Media leader: Sudan journalism ‘a game of football without rules’

March 4, 2010 (JUBA) – The Chairman of the Association for Media
Development in South Sudan, Jacob J. Akol, issued a statement against
harassment of journalists under vague or outdated laws.

The media representative said that covering the election campaign was
like “playing a game of football without clear rules, a Russian
Roulette game where journalist have no idea which opinion expressed
contains the next bullet, worse still for not knowing from whom in
particular the whistle is coming.”

He said that security personnel in South Sudan on Wednesday, March 3,
threatened radio staff of the Catholic Radio Bakheita and Liberty
Radio FM and briefly arrested top officials of these media entities.

Three years ago, Mr. Akol presented draft media laws to the Council of
Ministers, on behalf of local media and human rights organisations,
namely the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS),
Khartoum Centre for Human Rights (KCHR) and international partners
namely the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), Article 19 (A19),
International Media Support (IMS), Olof Palme International Centre
(OPIC).

Mr. Akol said in a press statement yesterday that he pleaded that “in
the absence of well defined media laws we were like footballers
playing the game with out clear rules, in spite of seemingly
comparative (to Khartoum) liberal environment for the media in South
Sudan.”

Although the Minister for Legal and Constitutional Affairs in the GoSS
disputed the idea of no “media laws in place” he was unable to state
what media laws in existence that did not predate the CPA and the
Interim Constitution, said Akol.

“Since then journalists have been harassed and arrested under outdated
security laws by security personnel often directed by unknown
individuals, only to be released soon after when the issue had
threatened to equate Juba with the bad security practices still
operating in Khartoum,” he wrote.

Draft South Sudan media laws are still sitting in the Southern Sudan
Assembly awaiting enactment.

“The Government of Southern Sudan must own the responsibility for
these uncalled for harassments of the media and for foot-dragging on
the passing of the media laws and continuation of this uncertain media
environment in the region,” said the media spokesman.

(ST)