not only be a mainstream component of most online media in South Africa, but they will also be a dominant component".

MBEKI, THE PRESS AND 2010

2007-09-11T10:35:00.000+02:00

From: amposner
Subject: ATT; SOPHIE RICHARDSON
Date: 11 September 2007 11:37:52 AM
To: hrwnyc@hrw.org
Cc: jduncan@fxi.org.za

Hi Sophie Richardson,
Interesting that FIFA is now visiting Zimbabwe to check out accommodation for 2010 World Cup. Amazing that FIFA can even contemplate involving themselves with Mugabe !
I wonder whether the IOC and FIFA are really bothered about press freedom ?
regards
http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

As The Freedom of Expression Institute is reluctant to confront Mbeki's attempts to muzzle the South African press, perhaps Human Rights Watch and Fix The Fxi will have to intervene as South Africa heads towards 2010.
"The Chinese government seems to see a free media as an enemy rather than a watchdog of public safety and social stability." (HRW)
A sentiment that could equally apply to Mbeki's government ?

\

Attacks on media freedom continue despite government assurances to International Olympic Committee
Country/Topic: China
Date: 07 September 2007
(HRW/IFEX) - The following is a Human Rights Watch press release:
China: Media Freedom Attacks Continue Despite Pledges
11 Months Ahead of Beijing Olympics, Journalist Harassment Ongoing

(New York, September 7, 2007) - The Chinese government continues to violate the rights of journalists in spite of assurances to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the 2008 Beijing Olympics would foster improvements in human rights and of specific pledges of wider media freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today.

Just 11 months before the 2008 Beijing Games begin, journalists in China continue to face physical abuse and harassment from police and plainclothes thugs who appear to work at official behest.

"The continuing harassment and physical abuse of journalists in the countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing raises serious questions about the sincerity of government pledges to greater media freedom," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The Chinese government seems to see a free media as an enemy rather than a watchdog of public safety and social stability."

As part of its 2001 bid for the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese government expressly assured the IOC that it would loosen its long-held grip on the media during the Olympic Games. That commitment is consistent with the obligation of Olympic host cities to comply with Article 51 of the Olympic Charter, which stipulates that the IOC should take "all necessary steps in order to ensure the fullest coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympic Games." Moreover, Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China specifically guarantees "freedom . . . of the press."

PLEASE VOTE

2007-09-11T00:17:00.001+02:00

FIX THE FXI is running a poll about Mbeki's weekly ANC letter (www.anc.org.za) and hopes that all staff members at The Freedom of Expression Institute will find time to vote.

Of course, it would be 100% ubuntu if other visitors to FIX THE FXI also vote.

MBEKI LEARNS FROM LENIN ?

2007-09-10T21:01:00.000+02:00

This is Mbeki's conclusion from this week's presidential ANC letter:

As we strive continuously to advance the national democratic revolution, determined to achieve successive victories, we must pay the closest attention to, and understand with no illusions, the domestic objective and subjective conditions we face, and the related objective and subjective conditions in Africa and the rest of the world. In this regard, as the actual vanguard of the democratic revolution, we must fully understand the meaning of the expression - if wishes were horses, beggars would ride!
Lenin concluded his 1918 article, "The Revolutionary Phrase", with these words: "In the summer of 1907 our Party also experienced an attack of the revolutionary phrase that was, in some respects, analogous. In St Petersburg and Moscow nearly all the Bolsheviks were in favour of boycotting the Third Duma: they were guided by 'sentiment' instead of an objective analysis, and walked into a trap. The disease has recurred.
"The times are more difficult. The issue is a million times more important. To fall ill at such a time is to risk ruining the revolution. We must fight against the revolutionary phrase; we have to fight it; we absolutely must fight it, so that at some future time people will not say of us the bitter truth that 'a revolutionary phrase about revolutionary war ruined the revolution'."
A century after 1907, in 2007, we should not, and will not fall into a trap, as a result of being guided by ill-informed revolutionary phrases rather than objective analysis, allowing ourselves to become victim to seduction by the repetition of revolutionary slogans irrespective of objective circumstances, leading to the ruin of the national democratic revolution.
Rather, given what has been happening, affecting our movement and revolution, we may very well have arrived at the moment when, as Lenin said, questions must be raised sharply and things given their proper names, the danger being that otherwise irreparable harm may be done to the Party and the revolution.

MBEKI LEARNS FROM KHAMENI ?

2007-09-10T20:33:00.000+02:00

Following Ronno Einstein's visit to Iran.....

IFEX WEBSITE
Supreme Leader publicly condemns media; persecuted journalist allowed to leave country

Country/Topic: Iran
Date: 07 September 2007
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s): Parnaz Azima

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF is concerned about a verbal assault on the media delivered by the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, during a speech to the Assembly of Experts on 5 September 2007.

"What is left of press freedom now in Iran?" the organisation asked. "Ayatollah Khamenei's comments have reinforced the climate of censorship that oppresses all journalists who do not toe the official line. The last time the Supreme Leader attacked the media, in the spring of 2000, a wave of repression was unleashed on pro-reform newspapers."

In his 5 September address, Khamenei accused the Iranian media of "malice" and of "collaborating with enemy media" and he condemned the way some newspapers hailed former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's election on 3 September to head the Assembly of Experts as a blow to the hardliners.

Khamenei's attack on the media came less than a week after the release of a joint statement signed by more than 150 journalists protesting against a decline in press freedom. They criticised Tehran prosecutor Said Mortazavi for summoning newspaper editors to ban them from referring to the case of three students who have been held for three months for allegedly publishing "anti-Islamic" articles. They also threatened to continue issuing joint statements if the situation did not change.

Meanwhile, Iranian-American journalist Parnaz Azima was summoned by intelligence ministry officials on 4 September and told that she would be given her passport back and would be allowed to leave the country. Azima's passport was confiscated when she arrived in Iran last January with the aim of visiting her ailing mother.

Azima is nonetheless still charged with circulating anti-revolutionary propaganda and engaging in activities against state security because she works for Radio Farda, an independent station based in Prague.

Mbeki's ANC newsletter
However, nobody, and nothing whatsoever, will persuade us to change our conviction that our two Ministers of Health during our years of liberation, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, are genuine heroines of our people and our democratic revolution. Our movement is fully conscious of the fact that because the health portfolio in any government deals literally with matters of life and death, it is one of the most difficult, challenging and controversial in all governance systems.
We will, constantly and without equivocation, with no exceptions, combat the evil attempt to present our Ministers of Health, past and present, as legitimate targets of personal vilification by those who made a minimal contribution to our struggle for liberation, which cost the lives of many of our people, and have made and are, at best, making a paltry contribution to the complex task of building a non-racial, non-sexist, prosperous and peaceful South Africa.
Recent events have brought to the fore the obligation our movement faces, to choose between either ecstatic media adulation, or the defence of the truth as it understands this truth. The decisive factor in this regard has been whether we would fight for the health of our people or sacrifice this to gain media popularity. In obverse, we confront the challenge whether to enhance our media approval or persist on a scientifically based pursuit of the goal of health for all.

WHO IS "RACING TO HELL" ?

2007-09-10T19:40:00.000+02:00

Iran's foes racing to hell says Ahamadinejad

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday lashed out at his Western foes which demand Iran halt its sensitive nuclear activities, saying they were "racing to hell".

"The Iranian people have climbed over difficult mountain passes on their path of progress. The enemies need to step aside from our path and give up their satanic ideas," he said, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

"One or two countries are refusing to accept that Iran is now mastering nuclear technology ... Some countries are racing towards hell. But this makes us sad and, for the good of their people, we will resist." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, reiterated yesterday that Tehran was not seeking to manufacture atomic weapons.

IS SANEF SANE ?

2007-09-10T19:02:00.000+02:00

FIX THE FXI believes that Sanef should not be meeting either with government or The SABC. Now is the time for SANEF to tell both Mbeki and Zikalala to get lost. The press should not be bullied into even listening to their bankrupt agenda.

However if Sanef is insane enough is to meet them.... why not save travelling expenses and deal with "The ANC and The SABC" together in one session ?

The M&G
Following a debate on privacy and the public interest, Sanef's council agreed to a proposed seminar between editors and the government on the matter.

The council also supported a decision to meet with the South African Broadcasting Corporation to discuss a decision by the broadcaster's CEO, Dali Mpofu, to cut ties with Sanef.

NA'EEM JEENAH'S BLOG

2007-09-10T17:45:00.000+02:00

The following editorial clearly reveals that Na'eem Jeenah ( Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute) does not adopt an independent, fair and objective stance with regard to his work at The FXI.
He launches a personal attack on Geoff Sifrin ( editor of The South African Jewish Report), referring to him as "not a very trustworthy editor" and "less than ethical editor".
Clearly ,Jeenah would not have felt "a tad uncomfortable with the whole discussion" if he was not director of The Freedom of Expression Institute. However, riding two horses is not only uncomfortable...it is also extremely dangerous for freedom of expression in South Africa.

4 May 2007 (NA'EEM JEENAH'S BLOG)

Ethical journalist, less than ethical editor.
Na'eem Jeenah writes:

I felt a tad uncomfortable with the whole discussion. I was a speaker at the Al-Nakba Conference in Cape Town, commemorating the 59th anniversary of the Catastrophe visited on the Palestinian people in 1948.

I was to speak on the third and last day of the conference, on the “Founding myths of the State of Israel”. But, just after all the speakers had been introduced and just before we could start speaking, one of the organisers asked for the mike to raise an issue.

Apparently, a reporter of the South African Jewish Report was present in the audience and some conferees had complained to the organisers that they did not feel comfortable about this. The organiser who announced this asked the conference what their feeling was about what should be done.

Now before any accusations of “anti-Semitic” start flying around, let me just mention that there were a number of Jews that had been present at the conference from the first day. In fact, most also participated very strongly in the discussions and one Jewish person facilitated the crucial “Way Forward” session at the end (and did a damn good job of it too). So the complaint from some members of the audience had nothing to do with the fact that Moira Schneider was a Jew. Rather, they were concerned, as it emerged in the discussion, about what she would write and whether the organisers would have the right to reply if they felt that her report contained certain falsities.

I sat there somewhat bemused as I observed the debate. Being the Director of Operations of the Freedom of Expression Institute, I knew what my position was on the issue. But this was not my conference; I was just a speaker. So I watched and listened.

Fortunately, conference made the correct decision: it decided to allow Ms Schneider to stay in the conference and to do her report. This followed her assurance to the conference that she would not submit her report to the SAJR until she received a guarantee from the editor, Geoff Sifrin, that he would allow the conference organisers – the Friends of Al-Aqsa – the right to reply if they felt aggrieved by the report. Conferees accepted her “journalistic ethic”, believed she was sincere in her assurance, everyone seemed to relax and we were finally allowed to speak.

I began my presentation by informing the audience of my position in the FXI and telling them that if they had decided to ask the journalist to leave the conference, I would have issued a media statement the next morning condemning the conference for its stance. Fortunately, the right decision was made and I was spared the tediousness of writing yet another media release.

Everyone seemed happy, so this story should end here. I cannot allow it to, however. Accepting Ms Schneider’s assurance was the right thing to do. However, the conference was also implicitly accepting another assurance – that of the SAJR editor, who wasn’t even there to give it. If recent events are anything to go by, Mr Sifrin does not have the best reputation for giving people the right of reply.

At the end of last year, the SAJR ran an article which was a direct challenge to Minister Ronnie Kasrils, asking him to answer a number of questions. Sifrin had assured Kasrils that the paper would publish Kasrils response. However, when Kasrils submitted his reply, Sifrin refused to publish. Not only did Sifrin deny Kasrils the right of reply, he also went back on his word. Not a very trustworthy editor, in my opinion. I’m sure the Friends of Al-Aqsa are waiting to see what Schneider’s article will say. And then they will probably wait to see whether the editor will make good on his promise. People do change, sometimes.

For some background on the SAJR-Kasrils issue, see "On Jewish Report's censoring of Ronnie Kasrils"

Posted by na'eem jeenah at 04:46 1 comments Links to this post

Post a Comment On: na'eem jeenah blog
"Ethical journalist, less than ethical editor"
1 Comment - Show Original Post
THE DICTATOR / EMBITTERED CORRESPONDENT said...
Dear Na'eem Jeenah,

I quote your latest blog editorial (May 14th 2007) "ETHICAL JOURNALIST, LESS THAN ETHICAL EDITOR" http://naeemjeenah.blogspot.com/

"At the end of last year, the SAJR ran an article which was a direct challenge to Minister Ronnie Kasrils, asking him to answer a number of questions. Sifrin had assured Kasrils that the paper would publish Kasrils response. However, when Kasrils submitted his reply, Sifrin refused to publish. Not only did Sifrin deny Kasrils the right of reply, he also went back on his word. Not a very trustworthy editor, in my opinion. I’m sure the Friends of Al-Aqsa are waiting to see what Schneider’s article will say. And then they will probably wait to see whether the editor will make good on his promise. People do change, sometimes."

As you are well aware, the reason that Mr Sifrin refused Mr Kasril's right to reply was that his article was littered with assertions that The Israelis are Nazis. Some of The SAJR's readers are holocaust survivors and find such comments extremely abhorrent. They did not escape the gas chambers to have "their dignity violated" when reading their community newspaper.

Would a Muslim newspaper in South Africa be compelled to feature The Danish cartoons if an article had appeared denigrating them? I don't think so!

On April 26th 2007, in an email to me, you wrote the following:

I'm unsure whether I can agree that "most members of the Jewish
community" would feel their dignity violated by Minister Kasrils
comments, since I don't have any proper poll results available to
me. However, I have no doubt that a substantial section of the
Jewish community would feel that way. Similarly, a substantial
section of the Muslim community felt that way about the Danish
cartoons.

In the circumstances please, as a representative of The FXI, withdraw your comment that Mr Sifrin is "not a very trustworthy editor."

21 May, 2007 18:22

LINKS ON NA'EEM JEENAH'S WEBSITE

2007-09-10T17:31:00.000+02:00

The following "links" are on the Na'eem Jeenah ( Director of The Freedom of Expression Institute) website.
I think that it is quite evident where Mr Jeenah's interests lie.
It should be noted that there is no link to The IFEX website. Perhaps freedom of expression is not Mr Jeenah's prime concern?

LINKS

Na'eem Jeenah Home Page
Shamima Shaikh
Muslim Youth Movement
Palestine Solidarity Committee
Al-Qalam
Freedom of Expression Institute
HotCoals zine
Ihsan Blog
Electronic Intifada
Stop the Wall
Palestine Remembered
Electronic Iraq
ZNet
Muslim Women's League
Women Living Under Muslim Laws
South African History Online
History of Muslims in SA: A Chronology
Qur'an with Translations

ZILLE AND ZIKALALA

2007-09-10T13:44:00.000+02:00

The attached SABC "Zille" news item reveals how Zikalala's SABC reports a major news story.
If David Cameron (leader of the Conservatives) was arrested in The UK would The BBC website give the story such minimal coverage?
This report really is indicative of a public broadcaster that has lost its way:

SABC NEWS WEBSITE
Zille to appear in court tomorrow

"Police say Zille was arrested following an illegal gathering

September 10, 2007, 05:45
The Cape Town Mayor and Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Helen Zille, will appear in the Mitchell's Plain Magistrates Court tomorrow. Police say Zille was earlier arrested following an illegal gathering. She was then released on a warning at the Mitchells Plain police station on the Cape Flats.

Zille faces a charge of violating the Gatherings Act.

Zille says she was taking part in a march against drug lords on the Cape Flats. She says police gave them three minutes to disperse, and then started arresting women and children, including her."

To add insult to injury, Zikalala follows the above with a further report that denigrates Zille:

W Cape police take offense to Zille’s comments

Zille was arrested in the Cape flats for participating in a march against drug lords

September 11, 2007, 22:15
Western Cape police say comments by Cape Town mayor, Helen Zille - that her arrest after a protest march against drug barons was politically motivated - are an insult to their profession.

Zille claimed at her court appearance in Mitchells Plain today that she had been arrested by police who had been strategically deployed. Station commissioner at Mitchells Plain, Jeremy Veary, says they feel offended.

“People can swear at us on the streets when we arrest them. They can do all sorts of things, but once you say something like this to us, it insults our professional integrity. I was appointed by the provincial commissioner… and chosen because of the particular skills. To even cast aspersion in why the police would deploy me there is an insult not only to me, but to the SA police service,” says Veary.

"IDENTIFY THE ENEMY AND DEFEAT IT"

2007-09-10T13:30:00.000+02:00

Snuki Who? (M&G)

Matebello Motloung
01 December 2006

Political analyst, professor Sipho Seepe, says Zikalala is known to "work out" those who dare to oppose him.

"Snuki is a reflection of exactly what is wrong within the ANC. His intolerance of different views has become the prevailing culture within the organisation since post 1994," says Seepe.

"It mainly has to do with the training and tradition from the ANC. It's the military way of thinking and the language of everyone who has been deployed - identify the enemy and defeat it."

NA'EEM JEENAH: "MUSLIM ACTIVIST"

2007-09-10T13:15:00.000+02:00

Is it possible that Na'eem Jeenah's portfolios outside of The Freedom of Expression Institute might have impinged on his ability to be objective, fair and independent in his role as director of The Freedom of Expression Institute?

The following is from WIKIPEDIA :

Jeenah currently works for the Freedom of Expression Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also taught Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Jeenah was born in the coastal city of Durban on the 8 August 1965. Under South Africa's Apartheid Population Registration Act he was classified "Indian". He cut his political in the 1980s when, while he was still in secondary school, the country erupted into almost a decade of nationwide student protests, followed by widespread resistance in trade unions and communities - especially in the African "townships". This was the period when the liberation movement succeeded in making South Africa "ungovernable".
After school, Jeenah entered the highly-politicized University of Natal Black Section, the medical school (only for Black students) that was attached to the White University of Natal. Through his activities with the Muslim Students Association of South Africa and the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa, he was thrust into the political limelight as these organizations became increasingly involved in the anti-Apartheid struggle. His activism, however, was mostly inspired by Islam and was prosecuted through Muslim organizations.
After spending two years at the Medical School and a year at the University of Durban-Westville, Jeenah dropped out of university to find a job and get married. He married Shamima Shaikh, who he met for the first time when the couple was arrested during a consumer boycott campaign. Shaikh became one of South Africa's most well-known Islamic feminists. She died in January 1998, leaving Jeenah with two sons.
Jeenah rose in the ranks of the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa to become its national General Secretary and, later, its president. He was also, for a period, the editor of the Movement's mouthpiece newspaper, Al-Qalam. He steered the movement in a way that increased its political activism during the anti-Apartheid struggle. He also, along with Shaikh and others, founded the Muslim Youth Movement Gender Desk, the foremost organization of Islamic feminism in South Africa. It was also during the 1980s that Jeenah helped his organization and the Muslim community in South Africa to get involved in inter-faith activities - particularly through the South African chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Working with the latter, he was also a member of the drafting committee of a landmark document produced during South Africa's constitution-drafting period called the Declaration on Religious Rights and Responsibilities.
In 1994, on the eve of South Africa's first democratic elections, Jeenah's family joined those in South Africa who had sacrificed family members for the struggle: his brother, Mohseen Jeenah, a student leader and anti-Apartheid activist, was gunned down in the early hours of the morning of the 17th January by Apartheid police.
Jeenah and Shaikh undertook the hajj pilgrimage in 1997, while Shaikh was already suffering from the effects of breast cancer, which had affected her severely. On the couple's return the authored a book about their pilgrimage called Journey of Discovery: A South African Hajj. Soon after, they founded the Johannesburg-based Muslim community radio station called The Voice, which exposed radical and progressive Muslim voices to the Muslim community and became a flagship for women's rights, inter-religious tolerance and anti-imperialist rhetoric. It also gave a voice to refugee communities and social movements. Shaikh died just four months after the station went on air.
Jeenah's career has been a checkered one, spanning the NGO sector, academia, religious organizations and journalism. But it is as a progressive Muslim activist and an international solidarity activist that he has made his mark.
Jeenah currently holds the position of Director: Operations at the Freedom of Expression Institute. He is also the Coordinator of a progressive Johannesburg mosque, Masjidul Islam, a steering committee member of an inter-religious organization focusing on women's issues called The Other Voices, a spokesperson for South Africa's Palestine Solidarity Committee and Anti-War Coalition and is a member of the International Coordinating Network for Palestine. He is often interviewed as an expert by various media on issues related to Islam or the Muslim world, Muslims in South Africa, the Middle East, Islamic Feminisms, political Islam, freedom of expression and various other issues. An experienced journalist, he writes for a number of publications and reports for a network of radio stations in the US. He is also a monthly columnist for the South African newspaper Al-Qalam.
Jeenah has various Islamic qualifications through international courses completed at different universities in the Muslim world. He has organized and addressed numerous meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, and training programs on various issues related to Islam, South Africa, the Middle East, youth development, journalism, information technology and various other issues – in South Africa and internationally. He has co-authored a book and has published articles and papers in journals, magazines, newsletters, newspapers and other publications. These have ranged from news pieces to analyses and opinion pieces.

PROF ADAM HABIB AND THE SABC

2007-09-10T09:32:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute has nominated Prof Adam Habib for The SABC board.

Doesn't Prof Habib want South Africa at The UN to ally itself more closely with China and Russia ?
The regimes in China and Russia are not known for advocating freedom of expression. Would a supporter of these regimes really be an ideal candidate for the SABC board?

Prof Habib was denied entry to the United States...a badge of honour to be worn at The SABC's board meetings?

Would Prof Habib's views on the direction of South Africa's foreign policy be much different from Snuki Zikalala's?

Hasn't Prof Habib recently been influential in setting the agenda for South Africa's dismal performance on The UN's security council? How ironic that The Freedom of Expression Institute is now punting his SABC board nomination!

Interesting also to contemplate Prof Habib's comments about Mbeki's Zim stance in July 2006. He said " I think South Africa is taking a much harder stance." Clearly, it wasn't!

July 20 2006 at 01:05AM

Professor Adam Habib from the Human Sciences Research Council told the
SABC conditions exist for South Africa to play a leading role in
facilitating negotiations between Zimbabwean parties and the international
community.

"There is greater pressure. I think the economic crisis is bigger. I
think South Africa is taking a more harder stance, I think support
continentally is far bigger in our favour than it has been before, but I
really think the big debate is 2008... when presidential elections are
scheduled."

FIX THE FXI' S "SHORT ANALYSIS"

2007-09-09T19:04:00.000+02:00

"SABC board candidates were asked for a short analysis of the problems at the SABC and how they would rebuild the reputation of the public broadcaster."

Is this "analysis" short enough?....... "SACK SNUKI.NO ANC AT THE SABC!"

Btw, it seems that Vavi might agree although I don't think that Cosatu is actually campaigning for Snuki's dismissal:

09 September 2007 11:11 (M&G)

Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) secretary general Zwelenzima
Vavi on Saturday warned that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was "showing clear signs" of becoming a broadcaster of the state.

In a speech to the Creative Workers' Union of South Africa (CWUSA) on Saturday, Vavi said: "The SABC is showing clear signs of returning to its previous role as a broadcaster for the state not the public.

"Increasingly our government and the SABC talk about controlling and limiting what the public broadcaster can or should convey to our people."

THE NEW SABC BOARD

2007-09-09T17:02:00.000+02:00

So...the next SABC board is going to be "pro freedom of expression" ?

And candidates were asked how they would "rebuild the reputation" of The SABC ? This is the sort of "western / racist / Blairist / Bushist / pro-apartheid / anti-democratic etc" language that really upsets The Blacklisted Dictator.

As if Mpofu and Zikalala had not made The SABC the envy of Mugabe's world.

List of SABC board candidates is ready (THE TIMES WEBSITE)
Published:Sep 09, 2007
Parliament’s portfolio committee on communications will submit its recommended list of candidates for the new SABC board next week.

The committee members have interviewed 37 candidates on a variety of issues, including their stance on press freedom. Deliberations on the final list of 12 will start on Tuesday, be presented to Parliament on Thursday and sent to President Thabo Mbeki for approval thereafter.

Among the people interviewed are Professor Adam Habib of the Human Sciences Research Council, journalist Zubeida Jaffer, current board member Christine Qunta, former SABC radio news head Pippa Green and former Speaker of Parliament Frene Ginwala .

Communications portfolio committee chairman Godfrey Oliphant said the board members “would be chosen for being pro-press freedom and pro- freedom of expression, the values important in a democracy”.

Candidates were asked for a short analysis of the problems at the SABC and how they would rebuild the reputation of the public broadcaster.

IS THE SABC SPREADING ANTI-MUGABE LIES ?

2007-09-09T16:46:00.000+02:00

The SABC reports that "Zimbabwe faces serious bread shortages." Surely Zikalala and Mbeki should realize that this is just "western / racist / Blairist" propaganda ?

Do they really think that Mugabe and the thugs that keep him in power are not having toast and marmalade for breakfast ??

And if the masses in Zimbabwe are really starving why doesn't Mbeki send cake ?

"Zimbabwe faces serious bread shortages" (SABC NEWS WEBSITE)

September 07, 2007, 06:15
Zimbabwe winter wheat production has dropped significantly owing to power outages, and now the country's leading bread producer, Lobels Bread, has only until today's supply of bread.

Zimbabwe, facing acute foreign exchange problems has failed to import about 36 000 tons of what from neighboring Mozambique. Lobels Bread management announced it has scaled down its operations after exhausting its reserves, which had about 4000 tons.

Power utility Zesa introduced power cuts in most residential areas throughout winter and diverted power to help commercial farmers raise maximum production. But most farmers, including Commercial Farmers Union President Doug Free, ended up destroying huge hectares of wheat owing to power outages which destroyed the quality of wheat.

Looming food crisis
Lobels has already shut down its factory in the city of Bulawayo, and is only operating one unit out of six in the capital, Harare. So far, close to 2000 employees have been sent on leave after the company scaled down its operations.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has received about $35 million to avert what it says is a looming food crisis in the southern parts of Zimbabwe where a targeted four million people will receive humanitarian assistance in the coming months.

Diplomats here have urged Harare to revisit its policies and restore confidence in the market after it slashed prices or basic food commodities creating shortages. Most supermarkets in Harare are emptying fast, with no bread, meat, cooking oil, and milk on the shelves.

PHONE THE PHILOSOPHY DEPT !

2007-09-09T10:10:00.000+02:00

From: aposner
Subject: PHONE THE PHILOSOPHY DEPT!
Date: 09 September 2007 10:41:29 AM
To: jduncan@fxi.org.za

Dear Jane Duncan,

In your role as exec director of The Freedom of Expression Institute, you should immediately distance The FXI from the "logic" of The Media Review Network.

When I wrote to The Citizen stating that Na'eem Jeenah's position as spokesperson for The Palestinian Solidarity Committee compromised his work at The Freedom of Expression institute, Iqbal Jassat from the Media Review Network immediately replied with the attached email.

Because FIX THE FXI has questioned Jeenah's independence, Jassat argues that it wants to "go back to the tyranny of the past". Is this the level of The FXI's "logic"? If it is perhaps you and Na'eem Jeenah would benefit form a first year philosophy course at Wits? You should phone the dept for a prospectus!

viva etc
blacklisted etc.

Activist`s ties sway FXI stance ( The Citizen Aug 7th)
•WIKIPEDIA makes it quite clear that Na`eem Jeenah is essentially an Islamic activist. The question arises whether this spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Committee should be the director of the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI). Likewise, would it be fair if someone at SA Jewish Board of Deputies or SA Zionist Federation was running the FXI? It is evident Na`eem Jeenah`s allegiances outside of the FXI are influencing the FXI`s stance toward the SABC and the SAJBD. ANTHONY POSNER by e-mail

STRANGE LOGIC OVER ACTIVIST AT FXI (The Citizen Aug 9th)

ANTHONY Posner complains about Na’eem Jeenah’s association with the Freedom of Expression Institute (The Citizen, August 7).

Posner suspects that Jeenah’s profile as an “Islamic activist” is problematic for the SA Jewish Board of Deputies. What a strange sense of logic!

It’s no different from the weak, defeatist approach adopted by failed apologists of South Africa’s racist past, who constantly clamoured against those seeking to question an ideology of hate.

Many respected academics, journalists and others were hounded and persecuted as a consequence of intolerance displayed by apartheid-era agents.
Does Posner desire that his intolerance of critics of Israeli apartheid result in barring Jeenah’s links with the FXI?

If so, he certainly cherishes a foolish desire to turn SA’s momentous strides back to the tyranny of the past.

IQBAL JASSAT
Media Review Network

THE FXI AND SNUKI

2007-09-08T19:10:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah,

In the light of recent comments about the banned Mbeki documentary, don't you think that The FXI / PSC should be publicly demanding, loudly and clearly, that Snuki Zikalala be immediately sacked ?

For the record you should now reveal whether are you both members of The ANC. I am concerned that when push comes to shove, your political allegiances might have discouraged The FXI / PSC from demanding Snuki's dismissal.

On 7/24/07, na'eem jeenah wrote:
Oh stop being a little child!

Can you not read? Were you not at the protest outside the SABC? Did you not hear the
speeches and the slogans? Do you not know that even many ANC members want Snuki's
head? Don't be a naïve fool!

Not that it's any of your business whatsoever, but since you asked so nicely: No, I am not an
ANC member. Have never been.

Oh, and btw, you should check how many members of the South African Jewish Board of
Deputies are members of the ANC. According to your dumb (il)logic, you should be asking:
why is the SAJBD meeting with Snuki Zikalala? Why did the SAJBD withdraw its complaint
against the SABC? Why will the SAJBD not be present at the Icasa hearing tomorrow when it
and the FXI are supposed to present to Icasa's Complaints Compliance Committee on the
SABC blacklist saga? Check it out!

Dear Na'eem Jeenah,

Thank you for your email.

I was at the rally and I spoke to Jane Duncan.

The SABC rally was , to quote your own words,, dominated by a "motley crew". For about two hours traditional healers used it as a platform . Unfortunately this deflected from the real issue, namely that Zikalala should be immediately sacked for his political interference at The SABC.

When I previously emailed you about the fact that the head of news and current affairs should not be a position held by a senior ANC member, you told me that, in principle,The FXI had no problem with such a situation.

I have on numerous occasions pointed out that your own position as spokesperson for The PSC has affected The FXI's position on various matters ( your blog entries, inter alia, are evidence of this).I suspect that this is the reason why you are oblivious to the fact that Snuki Zikalala's wider political allegiances, are instrumental in dictating the stances that he takes at The SABC.

With regard to your questions about The SAJBD, I suggest that you pose them directly to The SAJBD. I am not their spokesperson and have often criticized the stances that they have taken. I am independent ( unlike you, who hold many positions outside of The FXI !) Of course, you can always vent your anger re The SAJBD (and The SAJR) on your blog.

To conclude, I emphasize that senior appointments at The SABC and The FXI should not be held by people who have other axes to grind. Only a "naive fool" would think otherwise. It is, of course, irrelevant that some people at The SAJBD and PSC are ANC members, but you are not sharp enough to understand that such organizations are inherently different from The SABC and The FXI. In the circumstances, perhaps Jane Duncan can explain the differences to you.

FIFA IS ON THE ZIMBALL ??

2007-09-08T18:01:00.000+02:00

What will the South African press write about this story??

Is Zimbabwe joint-hosting 2010 ? Has Mr Blatter lost his marbles? Has anyone told him that Mugabe is officially barred from travelling to the 27 nations in the EU ?

The SABC news website has a "Klassick Zikalala" special....if only John Kennedy and George Orwell were alive today... is the report really from Reuters ?..."signs of political unrest" must be the understatement of 2007...

"FIFA to assess Zimbabwe ahead of 2010 world cup"
September 04, 2007, 22:30
Officials from soccer's governing body FIFA will visit Zimbabwe next week to assess capacity to host fans from the 2010 World Cup to be held in neighbouring South Africa, Zimbabwe's tourism authority said today.

The country hopes to cash in on its proximity to South Africa -- the first African country to host the event -- as a flood of tourists arrives in the region for the world's most popular sporting event. But with inflation running at more than 7 000%, a battered infrastructure and signs of political unrest there is a prospect that soccer fans will stay away.

Several western governments have already issued travel warnings to their citizens about heading to Zimbabwe. However, the southern African country is banking attractions, such as the Victoria Falls resort and one of Africa's largest elephant populations, will lure visitors.

Maintaining high standards
In a statement today, the chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) said the FIFA delegation starts a four-day tour on September 10. It will visit several three- to five-star hotels in Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls and other tourism facilities.

"Zimbabwe boasts of one of the highest standards in tourism and hospitality, with a grading system that meets any international standard," said Karikoga Kaseke.

"They will definitely also be looking at such issues as facilitation at ports of entry, customs and immigration and transportation," he added. Zimbabwe plans to spend $67 million on hotels and infrastructure ahead of the World Cup. Environment and tourism minister, Francis Nhema, said Zimbabwe had to scramble to prepare.

"It is either you prove your worth or they move to the next country. Don't tell them we have this problem and the other, tell them what you can do for them," state media quoted him as saying. - Reuters

("And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
John F. Kennedy)

ZIKALALA'S SICK SABC

2007-09-08T17:14:00.000+02:00

FIX THE FXI hopes that The Freedom of Expression Institute will immediately comment on the events leading to Jacques Pauw's resignation. The latter is, sadly, another casualty escaping from The SABC wreckage.

FIX THE FXI congratulates Mr Pauw for his courage and hopes that he will soon return to lead, after Snuki is sacked, The SABC's news and current affairs department.

The FXI should now state, loudly and clearly, that The ANC immediately removes its "sticky-snuki" fingers from The SABC pie. Jane Duncan should, moreover, realize that The SABC, like The FXI, is no place for political appointees, whether they be ANC activists like Zikalala, or Islamic activists like Jeenah.

THE SABC
"Special assignment” producer quits

by Giordano Stolley (The Citizen)
JOHANNESBURG – The head of the SABC’s Special Assignment team has resigned from the national broadcaster because he has “lost confidence” in the organisation’s leadership.
A statement released by the broadcaster on Friday morning said the organisation had accepted Jacques Pauw’s resignation.
“While the SABC acknowledges that Pauw has the right to his opinions, we however do not agree with the reasons given in his resignation letter.
“If Mr. Pauw was to retrospect on his own experiences in the newsroom and as executive producer of Special Assignment, with the type of stories they have done and are covering, it is clear that there is no justification for the reasons he has put forward.”
The statement did not provide reasons for Pauw’s resignation and Pauw himself could not be reached for comment.
The Mail&Guardian newspaper reported that it had a copy of Pauw’s resignation letter, and published extracts, one of which said: “I did not intend to resign today, but after the publication of ŠSABC boss Dali Mpofu’s letter to SanefÆ, I have no other option but to offer my resignation... I take offence against a statement that the SABC is ‘not prepared to associate with the enemies of our freedom and our people'.”
“It is clear that the SABC has deteriorated into nothing less than a state broadcaster.”
The Mail&Guardian also reported that Pauw had said in his resignation letter that it was “false to describe newspapers like the Sunday Times and Mail&Guardian as enemies of our freedom and our people.”
Mpofu recently sent a resignation letter to the national editors forum (Sanef) charging that the media had behaved “shamefully” in its reporting of Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, accused of having a drink problem and a theft conviction.
“Shame on all of you, especially those who have turned their backs on your own cultural values for 30 pieces of silver, pretending to be converted to foreign, frigid and feelingless ‘freedoms',” wrote Mpofu in his weekend letter, made public by SABC.
“We cannot remain quiet while our mothers and our democratically chosen leaders are stripped naked for the sole purpose of selling newspapers,” he added.
Mpofu’s attack infuriated Sanef, which believed such reports have been entirely justified and made comparisons with the whites-only apartheid era when SABC was little more than a propaganda tool.
SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said no decision had been made on who would succeed Pauw. Kganyago said the SABC “found it strange” that the organisation had received a media enquiry about Pauw’s resignation a few days before Mpofu had released his letter to Sanef.
He said SABC was being asked to confirm whether Pauw had left the national broadcaster to join Telkom Media.
He said: “It look’s bizarre that ŠMpofu’s letterÆ becomes the reason for Pauw’s resignation.”
Telkom Media spokesman Chris van Zyl said he could not comment on the reasons for Pauw’s resignation.
He said that he was not aware of Pauw seeking employment at Telkom Media. “Licences are only going to be awarded next week. it would be premature (for Telkom Media) to go hiring journalists,” he said.
Telkom has said it would enter the pay television market with the creation of Telkom Media, a private company with a 41,5% black economic empowerment shareholding. The Mail & Guardian reported that it had applied to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa for a commercial-satellite and cable-subscription broadcast licence.
Reacting to news of the resignation, the Democratic Alliance spokeswoman on communication, Dene Smuts, said the SABC had lost one of its best journalists to “bad management and an abysmal board”.
“SABC viewers will be furious that one of their favourite journalists and producers, Jacques Pauw, has resigned from the public broadcaster.
“Pauw’s programme Special Assignment was the only SABC offering considered credible by respondents in a current affairs survey commissioned privately by Manager of News and Current Affairs Snuki Zikalala.”
The Mail&Guardian reported that it had a copy of the survey, titled Qualitative Overview of Current Affairs Programmes, compiled by research firm Plus 94 in March 2007.
According to the newspaper the researchers couldn’t find anyone in the focus groups who watched the television programme In The Public Interest, the brainchild of Zikalala and SABC chief executive Dali Mpofu.
The programme assesses the media.
Smuts said, “We will no doubt suffer another round of colourful condemnation of the theft of private property from the SABC after this latest leak. But the simple fact is that the ship is already sinking, and that is the fault of its captains. Besides which, the survey says what all South Africans know. –Sapa

BEFORE MANTO AND THE MESSIAH etc !

2007-09-08T16:14:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute has now reinstated their comments facility together with the comments that I posted.

Strange that it tookThe FXI nearly 4 weeks to do so? However, better late than never.

Re The FIX THE FXI poll:
30% of voters correctly predicted that The FXI would restore the comments facility before Manto left office. This has proven to be an extremely shrewd prediction but it does unfortunately indicate that there is little confidence in Mbeki's decision making.

20 % of voters also correctly assessed that the messiah would not "rock up" in the interim. Perhaps this can be put down to a lack of faith or a cynical malaise ?

30 % voters were also right when they stated that the comments would return prior to South Africa winning the World Cup. One can only hope that Bafana Bafana will not be put off in 2010.

20 % also correctly guessed that England would not do a 1966 before the comments were reinstated. Perhaps this was a prediction born out by experience ?

On a more serious note, freedom of expression devotees can only hope that The FXI now has the sense to start engaging in a real debate regarding the multiplicity of issues that FIX THE FXI has raised. Don't, however, put your money on it. The FXI has no track record of being accountable to the public and it is highly unlikely that they will change their attitude now.

PAHAD AND THE PRESS

2007-09-08T09:09:00.000+02:00

It seems that contempt for freedom of expression is endemic in Mbeki's govt. The following report reveals how Essop Pahad wants to deal with The Sunday Times for exposing Manto.

It is particularly worrying that The ANC's totalitarian tendencies are so openly on display since the eyes of the world are following South Africa's every movement in the build-up to the next election and 2010 World Cup:

MAIL AND GUARDIAN
Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad is not yet pursuing his opinion that the government should pull advertising from the Sunday Times, presidential spokesperson Mukhoni Ratshitanga said on Friday.

He explained at length that Pahad, who is the political head of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), was only expressing a personal view and that it was not government policy.

"It is just a view, albeit a very strong one," Ratshitanga said.

THE M&G DECLINES TO PUBLISH...

2007-09-07T15:53:00.000+02:00

From: aposner
Subject: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Date: 31 August 2007 7:50:28 AM
To: ferialh
Cc: letters@mg.co.za, newsdesk@mg.co.za, editoronline@mg.co.za

Dear Ferial Haffajee,

I refer you to the following cartoon which is on the homepage of the Media Review Network website.

http://www.mediareviewnet.com/default.htm

Please would The Mail and Guardian congratulate The MRN for using, what seems to me, to be an old-fashioned anti-semitic cartoon.

Is it possible that you could also feature this cartoon in The Mail and Guardian? It would remind your readers that The Jews are inherently evil and should be exterminated asap.
Mazaltov,
The Blacklisted / YiDictator.

THE M&G PUBLISHES...

2007-09-07T15:30:00.000+02:00

The following letter was published in today's Mail and Guardian. Quite a turn up for the M&G's letter's page when one considers just how much The M&G hates/despises the email missives that I usually send them.

However, since it concerned The SABC's resignation from SANEF ( Ferial Haffajee as M&G editor is a member), the sentiment which I expressed was obviously more to HRH's liking.

My email refers to The SABC's resignation as a response to SANEF's support of The Sunday Times Manto expose:

From: amposner
Subject: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Date: 03 September 2007 8:27:23 AM
To: letters@mg.co.za, editoronline@mg.co.za

Sanef chairperson Jovial Rantao has said that the forum had received a letter from the SABC announcing its intentions on Friday. "We will be seeking a meeting with the SABC to discuss the contents of the letter."

What a mistake on SANEF's behalf!

SANEF shoud be delighted that The SABC is resigning...it does not need Zikalala's toxic waste. The ANC should export the latter to Harare where it truly belongs.

(btw, The M&G chose to delete my seven word finale ....."SACK SNUKI! NO ANC AT THE SABC!")

FXI: MOUTHPIECE OF THE MRN ?

2007-09-07T11:28:00.000+02:00

Does The Freedom of Expression Institute serve as a mouthpiece for the Media Review Network ? For those of you who don"t know, Thw MRN is an Islamic "media" lobby group based in Pretoria. It has close links with Ronno Einstein (South Africa's Minister of Intelligence and roving Minister of anti-zionist affairs).

When I recently pointed out in a letter to The Citizen that Na'eem Jeeenah's should not be director of The Freedom of Expression Institute and spokesperson of The Palestinain Solidarity Committee, it was none other than Iqbal Jassat from The MRN who attempted a "reply" on Jeenah's behalf.

South Africans should wake up and realize that The Media Review Network collaborates with Na'eem Jeenah of The Freedom of Expression Institute; together they ensure that the media is as anti-zionist as possible.

However, it is particularly worrying for South African Jewry that The FXI has remained silent about the anti-semitic cartoon which appears on The MRN's website.

The FXI is, as a result, tainted by The MRN's anti-semitism. It is about time that Jane Duncan took cognizance of what The FXI's ally in Pretoria up to!

SOUTH AFRICA'S ZIMBABWEAN DEMOCRACY

2007-09-06T10:53:00.000+02:00

It seems that freedom of expression in South Africa is going down the "democratic" toilet.
MP Mike Water's language was neither "offensive or unbecoming".
It is clear that, day by day, South Africa is going down the Harare road.

Take a look at the following report....

Manto theft question rouses Assembly
Richard Davies | Cape Town, South Africa (Mail and Guardian)
05 September 2007 04:57

There was an uproar in the National Assembly on Wednesday when Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Mike Waters was ordered to leave after a written question he posed to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was ruled out of order.

Speaker Baleka Mbete ruled the question -- whether Tshabalala-Msimang had been convicted of theft in 1976 while employed at a hospital in Botswana, and whether she had disclosed this information to President Thabo Mbeki when she was appointed to her portfolio -- to be out of order.

"I have ruled the question by Mr Waters out of order because it transgresses the rules and practice of the National Assembly ... which forbid the use of offensive or unbecoming language.

"It is patently clear from the question that was submitted ... that it reflected on the integrity of the minister, as it implies impropriety on her part," said Mbete.

It is an "established principle of this House that allegations against another member can only be brought before the House by way of a substantive motion", she said.

"Such a motion should be properly motivated and substantiated. Members cannot be allowed to reflect on the integrity of others in the form of questions, or other means, other than through the mechanisms that this House has imposed upon itself.

"So I have ruled the question out of order and I am not going to allow a debate on the matter," she said.

Her ruling provoked an uproar from DA benches, with both DA MPs Ian Davidson and Tertius Delport rising on points of order, but being ordered to take their seats by Mbete. Waters himself then rose, and called on Mbete to tell him which words in his question were "unbecoming".

Mbete told him to take his seat, saying she was finished with the matter, but Waters repeated: "I would like you to direct me those words!"

She then ordered him out of the House. Waters initially refused to leave, and Mbete repeated her order for him to do so seven or eight times.

"This is a farce, an absolute farce ... you're covering up for a thief," Waters shouted, causing further uproar among MPs before storming out of the House. -- Sapa

SACRIFICES AT THE ALTAR

2007-09-05T23:16:00.000+02:00

Iqbal Jassat (MRN) writes:

"Media freedom in South Africa came at a great cost. So did all of the freedoms enshrined in the constitution after decades of struggle. It, therefore, will be a sad day if these freedoms are sacrificed at the altar of Zionist lobbies."

Don't the Jews also sacrifice Christian children and use their blood to make matzos at passover?

BLOGGING

2007-09-05T22:25:00.000+02:00

Nice to know that Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah of The Freedom of Expression Institute do approve of FIX THE FXI.

In a comment, with regard to Patricia de Lille's attempt to regulate blogs, The FXI, inter alia, stated:

"As for blogging, this is a very important form of democratisation of the media. Like all media, blogging can be used to express viewpoints that some or other people in society might not like. But this is what freedom of expression is about: being able to accept that the right extends to people who will express viewpoints that might be unpopular."

I think, however, that The Freedom of Expression Institute, should have the guts to start replying to the many points that FIX THE FXI has raised.

At its best, freedom of expression is a two-way (or more) discussion, and The FXI should be much more willing to engage in the issues that I have blogged.

At the moment, The FXI's dismissive attitude is rather reminiscent of the arrogance of power. If The FXI feels that it doesn't need to engage, it might well find that it will lose the debate by default.

In particular, The Freedom of Expression Institute should now reply to my point that The spokesperson for The Palestinian Solidarity Committee ( Na'eem Jeenah) should not be the director of The FXI. Would it be fair if the spokesperson of The South African Zionist Federation was director of The FXI ??

The following is an example of Na'eem Jeenah's work outside of The Fredom Of Expression Institute:

Issued by End the Occupation Campaign
24 MAY 2007

The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is “criminal and intolerable”, Intelligence Minister and African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee member Ronnie Kasrils said in Johannesburg today (24 May) at a media briefing to announce plans for a week of national protest action in solidarity with the Palestinian people from 4-9 June......

Issued by End the Occupation Campaign
24 May 2007
For more information or interviews, call:
Na'eem Jeenah - 084 574 2674

To make matters worse, The Freedom of Expression Institute has been heavily involved with a multiplicity of issues regarding Ronnie Kasrils, The South African Jewish Report and The South African Jewish Board of Deputies. In the circumstances, it is quite impossible for Th FXI to be fair, objective and professional about these issues. I have, of course alluded to many of the points on FIX THE FXI.
The FXI,moreover, often appears to be little more than an arm of The Media Review Network (MRN) and, as a result, has lost its independence.

HOW THE FXI WAS HIJACKED

2007-09-05T19:35:00.000+02:00

The Freedom of Expression Institute should answer the following questions:
(1) WHO IS ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ?
(2) WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE FXI ?
(3) WHY DOES THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, RATHER THAN THE MEMBERSHIP, HOLD THE POWER?
(4) WHO HAVE BEEN INVITED BY THE EXEC COMMITTEE TO BE PATRONS OF THE FXI?

Section 10.1 explains how the exec committee controls The FXI.

10.1 Members shall be admitted by making an application in writing to the Executive Committee, which shall have the sole discretion as to whether to admit a member or not within the requirements of the constitution.

To unravel how The Freedom of Expression Institute is controlled, FIX THE FXI would have to get access to minutes pertaining to The AGM's.These documents, however, are not available on The FXI website so the puzzle cannot readily be solved.
Although, The FXI theoretically believes in freedom of expression it is unwilling to make its AGN minutes available to the public.

CONSTITUTION OF THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION INSTITUTE
The FXI is a voluntary, non-governmental organisation managed by an Executive Committee, which is elected once every two years at the organisation's Annual General Meeting (AGM ). In addition to the Executive Committee, the FXI has a staff of eight full-time members.

4. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 4.1. The management of the Institute shall be vested in the Executive Committee which shall be composed of between 7 (seven) and 12 (twelve) members, who shall be elected by a secret ballot at the bi-annual general meeting. They shall serve in office for 2 (two) consecutive years but shall be eligible for re-election.
4.8 Only the Chairperson, or the Executive Director with the Chairperson’s authorisation shall be entitled to issue press statements on behalf of the Institute and delegate that authority.

9 9. MEMBERS AND MEMBERSHIP There shall be three classes of members, patrons, full members and associate members: 9.1 Patrons shall be people who are (a) recognised for their commitment to the cause of freedom of expression and (b) invited by the Executive Committee to serve as patrons. 9.2 Patrons shall be entitled to vote at an AGM and have the same rights as full members. 9.3 Full members shall be individuals and not-for-profit organisations as contemplated in section 10.2 below who have been duly accepted, and who have paid their subscriptions, if required, prescribed by the Executive Committee, and who have been duly accepted as such and have been enrolled. 9.4 Associate members shall be individuals and not-for-profit organisations as contemplated in section 10.2 below who choose not to become full members, and who have paid subscriptions, if required, prescribed by the Executive Committee, and have been duly accepted as such and have been enrolled. 9.5 Associate members shall not be entitled to vote at an AGM, but one representative of the associate member shall be entitled to speak at such a meeting. With the consent of the general meeting, additional representatives of an associate member shall be entitled to speak.

10. ADMISSIONS AND EXPULSION OF MEMBERS 10.1 Members shall be admitted by making an application in writing to the Executive Committee, which shall have the sole discretion as to whether to admit a member or not within the requirements of the constitution. Provided that an individual or organisation who has been refused membership may require the Executive Committee to put such application for membership to an AGM for decision.

10.5 The Executive Committee shall be entitled to expel any full or associate member from the Institute in the following circumstances:
10.5.2 when any member of the Institute has materially contravened any of the objects or resolutions of the Institute, or any member who publicly supports objectives inconsistent with section 3 above or who engages in activities which are likely to bring the Institute into disrepute or to lead to an actual or apparent conflict of interest;

IS MBEKI LEARNING FROM MUGABE & APARTHEID ?

2007-09-05T17:04:00.001+02:00

FROM THE MAIL AND GUARDIAN...

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has been accused of systematic pro-government bias after taking a different stance from most fellow journalists in coverage of the controversial health minister.

Such allegations against the SABC mounted after its chief executive, Dali Mpofu, sent a resignation letter to the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) charging that the media had behaved "shamefully" in much of their recent reporting on Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, accused of having a drink problem and a theft conviction...

Mpofu's attack infuriated Sanef, which believes such reports have been entirely justified and made comparisons with the whites-only apartheid era when SABC was little more than a tool of propaganda...

An editorial this week in the Times daily recalled how the SABC had worked hand in glove with the apartheid authorities and bemoaned that "history was repeating itself" under Mpofu.

WHO CONTROLS THE FXI ?

2007-09-05T16:33:00.000+02:00

From: amposner
Subject: WHO CONTROLS THE FXI ?
Date: 05 September 2007 4:47:30 PM
To: jduncan@fxi.org.za, naeem@fxi.org.za

How did The Freedom of Expression Institute get hijacked ?

Who controls The FXI ?

How is The FXI run ?

Is The FXI democratic?

How do its voting procedures work in theory and in practice ?

Does the way that power is wielded at The SABC and The FXI have anything in common ?

If anyone can answer these questions, please elucidate by way of a comment.

IT IS ALSO A "SAD DAY FOR SOUTH AFRICANS!"

2007-09-05T16:01:00.001+02:00

Has The FXI complained about Mbeki's tacit support of Mugabe's "spying" bill ?

PRESIDENT SIGNS SPYING BILL INTO LAW

A "spying" bill that would allow the Zimbabwean government to intercept mail, phone calls and emails without having to get court approval was signed into law on 3 August by President Robert Mugabe, reports the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).

Under the "Interception of Communications" law, service providers will be forced to install "enabling equipment" on behalf of the government, which would allow senior intelligence, police and revenue officials to intercept telephone, email and cell phone messages through a newly created central monitoring agency.

MISA called 3 August a "sad day for Zimbabweans." "The government has refused to open the airwaves, closed newspapers and, as if that is not enough, it now wants to pry into people's conversations," MISA says. "This is simply an indication of a government that is afraid of its own citizens."

MISA is looking at mounting a constitutional challenge against the law in the Supreme Court.

Visit these links:
- MISA: http://tinyurl.com/3bdl7f
- "IFEX Communiqué" on the bill: http://tinyurl.com/2wuaq2

(7 August 2007)

THE FXI AND ZIM

2007-09-05T15:32:00.000+02:00

Subject: THE FXI AND ZIM
Date: 05 September 2007 3:20:41 PM
To: internk@crisiszimbabwe.org
Cc: jduncan@fxi.org.za

To whom it may concern at Crisis Zimbabwe:

I understand that The Freedom of Expression Institute is co-presenting "readings" in Johannesburg with regard to the serious crisis in Zimbabwe. I hope that the evening is successful and duly receives wide coverage in the media.

However, I draw your attention to the fact that The FXI seems most reluctant to publicly criticize Mbeki's support of Mugabe.

I refer you to WHY IS THE FXI SILENT ON ZIM ?:

http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/2007/08/why-is-fxi-silent-on-zim.html

FIX THE FXI encourages Crisis Zimbabwe to take this matter up with The FXI. The latter should be much more critical of Mbeki's tacit support of freedom of expression violations in Zimbabwe.

YOURS FAITHFULLY
ANTHONY POSNER

THE FXI WEBSITE
Hundreds of Southern Africans - including at 3 centres in South Africa - will participate this weekend in a global readathon to raise consciousness about the plight of Zimbabweans struggling for social justice, democracy, freedom of expression and economic survival.

This is the third Worldwide Reading organized by the Berlin Literature Festival under the theme: “The Anniversary of a Political Lie”. The first Worldwide Reading in 2005 appealed for peace in Iraq. The second in 2006 was in memoriam of the award-winning Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, who was assassinated for her courageous reporting on human rights abuses in Chechnya.

The core texts to be read in over 40 countries worldwide are poems by acclaimed Zimbabwean writers Chenjerai Hove, Chirikuré Chirikuré and Dumbudzo Marachera, as well as Elinor Sisulu's foreword written for the book "Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980-1988" (Johannesburg 2007).

In South Africa veteran poets and activists Dennis Brutus and Don Mattera and acclaimed poet/storyteller Gcina Mhlophe will be among those participating in readings in Durban, Johannesburg, Durban and Grahamstown. The readings are presented by The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, the Freedom of Expression Institute and the Platform for Public Deliberation.

Johannesburg:

Friday, 7 September, 6pm • University of the Witwatersrand Theatre
Contact: Zandile or Khethani • 011 836 9624 • 078 651 7111 • internk@crisiszimbabwe.org

ARE THEY RELATED?

2007-09-05T10:54:00.000+02:00

From: amposner
Subject: THE IFEX AND THE FXI
Date: 05 September 2007 2:36:05 PM
To: tehranian@ifex.org
Cc: jduncan@fxi.org.za

Dear Natasha,

The Ifex should view the following;

http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/2007/09/are-they-related.html

Please also read the other articles on the site and make up your own mind whether The Freedom of Expression Institute should be part of The IFEX.
kind regards
The Blacklisted Dictator

Whilst Manto refuses to resign as Minister of Health, Na'eem Jeenah (spokesperson for The Palestinian Solidarity Committee) stubbornly stays on as director of The Freedom of Expression Institute.

It is impossible for Na'eem Jeenah to be fair and objective about freedom of expression issues.

Like Manto, Na'eem should go.

The Freedom of Expression Institute should realize that it is no place for partisan ideolgy.

Moreover, The IFEX should revoke The FXI's membership as it is totally unacceptabe that The FXI has been hijacked in this ridiculous manner.

WIKIPEDIA (NA'EEM JEENAH)
Jeenah currently works for the Freedom of Expression Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has also taught Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Jeenah was born in the coastal city of Durban on the 8 August 1965. Under South Africa's Apartheid Population Registration Act he was classified "Indian". He cut his political in the 1980s when, while he was still in secondary school, the country erupted into almost a decade of nationwide student protests, followed by widespread resistance in trade unions and communities - especially in the African "townships". This was the period when the liberation movement succeeded in making South Africa "ungovernable".
After school, Jeenah entered the highly-politicized University of Natal Black Section, the medical school (only for Black students) that was attached to the White University of Natal. Through his activities with the Muslim Students Association of South Africa and the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa, he was thrust into the political limelight as these organizations became increasingly involved in the anti-Apartheid struggle. His activism, however, was mostly inspired by Islam and was prosecuted through Muslim organizations.
After spending two years at the Medical School and a year at the University of Durban-Westville, Jeenah dropped out of university to find a job and get married. He married Shamima Shaikh, who he met for the first time when the couple was arrested during a consumer boycott campaign. Shaikh became one of South Africa's most well-known Islamic feminists. She died in January 1998, leaving Jeenah with two sons.
Jeenah rose in the ranks of the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa to become its national General Secretary and, later, its president. He was also, for a period, the editor of the Movement's mouthpiece newspaper, Al-Qalam. He steered the movement in a way that increased its political activism during the anti-Apartheid struggle. He also, along with Shaikh and others, founded the Muslim Youth Movement Gender Desk, the foremost organization of Islamic feminism in South Africa. It was also during the 1980s that Jeenah helped his organization and the Muslim community in South Africa to get involved in inter-faith activities - particularly through the South African chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Working with the latter, he was also a member of the drafting committee of a landmark document produced during South Africa's constitution-drafting period called the Declaration on Religious Rights and Responsibilities.
In 1994, on the eve of South Africa's first democratic elections, Jeenah's family joined those in South Africa who had sacrificed family members for the struggle: his brother, Mohseen Jeenah, a student leader and anti-Apartheid activist, was gunned down in the early hours of the morning of the 17th January by Apartheid police.
Jeenah and Shaikh undertook the hajj pilgrimage in 1997, while Shaikh was already suffering from the effects of breast cancer, which had affected her severely. On the couple's return the authored a book about their pilgrimage called Journey of Discovery: A South African Hajj. Soon after, they founded the Johannesburg-based Muslim community radio station called The Voice, which exposed radical and progressive Muslim voices to the Muslim community and became a flagship for women's rights, inter-religious tolerance and anti-imperialist rhetoric. It also gave a voice to refugee communities and social movements. Shaikh died just four months after the station went on air.
Jeenah's career has been a checkered one, spanning the NGO sector, academia, religious organizations and journalism. But it is as a progressive Muslim activist and an international solidarity activist that he has made his mark.
Jeenah currently holds the position of Director: Operations at the Freedom of Expression Institute. He is also the Coordinator of a progressive Johannesburg mosque, Masjidul Islam, a steering committee member of an inter-religious organization focusing on women's issues called The Other Voices, a spokesperson for South Africa's Palestine Solidarity Committee and Anti-War Coalition and is a member of the International Coordinating Network for Palestine. He is often interviewed as an expert by various media on issues related to Islam or the Muslim world, Muslims in South Africa, the Middle East, Islamic Feminisms, political Islam, freedom of expression and various other issues. An experienced journalist, he writes for a number of publications and reports for a network of radio stations in the US. He is also a monthly columnist for the South African newspaper Al-Qalam.
Jeenah has various Islamic qualifications through international courses completed at different universities in the Muslim world. He has organized and addressed numerous meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences, and training programs on various issues related to Islam, South Africa, the Middle East, youth development, journalism, information technology and various other issues – in South Africa and internationally. He has co-authored a book and has published articles and papers in journals, magazines, newsletters, newspapers and other publications. These have ranged from news pieces to analyses and opinion pieces.

WIKIPEDIA (MANTO)
Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang (whose full name is Mantombazana Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang) (born 9 October 1940) is the controversial Health Minister of South Africa under the government of Thabo Mbeki (as of 2007). She was a deputy minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999, and then has served as Health Minister since 1999.
Her emphasis on treating AIDS with vegetables such as garlic and beetroot, rather than with antiretroviral medicines, has been the subject of international criticism.
She graduated from Fort Hare University in 1961. As one of a number of young African National Congress cadres sent into exile for education, she received medical training at the First Leningrad Medical Institute in the Soviet Union from 1962-1969. She then trained as a registrar in obstetrics and gynecology in Tanzania, finishing there in 1972. In 1980 she received a master's in public health from the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She was an official within the exiled ANC leadership in Tanzania and Zambia during the latter decade of apartheid, with job responsibilities focused on the health and well-being of ANC militants there.

ERASED COMMENTS...CENSORSHIP ?

2007-09-05T09:43:00.000+02:00

Let us assume, some day before Manto leaves office, that The FXI comments facility returns.

The question arises whether the comments, that have been posted on the site, will also reappear. Will The Freedom of Expression Institute use it as an opportunity to conveniently erase these postings ? If they do, then clearly it will be a serious abuse of freedom of expression.

I think that it would make an interesting news story, and FIX THE FXI hopes that if such a situation arises, the national media will report that the The FXI is, when push comes to shove.....The Freedom of Censorship Institute (FCI).

GOOD AND BAD NEWS

2007-09-05T09:31:00.000+02:00

The blogs have today returned to The FXi site. Good news indeed.
But bad news as well..the FXI's comments facility (together with all the comments that have been posted) is still "disconnected". A pity and a continuing blow to freedom of expression at The FXI.

RONNO EINSTEIN, THE MATHS GENIUS AND THE HOLOCAUST

2007-09-04T18:25:00.000+02:00

From: aposner
Subject: PLEASE POST A COMMENT...
Date: 05 September 2007 10:13:50 AM
To: vtilley
Cc: jduncan@fxi.org.za

Dear Dr Tilley,

Perhaps you would like to post a comment, with regard to the attached item, which appears on..
http://fixthefxi.blogspot.com/

Viva viva
Blacklisted etc

The following news report will delight Dr Virginia Tilley (HSRC) and Ronno Einstein (South Africa's Minister of Intelligence and roving Minister of Anti-Zionist Affairs). Virginia and Ronno both admire Ahmadinejad and seem to believe that he can do no wrong.

Imagine how pleased they must be to discover that their hero not only denies the holocaust but is also a self-proclaimed mathematical genius! Ahmadinejad has, of course, put his mathematical ability to good use and has cleverly calculated that 6 million Jews did not die in the holocaust.

Ronno Einstein can be certain that when he again goes to Tehran, to further develop South African / Iranian nuclear relations, he will meet a President who is, at least, on the same intellectual wavelength. Perhaps Dr Tilley can tag along on a fact finding "no holocaust" mission for South Africa's prestigious Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) ?

God and maths convince Ahmadinejad Iran is safe

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his calculations as an engineer and his belief in God convince him that Iran will not be attacked by Western powers trying to end its nuclear programme.

Ahmadinejad, who regularly chides the West and talks proudly of his academic skills, brushed off the suggestion that force might be used.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks during the opening ceremony for the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity in Tehran September 3, 2007. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)
"There were days when some inside the country were pressuring us to retreat, (saying) 'Otherwise there will be a war'," Ahmadinejad told students and academics on Sunday, according to the daily Etemad-e Melli.

"But I told them that I am an engineer and familiar with analysis and examination ... The enemies will not dare to fight us," he told the group.

"I give two reasons to those who have the same concern. First, I am an engineer, a master of calculation and tabulation. I write out hypotheses for hours, I reject and I prove them again. I make plans based on reason and proof ...

Dec 2006
DOES SOUTH AFRICA HAVE A "RIGHT TO EXIST"?
During the last few days, I have been engaged in an "on and off" email exchange with Dr Virginia Tilley. For a number of reasons Dr Tilley has requested that our emails do not enter the public domain and due to the fact that our correspondence was always "private", I have, of course, respected her wishes.

Dr Tilley is currently employed in South Africa at The HSRC. She has an MA from the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (Georgetown University) and a Phd in political science (University of Wisconsin).

I was first prompted to email Dr Tilley about the Iran Holocaust Conference. My interest in her views had been piqued after reading her article "Putting words into Ahmadinejad's mouth."( 28/8/2006). Dr Tilley concluded:

"we will doubtless continue to read in every forum that Iran's president - a hostile, irrational, Jew-hating, Holocaust-denying Islamo-fascist who has threatened to "wipe Israel off the map" -- is demonstrably irrational enough to commit national suicide by launching a (nonexistent) nuclear weapon against Israel's mighty nuclear arsenal. The message is being hammered home: against this media-created myth, Israel must truly "defend itself."

I was curious to discover whether, in the light of the Holocaust conference, Dr Tilley had changed her views or whether she still believed that the whole thing was a "media- created myth". I also wanted to know whether she approved of the Holocaust conference and whether she though it was a good idea that characters such as David Dukes (head of The Klu Klux Klan and notorious anti-Semite) were invited.

More recently, as Hamas and Fatah head towards civil war, I asked her which of the parties she supported. I thought that she might be in the Hamas camp because she had written an article entitled "Hamas and Israel's 'Right to Exist' ". The Doctor's words will shock you, so take a deep breath:

"What does a "right to exist" mean exactly? There is no "right to exist" for states under international law. The formula has arisen in international diplomacy uniquely to Israel." (Dr Tilley, 12/5/2006)

Before I had the chance to question Dr Tilley about the implications of this article, she unfortunately lost her patience with me. I must add that Dr Tilley was kind enough to wish me good luck, but our email exchange was abruptly terminated when I suggested to Virginia that her unorthodox engagement in the Middle East "debate" might well have affected her academic career as a political scientist.

However, I wonder... could it be that Dr Tilley has been employed at The HSRC in Pretoria in order to answer the highly controversial question... "Does South Africa have a 'right to exist' "? Let's hope that she will get in touch with "It's Almost Supernatural" (blog) and provide us with a definitive answer ASAP.

UMSHINI WAMI (aka ak47)

2007-09-04T17:55:00.000+02:00

An interesting freedom of singing debate?

VIVA< FREEDOM OF SINGING> VIVA??

Mail and Guardian.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Young Communists League (YCL) took issue on Tuesday with African National Congress (ANC) national chairperson Mosiuoa Lekota over his remarks about those singing the freedom song, Umshini Wami.

"We respect comrade Lekota's views but we disagree with them strongly," Cosatu said in a statement.

The federation said it objected strongly to Lekota's remarks, broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, condemning those singing such songs as being izibhanxa (brainless or fools) and called on him to apologise publicly.

Cosatu had sought clarity from Lekota, who had explained he was making a general point not aimed at anyone in particular, including ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma.

"He argues that songs sung at this juncture have to be consistent with the key messages of the ANC. In his view these messages must be about reconciliation, peace and development."

Cosatu said if these views were left unchallenged, they would "certainly mislead a whole new generation of cadres".

"Most importantly, we disapprove strongly of the manner in which he raised his views. Sometimes it is not about what you say but how you say it."

On television, Lekota was clearly incensed and pointing to his head.

"That gesture and his body language, and calling those singing the song ... fools or brainless, which is the direct interpretation of 'izibhanxa', was to show how stupid, and what empty vessels, people who sing [it] are."

THE FXI'S WEBSITE NEEDS HELP

2007-09-04T16:59:00.000+02:00

If you can help The FXI out with a myriad of website technical problems then please contact The FXI direct.

Na'eem Jeenah would probably view your email as "spam" so it might be better to contact his colleague Jane Duncan...
jduncan@fxi.org.za

it is important that The Freedom of Expression Institute restores freedom of expression asap and "the powers that be at The FXI " should be open to some much needed technical assistance.

VOTERS, THE MESSIAH AND THE FXI

2007-09-04T16:46:00.000+02:00

According to the poll, 25% of voters, so far, believe that The Freedom Of Expression Institute will re-instate the website comments facility before "the messiah rocks up." This really is excellent news and reveals that voters do have some faith in The FXI.

However, I wonder whether a miracle will occur..is it possible that the comments facility will return together with all the comments that I posted?

( Btw, if you haven't voted in the poll please do so.)

INDIAN MUSLIM LEADERS PRAISE ISRAEL

2007-09-04T16:17:00.000+02:00

You can bet your last rupee that The "FXI / PSC / MRN" etc would try and stop Maulana Jamil Ilyasi, president of the All India Organisation of Imams and Mosques, from entering South Africa.

Indian Muslim Leaders Praise Israel During Official Visit

by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz( 21/8/07)

(IsraelNN.com) In a first-of-its-kind visit, a delegation of Indian Muslim leaders is currently on an extensive tour of Israel. The group's leader repeatedly expressed his pleasure at having his preconceptions about Israel overturned. The Muslim leaders' visit to Sderot on
A delegation of rabbis, including Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger, made a similar trip to India.
Monday included a first-hand lesson on Palestinian Authority rocket attacks.

The Indian Muslim visit to Israel was arranged at the invitation of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Australian Israel Jewish Affairs Council. Earlier this year, a delegation of rabbis, including Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger, made a similar trip to India.

Maulana Jamil Ilyasi, president of the All India Organisation of Imams and Mosques, is heading the Indian delegation. His group represents about 500,000 imams and 200 million Indian Muslims, 40% of the global Muslim population. Among the other members of the delegation are Akhtarul Wasey, the head of the department of Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, Mahmoodur Rahman, former vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and Sahara Samay editor Aziz Burney.

According to the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), when the Hindustan Express carried a front-page story about the visit of prominent Muslims to Israel, at least one member of the group, Sirajuddin Qureshi, dropped out. As a major meat exporter, Qureshi " feared the news of his journey to Israel could adversely affect his business prospects," according to IANS. The news agency noted that the visit has caused controversy among Indian Muslims.

'Muslims in India Should Come See for Themselves'
"The Jews I have met here say that we are all children of Abraham, part of the same family," Imam Ilyasi said with a measure of surprise. "This is something I didn't hear in India. The Muslims in India should come and see things for themselves."

Ilyasi said his visit had reversed many of his own prejudices: "My initial impression was that the Israelis are certainly dominating Muslims out here. Once I came here, that impression completely changed. I saw the reality on the ground, the mutual respect Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews have for each other. Constant conflict is not the reality here." In Jerusalem, he said, "I saw that Muslims, Christians and Jews lived side by side happily, not at each other's throats."

In fact, Ilyasi claimed, in some ways, Israel treats Muslims better than India does: "I was pleasantly surprised to know that the Sharia (Islamic law) is being supported by the Israeli government; whereas, in India, only local Muslims implement it. That is unique." Ilyasi was apparently referring to the existence of government-sanctioned Islamic courts in the Israeli justice system, which handle marriage, divorce and conversion issues for Muslim Israelis. Similar religious courts exist for Jews and Christians.

Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of inter-religious affairs in New York, said, "This visit is of great strategic importance and hopefully will impact on the wider Muslim world as well."

Unfortunately, the Muslim delegation also learned a different lesson on Monday, while visiting the Negev city of Sderot, a frequent target of Palestinian Authority rocket attacks.

"We heard a warning shot which was followed by a siren. We were immediately rushed to a shelter house where we heard the sound of a rocket attack," a member of the delegation told the Times of India.

Joint Declaration With the Chief Rabbis
The delegation of Muslim Indian leaders took part in an inter-religious dialogue on Sunday with representatives of the Chief Rabbinate, which concluded with the signing of a joint declaration with the two Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Yonah Metzger and Rabbi Shlomo Amar.

"It is high time for the religious leaders of both sides to engage in dialogue and use their collective influence to stop the bloodshed of innocent civilians," the declaration said. "Rather, we need to condemn killings, reject extremism, and the misuse of religion for acts of violence. Suicide is a forbidden act in Islam and therefore suicidal attacks can not find sanction."
Muslim Indian leaders took part in an inter-religious dialogue on Sunday.

Even before his visit to Israel, Ilyasi said that Indian Muslims "believe in the Indian tradition of resolving issues through dialogue and peaceful means."

"The time for violence has come to an end, and the era of peace and dialogue between Muslims and Jews has begun," said Ilyasi. He also called on Pakistan to establish official relations with the Jewish State.

The Indian delegation was also received by President Shimon Peres, who said that whereas past international efforts focused on separating religion from the state, the current struggle is to separate all religions from all types of terrorism. Peres went on to say that the One God respects human life without distinction and hate. "We are all children of Abraham," the President said, adding, "Jerusalem is a living example of co-existence among all the religions. The voice of the Muslim muezzin, the bells of the Christian church and the song of the Jewish cantor - all rise together to Heaven, unhindered, without borders, and with no need for visas."

President Peres also noted the Indian struggle against terrorism and factionalism, praising the country for maintaining its democratic character throughout.

THE MRN'S ANTI-SEMITIC CARTOON.

2007-09-04T16:03:00.000+02:00

The MRN's anti-semitic cartoon should be viewed in a wider context.

The ideology which it expouses is prevalent, for example, in The Hamas Charter.

Hamas is an organization that has Ronno Einstein's, as well as The MRN's blessing.

I have asked Jane Duncan and Na'eem Jeenah (spokesperson for The Palestinian Solidarity Committee) whether they believe that The SABC should broadcast The Hamas Charter but they have failed to reply.

Antisemitism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

Antisemitism is a recurring theme in the Hamas Covenant.
[65]
Hamas' critics argue that Hamas is "full of hatred towards the Jews."
[66]
Critics also state Hamas is primarily anti-Zionist, but perceives Judaism as wholly embracing Zionism, and therefore has often failed to distinguish between the two.
[67]

The Covenant cites The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the propagandist book falsely attributed to Jews, stating it embodies a "Zionist plan" for "limitless" territorial expansion:
Today it is Palestine, tomorrow it will be one country or another. The Zionist plan is limitless. After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
Other examples in the Hamas Covenant include:
Introduction: Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and God's victory is realised.
Article 7: ... the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of God's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him salvation, has said: "The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O slaves of God, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharqad tree would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
Article 28: ... when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that "Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women." Israel, Judaism and Jews challenge Islam and the Moslem people. "May the cowards never sleep."
According to Robert Wistrich,
"Like other Islamists, the Hamas uses antisemitic language, full of hatred towards Jews, ever since its foundation in 1987. In its Sacred Covenant [18 August 1988], there are frequent references to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which would have gladdened the hearts of Hitler and Goebbels. It is difficult to see what any of this has to do with spirituality, works of charity, dialogue or the search for peace."[68]
In 1998, Esther Webman of the Project for the Study of Anti-Semitism at the Tel Aviv University wrote: "...the anti-Semitic rhetoric in Hamas leaflets is frequent and intense. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism is not the main tenet of Hamas ideology. Generally no differentiation was made in the leaflets between Jew and Zionist, in as much as Judaism was perceived as embracing Zionism, although in other Hamas publications and in interviews with its leaders attempts at this differentiation have been made."
[69]

According to Meir Litvak's 2003 study, "In Hamas' literature, antisemitism became almost dominant. Earlier antisemitic motifs are developed time and again in their magazine Falastin al-Muslama. Almost every issue contains anti-Jewish articles using elements from the Islamic tradition. Judaism is presented as a religion based on lies, which from its origin called for aggression against others and their exploitation."
[70]

Co-founder of Hamas Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi reiterated beliefs of Holocaust denial in 2003, contending that the Holocaust was a Zionist — Nazi collaboration for the purpose of encouraging emigration to Israel.
[71]

Also in 2003, the director of Hamas Children’s Summer Camp in Gaza City Sohab Alissa was anti-Semitic:
“The first thing we want to teach them is their cause. They know from daily experience that their enemy is the Jew — our job is to explain why. In the Koran much is said about the bad behavior of the Jew. Some teachings say God cursed the Jews”[72]
The chief of Hamas' political bureau Khaled Meshaal also denied antisemitism in Hamas's ideology in February, 2006:
"Our message to the Israelis is this: We do not fight you because you belong to a certain faith or culture. Jews have lived in the Muslim world for 13 centuries in peace and harmony; they are in our religion "the people of the book" who have a covenant from God and his messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), to be respected and protected."
"Our conflict with you is not religious but political. We have no problem with Jews who have not attacked us — our problem is with those who came to our land, imposed themselves on us by force, destroyed our society and banished our people."[73]
On 30 March 2007 Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan ended his "prayers to Allah" in a sermon broadcast on the Palestinian Authority’s TV quoting the hadith "The Hour [of Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: 'Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!'" Al Aqsa mosque would be "liberated" "through the rifle", since the Israeli occupation knew no other language. He asked "Jihad-fighting worshippers" in "Palestine and everywhere" and Allah to take away the oppressor Jews and Americans and their supporters!"
[74]

In April 2007, Palestinian Media Watch released a video in which "Dr. Ahmad Bahar, acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council," refers to Israel's Jewish citizens as a "cancerous lump" and prays to Allah to "count them and kill them to the last one, and don't leave even one."
[75]

In an article published on April 23, 2007 in the Hamas paper Al-Risalah, its author Kan'an Ubayd stated: "... the extermination of Jews is good for the inhabitants of the worlds on a land, to which Allah gave his blessing for the sake of the inhabitants of the worlds.”
[76]

MORE CENSORSHIP AT THE FXI ?

2007-09-04T10:53:00.000+02:00

From: amposner
Subject: REMOVAL OF BLOGS ON FXI WEBSITE
Date: 04 September 2007 9:47:59 AM
To: jduncan@fxi.org.za, naeem@fxi.org.za

Dear Na'eem Jeenah and Jane Duncan,

I note that the blog section on the right hand side of The FXI website has also been disconnected.

Before I start campaigning for its return, perhaps you can let me know why it has been removed.

viva etc
blacklisted etc

SEP 4TH at 2pm

Further to the above email, I phoned Jane Duncan. It was the first time that we have spoken on the phone although we had previously chatted at an FXI SABC demo.

Jane said that she was surprised that the blogs had disappeared and she hoped that the blogs would shortly reappear on The FXI website. She said that it was a techno issue and had nothing to do with censoring my views.

I also reminded her that it was now more than three weeks that the comments had been disconnected. She admitted that it was a long time and said that she hoped that they would reappear in the near future.

The good news is that Jane said that she does actually read FIX THE FXI and we can only hope that she seriously considers some of the issues that this blog raises. To be fair to her, unlike Na'eem Jeenah, she does at least recognize that FIX THE FXI is making some important points ( although she doesn't agree with all of them).

However, it is important that The FXI reinstates its comments section, together with the comments posted asap. I also hope that the blog section will shortly resurface. The FXI have an obligation to ensure that freedom of expression returns to their website. Techno excuses are really not good enough!

jduncan@fxi.org.za
Subject: FXI blog section
Date: 04 September 2007 2:03:48 PM
To: amposner
Cc: naeem@fxi.org.za

Hi Anthony,

I have just spoken to Na'eem in connection with the blog section on the FXI website. He says that there is a technical problem and will be in touch with you in connection with this.

Please be assured, we are not censoring you. Even though we often don't agree with you, we value your interest in the work of the FXI.

Regards,

Jane

(The above is the only email that I have received from Jane in 2007. So although she values my '"interest in the work of The FXI" she obviously feels that such interest does not warrant reasoned replies from The FXI. A pity, especially when you consider that the work of The FXI is theoretically based on freedom of expression.)

And a nice friendly email from Na'eem Jeenah...

naeem@fxi.org.za
Subject: Re: MORE CENSORSHIP AT THE FXI?
Date: 04 September 2007 3:15:30 PM
To: amposner
Cc: jduncan@fxi.org.za

Anthony Posner

the blogds stream was disabled yesterday because, it was discovered, it
was messing up the line length of the right column of the website. It is being
looked at and will be reinstated as soon as possible when the problem is
fixed.

Na'eem Jeenah

GEORGE SOROS, THE FXI AND IRAN

2007-09-03T22:16:00.000+02:00

Dear Jane Duncan,

President Ahmadinejad seems to think that Kian Tajbakhsk's ties to the George Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute indicate that his loyalties are skewed towards The United States and Israel.

Please inform The Iranian Ambassador in Pretoria that the director of The Freedom of Expression Institute is also spokesperson for The Palestinian Solidarity Committee. As you well know, The FXI has an extremely strong anti-zionist anti-US agenda and is, moreover, mainly funded by..... the George Soros Foundation's Open Society.

Perhaps President Ahmadinejad is, like many other people, unaware of this fact, and your own case history re the "Open Society" might, strangely enough, help to secure Tajbakhsh's release.

viva etc
blacklisted etc

The New York Times:
Freed Scholar Leaves Iran; Another Still Held
The scholar, Haleh Esfandiari, 67, director of Woodrow Wilson Center's Middle East Program, left Iran late on Sunday after authorities returned her passport. Her passport was taken away in January when she came to Iran to visit her ailing mother and she was jailed in May and released last month on security-related charges.

The other scholar who was arrested with Ms. Esfandiari in May, Kian Tajbakhsh, an urban planner with ties to the George Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute, is still being held despite promises of his release to his family

SANCO COMMENDS THE SABC

2007-09-03T17:43:00.000+02:00

Subject: SANCO AND THE SABC
Date: 03 September 2007 5:47:13 PM

Dear Jane Duncan,

What does The Freedom of Expression Institute think about the attached statement from SANCO re The SABC ?

Do you intend commenting on their statement? If not, why not?

viva etc
blacklisted etc

SANCO COMMENDS THE SABC FOR WITHDRAWING FROM SANEF

The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) commends the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for its brave and patriotic decision to walk out of the South African National Editor's Forum (SANEF).

The outcome of the Kempton Park negotiated settlement presented South Africa with an opportunity to create a united country that actively embraces reconciliation whilst recognising the country's diversity.

The Constitution adopted in 1996 guaranteed a range of internationally acclaimed freedoms. The Constitution entrenched and secured a Bill of Rights. It is within this context that all South Africans understand the decision of the SABC to defend our Constitution and the opportunity for South Africa to create a society that is fair, just, and focussed on dramatically improving the lives of the poor.

The decision taken by SANEF to undermine all other rights and to irresponsibly defend this so-called public interest has revealed a crude right-wing agenda, with SANEF's unqualified support of the immoral and illegal activities of the Sunday Times. SANEF is attempting by all means to appoint the profit-driven media as the un-elected defender of the public interest.

The SABC's refusal to participate in this counter-revolutionary programme is the action of an institution that recognises the progressive role the media is supposed to play. We call on all other sectors of South African society to support the SABC's stance.

SANCO calls on the Democratic South African government to withdraw all advertising and sever all relations from the Sunday Times and all SANEF members who continue to support this reactionery SANEF position. The severing of relations, including the withdrawal of advertisements must be done in concert by all departments, and spheres of government, namely, Local, Provincial and National governments, and all State-owned enterprises.

We further call on the private sector, who continue to rely on government contracts and financial relations to support this noble call of defending our hard won democracy, by also severing all comercial relations they have with the Sunday Times and the SANEF members who continue to support them.

We call on the African National Congress (ANC) to review government policy on the role of the media in the light of the Supreme Court ruling on the case between The Sunday Times and the Minister of Health.

We also call on the progressive members of the media to support the SABC and establish a progressive platform rather than SANEF to represent the media. Since SANEF has steadfastly refused to play a leadership role and is a platform to defend the conduct of its members at any cost.

The abuse of the freedom of expression is a danger to the constitution and media freedom itself, and is a recipe for anarchy and thereby slowing down our transformation of South African society and our battle to overcome poverty and achieve national reconciliation.

For further clarifications and comments, you are welcome to contact SANCO NEC member, Donovan Williams on 083 634 7179.

In living its goals SANCO is committed to strive for the following:

The implementation of the freedoms and securities enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa including freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of association and equality for all.