OPINION by Nabila Ismail – The Democratic Alliance (DA) controlled Cape Town City Council must be reminded that Freedom of Expression in our country is protected by our constitution. Furthermore, any attempt to re-introduce an Apartheid /oppressive style regime in our country will be vehemently opposed by all South Africans.

The Media Review Network (MRN) has taken note of the Cape Town City Council’s rejection of the application by the Pro-Palestinian formations for a peaceful and well marshaled protest with astonishment and skepticism. It was the self-same DA Council that conferred the Freedom of the City of Cape Town on Barack Obama, who is responsible for the massacre of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq and now in Syria and Yemen. He has also supported the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

This act of bureaucracy is clearly aimed at eroding the civil liberties of ordinary South Africans. It points in the direction of undeterred backing for the Pro-Israeli lobby groups in our country and by extension the DA’s unwavering support for the illegal Zionist regime in Israel. The ANC Western Cape, in a recent news statement stated: “The ANC demands that the DA stop interfering with activism based on their political and immoral allegiances, and allow civil society its democratic space to protest”. The MRN stands firmly behind these sentiments.

The MRN insists that the City of Cape Town honours and respects our constitution by allowing the freedom of expression to prevail. The Council must not allow its blinded support for an illegal entity, Zionist Israel, to cloud its judgment on fairness and justice. MediaReviewNetwork