Censor or Arbiter? Censorship in South Africa

Censorship in South Africa has been an integral part of South African history especially during the apartheid era.  JM Coetzee notes in his book; the work of the censor, censorship in South Africa that censorship can arise out of paranoia (198).

The reason one can say censorship was such as a contributing factor during apartheid was the fear of what would happen if the apartheid regime would no longer be, the paranoia. We could see evidence of this paranoia by the banning of objects that carried ANC symbols, such t-shirts or the banning of literature, films posters etc, anything that seemed to object the apartheid regime(Tisdel).

But censorship in South Africa was only made possible under the publication act 1975 which the led to the creation of the Publications Appeal Board, a so called watchdog whose responsibility was to act as “an objective and independent arbiter whose duty is to strike a balance between the opposing interest”( 186).  It is Funny to think of a censor as an arbiter, but that was exactly what was at the heart of the publication appeal board chairman, JCW Van Rooyen. Van Rooyen saw the Publication appeal board as group technocrats whose main job was to “weigh all relevant interests against each other” (186). He believed that being able to balance and arbitrate between two opposing parties was the best form of control (186).

The publications appeal board had the Authority to declare certain publication undesirable if they were deemed indecent to public morals, offensive to religious convictions or harmful to state peace and security etc (185). This ultimately led to crackdown on art as Music as literature was among the modes of anti-apartheid resistance.

The relation between the censor and the writer Is one that I find complex,  as Van Rooyen the censor is also a writer who also acts as an arbiter. This complexity is one that highlights the complex ways by which anti apartheid fighters had to express themselves in different ways whether it be through music or a painting, but it is also highlights the complex ways by which the Publications Appeals Board cracked down and censored material in South Africa.

Coetzee, J.M.. “The Work of the Censor: Censorship in South Africa.” Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1996, 185-203.

http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2013/08/south-africa-a-bric-confronting-choices-about-free-expression/

Tisdel, Michelle. "South Africa." South Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Van Der Westhuizen, Christy. "South Africa: Confronting Choices about Free Expression - Index on Censorship | Index on Censorship." South Africa: Confronting Choices about Free Expression - Index on Censorship | Index on Censorship. N.p., 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Image:  CENSORSHIP FOR CHRISTMAS

http://swedishsurveyor.com/2014/12/05/swedish-christmas-present-censorship-law/