Quote of the week
[T]he moral point of the matter is never reached by calling what happened by the name of ‘genocide’ or by counting the many millions of victims: extermination of whole peoples had happened before in antiquity, as well as in modern colonization. It is reached only when we realize this happened within the frame of a legal order and that the cornerstone of this ‘new law’ consisted of the command ‘Thou shall kill,’ not thy enemy but innocent people who were not even potentially dangerous, and not for any reason of necessity but, on the contrary, even against all military and other utilitarian calculations. … And these deeds were not committed by outlaws, monsters, or raving sadists, but by the most respected members of respectable society.
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on The Banality of Evil
The Ministry of State Security has noted with concern the ongoing media onslaught on the Protection of Information Bill debate. After the public hearings on the bill, the Minister for State Security, Dr Siyabonga Cwele requested additional time to consider the submissions made, this owing to the seriousness of the issues at hand. What is concerning is the tone of the debate which suggests that the work on this bill is complete and that Parliament has already made its pronouncements on the matter. This perception is clearly not true and mischievous on the part of some who are participating in the debate. An additional element of concern is the ‘war-talk’ that forms part of the media debate, as well as personal attacks on members of the adhoc committee working on the bill. This type of engagement is unwarranted and does nothing to add value to the debate and the work that is currently underway. If anything, it is dangerous and misguided. – Statement issued by the Ministry of State Security spokesperson, Brian Dube, in an attempt to intimidate and silence critics of the Bill
