Army deployment to SABC nothing extraordinary as public broadcaster is a National Key Point, says employee.
Ntuli added that, as a National Key Point delivering an essential service to the nation and considering the recent attacks on SABC journalists, it was deemed necessary that the physical premises and the employees working in these offices be protected.
She said the deployment was at most of its National Key Point premises around the country, including its headquarters in Auckland Park. Defence analyst Helmoed Heitman said the deployment of the SANDF to the public broadcaster is of no significance unless the Presidency has been informed of an insurrection.
“I think this is probably just precautionary in case people want to cause trouble in the country again. In history, the first thing that’s always done when staging a coup is an attack on the broadcasting centres. Protecting the SABC buildings is probably part of a standard roll-out plan because when there is unrest in an area, you automatically do that,” said Heitman.
He added: “There are contingency plans. When there’s unrest, there’s a list of things or buildings which need to be protected. I don’t think there is anything sinister. However, it is possible that they have the intelligence that someone plans to occupy the buildings, but more likely it is just a routine of what they do in these situations.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Army presence at SABC likely to curtail media freedom - rights bodyRight2Know (R2K) said the SANDF presence will not only make SABC journalists feel intimidated, but also members of the public who work as sources for the journalists.
Read more »
Army deployment at SABC a routine check or intelligence tip-off - analystThe public broadcaster said on Saturday that the army’s deployment was in light of the unrest in KZN and Gauteng in July.
Read more »
Deployment of SANDF to SABC offices nothing new - DlaminiSANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said the deployment was to place the officers at national key points.
Read more »
SABC dismisses 'malicious' claims: 'There are no soldiers in our newsroom'The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) has deployed soldiers to the SABC to protect journalists and not to interfere with its news operations, the public broadcaster said at the weekend.
Read more »
SABC dismisses 'malicious' claims: 'There are no soldiers in our newsroom'The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) has deployed soldiers to the SABC to protect journalists and not to interfere with its news operations, the public broadcaster said at the weekend.
Read more »