Ed's note: The following statement has been sent out by Sanef in response to a decision by the Forum of Black Journalists.

The South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) strongly deplores the decision by the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) to exclude journalists who are not members of the organization from a meeting to be addressed later today by the President of the African National Congress (ANC) Jacob Zuma.

The decision effectively means the exclusion of white journalists from the meeting. Such exclusion has no place in South Africa today and certainly not in a forum that represents journalists.

Sanef respects the FBJ's right to organise and associate as it sees fit provided this does not undermine the open society and democratic values of our constitution and country. Our democracy came after a hard fought struggle at several levels including the media and every effort should be made to protect it.

The address by an important leader such as Zuma is of great public importance, particularly given his views on the media. It is in the interests of journalism and the public at large that this meeting should be open to all journalists wishing to report on it. Sanef therefore calls on the FBJ to rescind the decision and allow all journalists to report on it.