Media dragged into spooks' battles – editors Law allowing intelligence agents to raid property worries Sanef

[Star, 2007/07/10] 

By Angela Quintal 

South Africa's editors want a public commitment from the intelligence agencies not to recruit or spy on journalists, infiltrate spies in newsrooms or allow agents to represent themselves as reporters. 

The call by the South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) is contained in a submission to the ministerial review commission on intelligence, headed by former deputy safety and security minister Joe Matthews. 

The submission by Sanef's media freedom committee, chaired by veteran editor Raymond Louw, is one of three published on the Intelligence Ministry's website. The commission, launched in November last year, is tasked with making recommendations to Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils on, among other things, "reducing the potential for illegal conduct and abuse of power".  

The closing date for submissions has been extended to July 16. 

The Sanef submission details how the apartheid regime maintained spies in newsrooms and thrived on disinformation and misinformation - conduct since rejected under democratic rule as outlined in the 1994 white paper on intelligence. 

However, referring to the so-called hoax e-mails leaked to the media last year, Sanef notes that more recently the country's intelligence services have been driven by political differences and that journalists were being sucked in. 

This demonstrated that existing provisions were insufficient to keep these forces from abusing their mandate, the submission says "The saga shows that improper agendas within the intelligence services can thus intrude directly on the media as the vehicle of public information and potential influencer of public opinion."

It was in no one's interest that the media should become a pawn, or a player, in "secret factional activity", the submission says. 

"The best way to avoid any such occurrences is to set parameters and boundaries that will insulate the media from the intelligence services in principle - whether or not there are elements in these services which behave unprofessionally."  The submission specifically calls for a public commitment from the intelligence services: recognizing the constitutionally enshrined role and protection of the media;

avoiding the recruitment of journalists or infiltrating spies in newsrooms; not to spy on journalists; and for agents not to represent themselves as journalists for spying activities.   

In addition, the submission also expresses concern about section 11 of the Intelligence Service Act, which allows for intelligence agents to enter premises and take possession of material.  

"Though the action is predicated on an application to a high court judge for permission to be granted, we note there is no provision, should the premises concerned be of an editor, for prior notification so that a defence can be mounted before the judiciary."

Without such a safeguard, authorities could gain access to journalists' confidential sources of information, the Sanef submission says. 

The Intelligence Services Oversight Act was also problematic, as it gave powers to the inspector-general of intelligence to invade people's and thus journalist's property, the submission says. Section 7 (8) (c) states that the inspector-general shall have access to any intelligence information or premises which are not under control of any public service "and shall be entitled to demand from such person such intelligence, information reports and explanation as may be deemed necessary".   

Published on the web by Star on July 9, 2007.

Warning on spooks' power [Mail and Guardian Online, 05 July 2007]

Percy Zvomuya and Nic Dawes | Johannesburg, South Africa

05 July 2007 11:59

Much tighter control of the spies at the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is needed to prevent them from abusing their broad domestic security mandate, civil society and media groups have told a ministerial review commission.

"There is a critical lack of specificity in relation to the exercise of executive powers, especially in terms of the conduct of domestic intelligence operations of a politically sensitive nature," the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) warns in a submission to the commission.

Ministerial authorisation should be required before spying on South African citizens and accountability to Parliament should be strengthened, the ISS suggested.

The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) and the South African History Archive (Saha) also warned against the erosion of civil liberties and the manipulation of the press by unfettered domestic intelligence gathering.

The commission was set up by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils in the wake of the "hoax email" and illegal surveillance scandals surrounding sacked NIA boss Billy Masetlha.

Chairperson Joe Matthews, with a former speaker of the National Assembly, Frene Ginwala, and academic Laurie Nathan are charged with reviewing the operations of the agencies under Kasrils's control, principally the NIA and the South African Secret Service (Sass), which is responsible for foreign intelligence-gathering.

In its submissions the ISS noted that the email saga showed there was a "lack of sufficient control on the use of intrusive methods of investigation". The incident also demonstrated "the continued politicisation of domestic intelligence operations and the potential for misuse of authority in the conduct of political intelligence operations".

The ISS recommended that Parliament's joint standing committee on intelligence improve its mandate to provide democratic oversight and hold the intelligence community to account. This could be achieved by appointing an opposition MP as committee chairperson.

The ISS recommended that the intelligence minister "should, periodically, review the powers and functions of the director general of [the] NIA in relation to the conduct of politically sensitive intelligence operations".

Sanef has expressed concern about a clause in the Intelligence Services Act that makes it possible for intelligence agents to enter newspaper premises and seize materials. Raymond Louw, chairperson of Sanef's media freedom committee, noted that although seizures of material could be carried out only with the permission of a high court judge, it was a matter for concern that editors were not "notified in advance so that a defence can be mounted".

Sanef argued that the granting of the search and seizure rights, without safeguards, "could seriously harm journalism by providing a gateway to the authorities" who want to gain "access to journalists' confidential sources of information".

Sanef expressed concern about the potential for manipulation of the media by the intelligence services.

Louw argued that "the [hoax email] saga shows that improper agendas within the intelligence services can thus intrude directly on the media as the vehicle of public information and potential influencer of public opinion.

"It is not in anyone's interest that the media should become a pawn, or a player, in secret factional activity," he said.

The Saha proposed a set of principles to manage the tension between the democratic principle of transparency and the need for intelligence agencies to operate in secret. The principles stand on two legs -- "institutional structures to ensure legitimacy and accountability" and measures to protect and encourage free access to information

"No restriction of … civil liberties may be imposed on the grounds of national security unless the state can demonstrate that the restriction is lawful and necessary," the Saha said. The organisation said the state "shall have the burden of demonstrating the validity of the restriction in a court of law".

Kasrils appoints commission to revamp intelligence [SABC News, 2006/11/01]

November 01, 2006, 16:45

Ronnie Kasrils, the intelligence minister, has appointed a high level ministerial commission to review the control mechanisms for intelligence service operations. Kasrils says this has become necessary in the light of certain malpractices and abuse of State power within the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

The past two years have not been too easy for the intelligence agencies. Hoax emails, interception of telephone calls of high profile individuals and a fall out with Billy Masetlha, the former NIA's head, have characterised the workings of his ministry. Restoring the image and undertaking fundamental reforms in preventing such abuses will be key to the three-person commission's work.

Kasrils says they need to review legislation and strengthen regulations, operational procedures and control measures where necessary. He also pointed out the need to attend to what he described as the perfidious mentality that enabled these dirty tricks to take place. Controls of funding covert operations, control of intrusive methods of investigation are some of the other issues that will be looked at.

Commission to be independent
The three-person commission consists of Frene Ginwala, the former Speaker of Parliament, Joe Matthews, the deputy minister of safety and security, and Laurie Nathan, international conflict specialists.

The NIA, SA secret service and office for the interception center are some of the six entities that will be investigated. The minister has stressed that the commission will be independent and they will submit a public report to him that must contain some practical recommendations for the intelligence community. The first phase of the commission's work must be completed by June next year.

DA welcomes intelligence-review commission [SAPA, 2006/11/01]

Cape Town, South Africa

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has welcomed the ministerial review commission on intelligence announced by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils on Wednesday.

"In particular, we are pleased with the clearly transparent process and public involvement," DA spokesperson Paul Swart said in a statement.

The commission's aim to strengthen mechanisms of control of the civilian intelligence structures to ensure full compliance with the Constitution, legislation and the rule of law were both welcome and overdue.

The recent intelligence scandal involving the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) did not, by itself, trigger the review, but instead highlighted the need for it.

"We have been on the record long before those events on the need to review intelligence structures, especially the activities referred to as political and economic intelligence.

"We are pleased that the focus includes the topics of control over inclusive methods of investigation and the funding of covert operations."

The first phase of the commission's report, to be completed by June 30 2007, would enable the minister to move forward with proper control mechanisms over intelligence services operations.

"We wish the commission success in [its] important work and assure them of the DA's support," Swart said. -- Sapa