South Sudan: Union urges rights group to focus on media rights

The secretary general of the union, Bongiri Peter Ladu, who is also the ambassador to South Sudan representing the Center for International Media Ethics (CIME), presented the monthly media reports to CIME, describing the media situation in South Sudan as tearing and furious between government and the media.

"Journalists are not happy the way their colleagues are being treated and that their life safety is not guaranteed due to pending of the media law in South Sudan," said Ladu.

According to journalists, once a media house published sensitive things against any individual or government institutions, unidentified security officers wreak havoc on the media house detaining or seizing papers without the persons taking any legal step, and at the end no one is held responsible for such behaviours he added.

The union welcomed the release of the two journalists, the editor of Destiny newspaper, Ngor Garang and his deputy Dengdit Ayok, lauded intervention of high government officials including other rights groups, he noted.

Meanwhile he called on all other institutions to work towards a better media environment and the protection of press freedom and individuals in our nation.

Ladu added that arresting of journalists or suspending media house will not solve the problem, but will take it higher to make more defaults that are not intended. Journalists must act responsibly for their integrity; however it is very harmful to put someone under detention for a number of days without justification, said Ladu.

He appealed to the government especially the national parliament to do their best in passing the media bill so that journalists can act within the jurisdiction that the law allows.

Source: allAfrica.com