Media Freedom Day Commemorated
N Ndongeni
Speaker, on Sunday, 18 October 2015 South Africa Media Freedom Day was observed to encourage interaction and good relations between government and the media. President Jacob Zuma hosted editors and senior journalists in Pretoria for the commemoration of national Press Freedom Day.
The event commemorated Black Wednesday, 19 October 1977 when the apartheid regime clamped down on the media, banning newspapers, The World and Weekend World and jailed journalists. Scores of activists were harassed and others fled South Africa and opted for a life in exile. Many more lives were lost and destroyed over many decades because of an evil regime.
Today we are proud of the fact that Freedom of expression and freedom of the media are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and we call on all not to take these freedoms for granted.
I THANK YOU
