The trouble started earlier in the day when DA MPs and activists waited along the barricaded route for the president to arrive to protest the many transgressions of government. Armed riot police attacked them with water cannons and physically tackled the MPs in a ratio of five to one. This set the tone of the events to come.
I have been to many DA marches and protests, and while they may use their voices these are very, very peaceful. People bring their kids in prams and strollers they are so peaceful; so to use riot police, is a major overreaction. Then there was the signal jammer used to stop all cellphone and Wi-Fi signals in parliament. This meant that the media could only show you what the government wanted them to show you, because the ANC controlled the signal coming out of the house. The media houses are streamed only the images the ANC wanted you to see and blocked the rest. This was a blatant attack on the freedom of press and free speech.
Then of course the removal of the EFF: now I don’t agree with their behaviour, however the way they where removed was completely unnecessary and worrying. The DA walked out because the speaker of the house had used SAPS members to remove the EFF. Why is this so important? Because Parliamentary Security Services fall under the Speaker’s office and thus serves Parliament, however SAPS falls under the executive and thus serves the ruling party in this regard.
This means that the EFF weren’t removed by the Speaker of Parliament, but rather by the ANC. This sets a precedent that is very dangerous. What it effectively means is that should you have a descending view of what the ANC is doing, the SAPS will remove you under the threat of violence.
So the State of the Nation message is clear. Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t talk or you will be beaten and arrested. There will be no freedom of press, no freedom of speech, only what the government wants you to see.
Now I have seen this all before in my life and it is sad to see the ANC has become the very thing they fought against. They are the apartheid government, they act like it, they speak like it and they have shown that the story they have to tell is one that will be penned in the blood of a nation.
