ANC Blames MultiChoice for Suspending Russian Media Company

ANC leaders are upset following the suspension of Russian media channel, Russia Today, better known as RT. MultiChoice maintains the suspension of the channel was out of its control. 

Leaders from the ANC released a statement Saturday, which called on MultiChoice to reinstate RT on its platform.

RT will no longer be offered on DStv until further notice, MultiChoice said earlier this week. MultiChoice normally airs RT from a feed distributor, but that distributor cut ties with RT following sanctions imposed by the European Union.  

MultiChoice and DStv said they have "no editorial control" on the matter.

The ANC statement also called the European Union's sanctions on Russia, including its media operations, "draconian."

The statement said South Africans should have freedom of choice when it comes to information they intake about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

The RT channel is no longer available on the DStv platform until further notice. The ANC calls it censorship, which negatively impacts the plurality of views and media freedom.

It also wants MultiChoice to unblock RT. MultiChoice said it had no control over the block on the feed. 

By Ben Rappaport