U.S diplomat urges media authority to protect journalists
May 3, 2022 (JUBA) – The Media Regulatory Authority (MRA) in South Sudan should redouble its efforts to ensure journalists can perform their responsibilities in a safe, protected environment, a U.S diplomat said.
The call from David Renz, the Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. embassy in Juba, South Sudan came on the occasion marking World Press Freedom Day.
World Press Freedom Day, commemorated every May 3, is an occasion for various sectors of society to discuss the state of press freedom, protection of journalists and citizens’ rights to unbiased and accurate information.
“I urge all sectors of society to support the nation’s media organizations in their struggles against censorship, intimidation, unlawful arrests, and extralegal suspension of independent radio stations,” said Renz.
The diplomat emphasized the importance of freedom of the press, which is guaranteed by Article 24 of South Sudan’s Transitional Constitution 2011.
“Allowing the press to operate unimpeded so it can report the news truthfully, accurately, and transparently is central to achieving a fair, free, credible, and democratic election, as President [Salva] Kiir has called for and the South Sudanese people deserve,” he further stressed.
Separately, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment of Progress Organisation (CEPO) said “unlawful” or “undemocratic” restrictions on press freedom creates a rift between the state and its citizens.
“The reality is that many governments involved in unlawful or aggressive legal restriction on press freedom lost greater value of their economic and political stability. The price of restricting press freedom is absolutely expensive than that of embracing press freedom,” he said in a statement.
Yakani said availing press freedom, freedom of expression and civic space would benefit the state in economic, political and foreign relation aspects.
“Any state that is losing economic, political and foreign relation values is always unstable is all aspects,” he observed.
Last year, Reporters Without Borders ranked South Sudan at 139 out of 180 countries on the press freedom index, dropping one place from its 2020 ranking.
(ST)