S. Africa Orders Two British TV Reporters to Leave
The government today ordered two correspondents for British television networks to leave South Africa after officials said their coverage of political unrest broke censorship rules.
Earlier today, the government announced that it will dismantle its board of news censors because reporters have refused to submit stories for review. But it said censorship regulations will remain in force.
Gerrie van Zyl, director general of the Department of Home Affairs, said Michael Buerk of BBC-TV and Peter Sharp of Independent Television News were ordered to leave within 10 days, when their work permits will expire. He said there was no appeal.
Van Zyl, citing the Aliens Act of 1937, declined to give reasons for the expulsions.
Buerk, who has reported from South Africa for nearly four years, was ordered to leave by May 24. Sharp, based in South Africa more than six years, was given until May 22.
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