The Publishers Association of SA (Pasa) says it is likely that the State Security Agency’s (SSA’s) cease-and-desist letter to author Jacques Pauw and NB Publishers – which released Pauw's book The President's Keepers – is the first of its kind to be served on any publisher or author in democratic SA, according to a BusinessLIVE report.

Pasa’s Mpuka Radinku described the move as ‘shocking’, saying Pasa stood by the principle of freedom to publish, which is supported by the International Publishers Association. ‘The SSA must withdraw the cease-and-desist letter and seek better ways to address their concerns,’ Radinku said. ‘Their action is reminiscent of the draconian treatment associated with the apartheid government or dictatorships elsewhere in the world.’

Radinku said he believed there were better avenues for aggrieved parties to seek recourse and that the cease-and-desist letter was not one of them. He said issuing such a letter was a form of state censorship and intimidation. ‘It is astonishing that a government run by people who suffered under apartheid and fought against censorship are the ones who champion this unacceptable practice. This is a betrayal of the vision of a post-apartheid SA that most people fought for,’ Radinku said.

The report adds the Cape Town Press Club condemned the intimidation of Pauw, saying ‘the Intelligence Act is being misused in a transparently vile attempt to draw a cloak of secrecy over the exposure of corruption in government'. The Right2Know Campaign said it viewed the actions of both the SSA and SARS as ‘crude acts of censorship, aimed to intimidate investigative journalists and protect the corrupt and powerful’. Corruption Watch also condemned the SSA and SARS threats, describing them as ‘highly compromised and captured state institutions’.

Full BusinessLIVE report