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PRESS FREEDOM DAY, 19 OCTOBER 1994

Seventeen years ago, on 19 October 1977, the apartheid regime made one of its most draconian moves: it took drastic action, cracking down on its political opponents in the most heavy-handed fashion.

Activists were detained, organisations were banned, journalists were locked up and newspapers were closed down. That day was dubbed ''Black Wednesday'' as our country, and the world, recoiled in horror at the high-handed action of a government under intense pressure.

Today could also be called ''Black Wednesday'' - but this time, friends, the ''black'' would only refer to the colour of our skins, rather than to our dark intentions - because we have no dark intentions. We in government have no desire to detain political opponents, to ban organisations, to send journalists to jail or to close down newspapers, TV and radio stations.

How can we, when we've fought so long for freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the democratisation of the communications industry?

How can we, when we realise full well that a democratic society must be an informed society? And when our very own Reconstruction & Development Programme persistently calls for the rapid movement towards a democratic information order in our country.

Let me quote, very briefly, from the RDP. It states: ''Open debate and transparency in government and society are crucial elements of reconstruction and development. This requires an information policy which guarantees the active exchange of information and opinion among all members of society''.

And here's the punchline: ''Without the free flow of accurate and comprehensive information, the RDP will lack the mass input necessary for its success''.

Friends, some of you may believe that we are merely paying lip service to these remarks. Some of you who have feel the sting of our tongues in recent months may feel very cynical about seeing me standing here today and espousing press freedom.

But I have said it before, and I have said it again: Yes, our government may have over-reacted to some of the criticisms laid before us in our first 100 days in office. Yes, we may have sent shivers up some of your spines. We accept that.

I believe there will always be - there must be - a tension between politicians and the media. A healthy tension, in which we keep a close eye on each other.

But today, Press Freedom Day 1994, my message is: Let's move beyond a war of words. Let's take the process forward - let's work, together, to develop a better understanding of the relationship between government and the media.

Let's try to develop an understanding of how you, as media practitioners, see your role in the current phase of our history - a phase of reconciliation, reconstruction, nation-building and development.

I believe we on government side have erred in not debating this issue before. We should have sat down with media practitioners - at all levels - to discuss how you see things. We owe you that much. We owe you the opportunity to state, without being interrupted, exactly how you see the role of the media and how you see relationships between government and the mass media.

For this reason, I am proud to announce today - symbolically, on Press Freedom Day - that we would like to give you, the media workers and media owners of South Africa, the opportunity to help us develop a better understanding of this relationship.

We're going to do this in the form of a public hearing, hosted by my office, to be held on November ??, at which all interested parties will be able to make representations on the following topic: ''The relationship between government and the media in 1994 and beyond''.

I'd like to encourage you to make representations at this public hearing - in other words, to come and state your case, to explain to us exactly how you see your role (and our role) in the current period.

Tell us how you see your role.

How do you see government's role in democratising the South African information order? What do you understand by ''press freedom'' and ''freedom of expression''? How do you see the rights and responsibilities of journalists and media owners? How does the ownership of media institutions affect what is published?

There are other burning questions, too. How can we ensure that South Africans have greater access to the media? How can we assure the survival of our vibrant and vital independent media - magazines such as Learn & Teach, for example, which are currently threatened with closure?

How do we encourage the growth of community media voices? What should the media magnates - the people who own M-Net, for example - be doing to encourage grassroots expression? And what role should government be playing - hands-on, or hands-off?

My friends, I respect your opinions and thoughts. That is why I am essentially throwing the issue open to yourselves, so that you can tell us exactly how you feel.

The public hearing will be an open day. Anyone can come - journalists' unions, newspaper bosses, radio station owners, even the head of the SABC. And use the opportunity to help us all develop a better understanding of things.

We will take all you ideas and opinions, debate them within our own provincial government and try to feed them into a ''position paper'' which outlines our government's attitude towards the media.

Staff in my office are currently working on the finer details of the public hearing; we will be issuing a specific invitation, and guidelines for presentations in a few days' time.

In the meantime, I'd like to encourage you to gather your thoughts, to prepare your presentations and to look very deeply at how you see relationships between yourselves and ourselves.

I look forward to hearing your vies. And I look forward, in particular, to the development of a critical and robust media which services the needs of all citizens in our province.

Thank you.

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