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Timeline of State Action Against the Press in the 1960s

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1960

Mar- Norman Phillips of the Toronto Star was detained 3 and '/2 days for trying to cable a story about a police attack on Nyanga, Cape Town. The report had been intercepted by the Durban postal authorities. (Merrett:42)

Apr 5- Patrick Duncan, editor of Contact was detained for three weeks for refusing to disclose his sources

Apr 5- Torch and New Age banned. (Merrett:44-45)

Apr- Editor of Africa South, Ronald Segal, flees the country

Apr 11- Myrna Blumberg, a correspondent for the New York Post and the London Daily Herald was detained and restricted (Merrett p44)

May- John Sutherland, editor of the Evening Post was prosecuted for publishing the impressions of 2 Canadian tourists who found South Africa "a country afraid to talk", charges were dropped (Merrett p45)

May- Fred Carneson, director of banned New Age was charged with publishing subversive literature in contravention of emergency restrictions. (Potter p118)

Sept- Patrick Duncan was fined R900 for publishing two subversive statements. (Potter p119) Patrick Duncan, editor of Contact charged with contravening emergency regulations-13,000 copies of the paper were compounded. (Potter p118) 

1961

June 10- John Worral attacked in The Rhodesian- accused of lying as a journalist (SAMNG progress report in SAAN collection, Wits Historical manuscripts)

June 13- Benjamin Pogrund, senior reporter for Rand Daily Mail jailed for 8 days for refusing to divulge a source. (ibid.)

July- Timothy Holmes and coloured co-worker arrested re-entering South Africa from Swaziland, released after 48 hours, re-arrested when leaving the police station and charged with incitement- released next-day and charges dropped

Patrick Duncan, editor of Contact, banned from gatherings after publishing a report about conditions at Modder B Prison in Boksburg (Merrett p65)

Joyce Meissenheimer, the editor of Torch, banned. 

W. Kodesh, director of New Age, banned.

1962

Feb- Fred Carneson of New Age is jailed for refusing to supply information concerning a contributor to an article suspected of an offence (Merrett:64)

Oct 12: Pretoria News published a cartoon that read "Yes, there is a difference. In Mississippi, thugs are breaking the law. In South Africa, they are making them." The editor was reprimanded before the Speaker of the House of Assembly. (Merrett p69)

Nov- The Post Office refused to handle a cable from the South African representative of the Daily Express in London which contained the text of an interview with Albert Luthuli (Merrett p64)

Nov 30- New Age is banned under the Suppression of Communism Act and possession of back issues becomes an offence (Merrett p65)

Dec: Eddie Roux, Professor of Botany at Wits is restricted and unable to edit or contribute to the Rationalist. (Merrett p52)

Anthony Delius, a political reporter for the Sunday Times, was suspended from Parliament for one year for criticising arrangements made in Parliament regarding the removal of historical Parliamentary portraits. The paper was subsequently denied access. (Merrett p68)

Alex la Guma from New Age is banned.

Brian Buniting from New Age is banned.

Michael Harmel, The Guardian and later became editor of African Communist was put under house arrest until he went into exile in 1962. (Merrett p50) 

1963

Feb- Key members of staff of Spark (which replaced New Age) were issued with individual notices prohibiting them from being on the premises where a publication is prepared or assist in any way with the coming out of a publication. Spark subsequently closes. (IRR 1963 p66)

Mar- Fighting Talk, a political and literary magazine publishing black writers was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act. (Merrett p65)

Aug- Mike Norton, Cape editor of Post is jailed under the Criminal Procedure Act 56 of 1955 for three periods totalling 16 days for his refusal to name sources. (Merrett:64) 

1964

Jan 26- Dagbreek commented on the fact that the editor of The World, M.T. Moerawe, also the Parliamentary reporter for the paper shared an office with a white reporter and used the same toilet facilities. Certain newspapermen complained and Moerawe ceased using the offices. (IRR 1964 p48)

Apr- Police raided the offices of the New African, confiscating correspondence, address plates, financial books, subscription lists and 2,000 copies of the latest issue. (IRR 1964 p47)

Jun- Anthony Delius, Cape Times political correspondent, was permanently banned from covering Parliament. (Potter p133)

Aug 7- African Communist was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act.(Merrett p65) 

Editor of Post jailed under the Criminal Procedures Act for refusing to reveal sources. (Merrett: 64) 

Stanley Uys, political correspondent for the Sunday Times was questioned by police after he reported that 'strange things' had happened during the recess of the opening of the Transkei Parliament. (Potter p141-142)

M.T. Moerawe, the editor of The World and Nat Nakasa, a journalist, were denied passports. (IRR 1964 p50)

Mark Green, ex-New York Times journalist was denied a permanent residence permit after he was offered a permanent post in South Africa. (IRR 1964 p52) 

1965

Jan 11- 90-day detention was suspended, at which point 1095 detentions had taken place- 13 for 180 days or more. Journalists figured prominently- Ruth First (New Age), Margaret Smith (Sunday Times), Paul Trewhela (Rand Daily Mail), Hugh Lewin and Raymond Eisenstein (Merrett:48)

Mar- Daily Dispatch complained of 'unexpected attacks' on it in three successive SABC broadcasts arising from its criticisms of certain actions by Chief Kaiser Matanzima. (IRR 1965 p45)

Apr- The Sunday Times (London) seized to black out a quote by Nelson Mandela. (IRR 1965 p42)

May- New African banned. (IRR 1965 p43)

Jul- Rand Daily Mail published a report on prisons by Benjamin Pogrund. 

On Jul 2, the Rand Daily Mail offices are raided and the typescript of articles and notes were seized. (Potter... Aug- Passports are withdrawn from Benjamin Pogrund and Laurence Gander after a series on prisons was published in the Rand Daily Mail. (Potter p124) 

1966

Writers Todd Matshikiza, Bloke Modisane, Es'kia Mphahele, Lewis and Can Thema silenced under Suppression of Communism Act of 1965 (Merrett:53)

Abdul Kays, a journalist, was served with a banning order making it impossible for him to continue his work as a journalist. Kays sat on a 'District 6 Defence Committee' which was fighting against a predominately coloured area being proclaimed white. (IRR 1966 p67) 

Charles Cannon, a TV cameraman, was served with a banning order and was forced to give up his employment. (IRR 1966 p69)

No journalists were allowed to come to South Africa during Senator Robert Kennedy's visit. (IRR 1966 p72)

Two newsmen from Holland who wanted to record material on the Christian Institute were refused visas. (IRR 1966 p72)

Joseph Lelyreld, New York Times correspondent, was forced to leave the country when his residence permit was not renewed. (IRR 1966 p73) 

1967

Varsity, student paper from the University of Cape Town, was suspended from 1967 to 1968. (Merrett p67)

Dr. Ralph Emerson McGill, publisher of the Atlanta Constitution and Dr. J. Bruins Slot, editor in chief of the Amsterdam Trouw were denied visas. (IRR 1967 p49) 

1968

Seven English language journalists were jailed under the Criminal Procedures Act, 1955. (Potter p127)

1969

Jul- Laurence Gander and Benjamin Pogrund were found guilty under Section 44(F) of the Prison Act of publishing false information about prisons without taking reasonable steps to verify the information. Gander was fined R100 or three months on each of two counts, SAAN was fined R150 on each count and Pogrund received a three month suspended sentence on each count. (Potter p125-126)

Oct- Several reporters from the Rand Daily Mail were detained and questioned while investigating a story about a tent town in Morsgat. (Potter p156)

M.T. Moerawe, editor of The World was refused a passport. (IRR 1969)

David Garner, the editor of Drum, was forced to leave the country when the renewal of his residence permit was refused. (IRR 1969)

Russell W. Howe, an American journalist, was refused entry. (IRR 1969)

1960's

The editor of an opposition paper was raided by detectives of the Special Branch for no particular reason, three-quarters of an hour after the post arrived. The mail had unexpectedly contained a communist weekly of which possession of was illegal. The editor ordered it destroyed immediately- when the Special Forces arrived, there was no trace of the publication. The implication is that it was 'planted'. (Potter p155)