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A6 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 11 May 2024
A campaign ad by a South African party showing a burning flag is

called treason by the president

By GERALD IMRAY our unity. The symbol of our or heard it on other TV and
Associated Press existence as a nation. And I radio stations.
CAPE TOWN, South Africa think it is treasonous.” He said Ramaphosa and
(AP) — A campaign video Racial undertones remain the ANC’s history of cor-
for South Africa’s oppo- in the country, which is still ruption and mismanage-
sition party showing the uneasy about its history ment are to blame for the
country’s flag in flames has of brutal segregation. The economic crisis that now
stoked tensions just weeks opposition Democratic Al- plagues South Africa, with
ahead of national elec- liance is the only one of the official unemployment
tions that are seen as the South Africa’s main politi- rate at 32% — the highest
most pivotal since the end cal parties that is led by a in the world. More than 30
of the apartheid system of white politician and has million South Africans live in
racial segregation 30 years This frame grab taken on Friday, May 10, 2024 from video from a sometimes been accused poverty, according to the
ago. campaign clip for South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance of prioritizing the interests of World Bank.
party shows the country’s flag in flames.
The opposition Democrat- Associated Press the country’s white minor- Analysts predict the elec-
ic Alliance says the ad is ity. tion will be a turning point
a symbolic depiction of Some say the ad accurate- but critics say burning the Thuli Madonsela, who for South Africa and that
what it claims will befall ly portrays the deep prob- flag — for many a sym- helped draft a new demo- the ANC will lose its parlia-
the country if the ruling Af- lems of the African con- bol of their liberation from cratic constitution follow- mentary majority for the first
rican National Congress, or tinent’s most advanced apartheid — goes too far, ing the end of apartheid, time, requiring it to form a
ANC, forms a coalition with economy. though burning the nation- said on the social media coalition to stay in power.
two other parties to remain In the video, which has al flag is not illegal in South platform X that she is con- Some say the DA’s cam-
in power after the May 29 been posted on social me- Africa. cerned the ad’s designers paign ad is legitimate. On
election. dia and on the Democratic The multicolored flag was may harbor “unconscious Wednesday, SABC pub-
South African President Alliance’s social media adopted after the first all- rage against our flag.” lished an interview with po-
Cyril Ramaphosa, who pages, a narrator says: “This race elections that brought DA leader John Steen- litical analyst Solly Moeng,
leads the ANC, has called election is about survival.” the ANC to power under huisen said in a campaign a Black political analyst.
the ad “despicable” and “Unite to rescue South Af- Nelson Mandela in 1994 speech in the city of Jo- “The country is in turmoil,
“treasonous.” rica,” the voice adds as and officially ended apart- hannesburg on Thursday the country is burning,” said
State broadcaster SABC the video then plays in re- heid. that the video was “the Moeng. “The DA is portray-
said on Thursday it would verse and the flag emerg- “It is that flag that unites most successful political ing the country, the symbol
not air the video because es intact, with the caption all of us,” Ramaphosa said advertisement in our dem- of the country, which is in
of an alleged “outcry from “VOTE DA” over it. earlier this week. “It is despi- ocratic history,” claiming pain, turmoil, burning.”
South Africans” and that The Democratic Alliance cable that a political party, more than 4 million people “There’s nothing wrong
airing it would only be “fu- has come up with contro- as it seeks to express itself, have viewed it online and with that,” he said.q
eling the outrage.” versial ads in past elections go and burn this symbol of “millions more” have seen

Australian judge extends ban on X sharing video of Sydney bishop’s

stabbing

By ROD McGUIRK April 22 and Kennett will de- speech stance.”
Associated Press cide on Monday whether it “The fact is that that stance
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) will continue in its current is in large measure illusory.
— An Australian judge on form. Because X doesn’t stand
Friday extended a ban on X X is alone among social for ‘global removal is bad’
allowing videos of the stab- media platforms in fight- in some pure sense,” Beg-
bing of a Sydney bishop in ing a notice from Austra- bie said.
his church last month after lia’s eSafety Commission, X’s own policies repeat-
government lawyers con- which describes itself as edly refer to circumstances
demned the social media the world’s first govern- in which the platform will
company’s free speech ment agency dedicated elect to remove content
argument for keeping the to keeping people safer globally, Begbie said.
graphic images circulating. online, to take down the “The real position is this:
Australian Federal Court video of the attack during X says that ‘reasonable’
Justice Geoffrey Kennett an Assyrian Orthodox ser- The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone means what X wants it to
extended his order that X vice streamed online. in Sydney on Oct. 16, 2023. mean,” Begbie said.
Corp., the company re- A bishop and priest were in- Associated Press “Global removal is reason-
branded by billionaire Elon jured but both survived. able when X does it be-
Musk when he bought Twit- Musk has accused Australia but eSafety argues the An eSafety lawyer, Tim Beg- cause X wants to do it. But
ter last year, block users of censorship and has ap- video can be still accessed bie, described X in court on it becomes unreasonable
from sharing videos of the plied to the Federal Court from Australia through Vir- Friday as a “market leader when X is told to do it by
April 15 attack. to overturn the eSafety tual Private Networks. in proliferating and distrib- the laws of Australia,” Beg-
The attack led to terrorism- notice. The court will sit on VPNs are services that allow uting violent content and bie added.
related charges for the Wednesday to consider users to access sites in other violent and extremist mate- X lawyer Bret Walker said
alleged attacker, a teen- setting a hearing date for countries that are blocked rial.” X had taken reasonable
ager, and triggered a riot X’s application. in their own nation. The reg- Begbie said Australia steps to block the con-
outside the church. X has geoblocked Austra- ulator wants a worldwide could not be expected to tent from Australia but said
The order has existed since lian users from the content, ban on the video. conform to X’s “pro-free there had been glitches.q