Op-Ed: Awaiting Concrete Action by GOSS on Press Freedom

By Michael Koma, UJOSS Secretary General

On May 3rd this year, the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) marked World Press Freedom Day in a small hotel room in Juba. May 3rd was proclaimed by the United Nations as a day of celebrating and evaluating the fundamental principles of press freedom around the world, as well as defending the media from attacks on their independence and paying tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while trying to do their jobs.

Thursday September 1, 2011

In this edition of The People’s Voice, we celebrate the declaration of South Sudan as a new member of the United Nations family but, also take stock of press freedom in the new nation with articles on examples of attacks on the media, the phenomena of self-censorship by journalists, and World Press Freedom Day, as well as an interview with the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) Minister of Information.

In his capacity as GOSS official spokesman, the incumbent caretaker Minister of Information, Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin, assured a joint meeting of Media Diversity Institute and UJOSS delegates in April that the government would pass the Media Bill into law before the independence declaration on the 9 July – which has not happened.

We in UJOSS would like to remind GOSS to fulfill its pledge of supporting press freedom through action. We would like to see the enactment of the long-awaited Media Bill into law as stipulated in the Transitional Constitution of the newest Republic in Africa.

The Union is also renewing its call to the government to stop arresting and intimidating journalists. It must protect media freedom to show the rest of the world that it deserved independence. There have been cases where security officials have confiscated newspapers and even arrested journalists. This is unacceptable and must stop if we are to move ahead as a nation.

As the 193rd member of the United Nations, which includes membership of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), South Sudan is obliged by international agreements to behave in conformity with regard to values promoting democracy, and one of the tenets of democracy is press freedom.

It is important to mention here that this special edition of The People’s Voice, on press freedom, has been sponsored by UNESCO’s Communication and Information Programme in the region, among other donors, in order to promote press freedom in South Sudan.

Despite the bad blood between the government and the independent media there is room for patching up relations through dialogue. In the past, South Sudan may have had an excuse for not taking action against its officials violating press freedoms but it must act now, having attained independence. As a country, we must comply with global convention in handling the media, freedom of expression and the right to information.

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