The SABC has refused to flight a controversial election television advertisement produced by the Democratic Alliance, a move the official opposition in parliament has vowed to fight in the courts.
The SABC on Thursday wrote to communications regulator Icasa to inform it that it will not carry the DA ad that depicts, in graphical form, the burning of the South African flag.
In the letter to Icasa, which the DA published on its social media channels on Thursday, the SABC said that “believes that the advertisement encourages damage [to] treasured national symbols”.
“The national flag is a national symbol which represents diverse elements of the country and national unity. Additionally, it is expected that the national flag should be accorded dignity and respect. This, the flag is not a representation of a political party but the nation at large.”
In the DA’s ad, a narrator speaks over an image of the South African flag slowly burning. The voiceover says: “For the first time in 30 years, the ANC will lose its majority. But they will do anything to stay in power. Imagine a coalition between the ANC, the violent EFF and the Zuma faction. Under this coalition of corruption, life will only get worse. This election is about survival.”
At the end of the ad, the flag is restored to its original, unburnt form, and the voiceover concludes: “Unite to rescue South Africa. Vote DA.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has labelled the ad “treasonous” and “despicable”.
‘Responsible broadcaster’
The SABC has now weighed in, banning the ad from its television platforms, which are watched by millions of South Africans. The broadcaster said it had “noted the condemnation of the advertisement by the president of the republic and other government departments” and added that “as a responsible public broadcaster, the SABC will not be part of fuelling the outrage that is evidenced on divergent media platforms”.
The burning of the National Flag in a political advertisement is treasonous. The National Flag is a sacred symbol of our unity and existence as a nation and to burn it is despicable.
Any organisation that commits such an act, especially in the name of political expediency, is… pic.twitter.com/QxpYy07jM4
— Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 7, 2024
“The SABC, as a public broadcaster, is mandated to promote nation building through its services and the said political advertisement goes against the spirit of national building,” it said.
DA leader John Steenhuisen expressed outrage at the SABC’s decision and said his party will take the broadcaster to court to “defend our constitution”.
Watch the DA election ad:
“In an unprecedented attack on our democracy, deployed ANC cadres at the SABC have banned the DA’s latest advertisement from the air to hide the truth of how the ANC has burnt our country to the ground,” Steenhuisen said in a post on X.
“This censorship is not only a clampdown on dissent, but also provides a foretaste of the assault on our flag that will come under an ANC/EFF Doomsday Coalition. The banning of our ad only reinforced its message: that our constitutional democracy will burn unless millions vote DA.” — © 2024 NewsCentral Media