Zuma addresses congress of editors

ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma says he has been the victim of biased reporting, does not believe there is a struggle for the soul of the ANC and is confident the 2009 election in South Africa will run smoothly.

Addressing a World Editors' Forum lunch in Cape Town yesterday, Zuma said he was "not certain" there was a battle for the soul of the ANC as some commentators had observed and that he had noted that others said the ANC was divided into two - or even three - camps.

Zuma said he believed that the party was getting stronger, that there were no divisions and that the 2009 elections would run even smoother than the previous elections.

He said that in the face of an ever-diminishing parliamentary opposition, the real debate was, in fact, taking place within the al-liance and not Parliament, and this was in keeping with the culture of the ruling party.

On fear that the raging succession debate could polarise South Africa's young democracy, Zuma said he believed that the country's democracy had now matured and faced no threats as constitutionalism was entrenched.

"What we need to guard against is to be intoxicated with that support," said Zuma, in reference to the strength of the ANC.

Zuma's address came on the same day he lost his battle to prevent the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) from accessing a Thint diary locked up in a Mauritius court which could prove that Zuma and Shaik had met with Thint officials.

The 2000 diary belonged to Alain Thetard, the former chief executive of Thales International's South African subsidiary, Thint (Pty) Ltd. The NPA alleges that an agreement on a R500 000 a year bribe was reached at the meeting.

Zuma declined to comment on the outcome of the court case, saying: "I have not talked to my lawyer, we have not analysed it and I cannot comment yet."

He also said that he had suffered at the hands of some media who had tried and convicted him ahead of events surrounding his rape and corrupution trials and he was proceeding with several defamation suits - including against cartoonist Zapiro and Mail and Guardian editor Ferial Haffajee - not to make money, but to underline the right to dignity and human rights.

Zuma told the audience that he agreed there should be press freedom in Zimbabwe but defended the South African government's policy of quiet diplomacy to-wards its neighbour.

He was speaking after the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) board adopted a resolution condemning harassment, arrest, detention and torture of journalists and what the board said was an "overall repressive government policy against a free press".

WAN said it was the Zimbabwean government's policy to suppress press freedom and "asphyxiate the very last private media".

With acknowledgement to Chiara Carter, Sivuyile Mangxamba and Cape Argus.