South Sudan denies banning circulation of newspapers from North Sudan

June 29, 2011 (JUBA)-The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) on Wednesday denied media reports and allegations claiming that some newspapers from North Sudan have been banned in Jubam, the regional capital.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune in an interview on Wednesday, Baranaba Marial Benjamin, minister of information and broadcasting service in GoSS said his government encourages all freedoms including press and that it would not compromise its obligations.

“The Government of South Sudan has principles and obligations which do not compromise all freedoms including press. All these freedoms are clearly stipulated in the interim constitution of South Sudan”, said Marial.
The official who holds additional post as GoSS spokesperson said the newspapers from North Sudan are circulating in Juba and elsewhere in South Sudan.

“It is not correct that all newspapers from the North have been banned from circulating in the South. The newspapers from the North are actually the ones circulating in abundance in Juba”, said Marial.

Atem Biar Chol, a member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in a separate interview in Juba on Wednesday said that GoSS does not interfere in the media affairs the way the government in Khartoum does.

“If there is somewhere media enjoy all freedom in Sudan, it is South Sudan. The Government of South Sudan does not interfere in the media affairs. The media alone can attest to what I am saying. They are not experiencing what is done in the North”, said Chol.

He went on to accuse the North Sudan state-owned media of acting as a government mouth piece and said he was saddened by its continued lies against the people and Government of South Sudan.

“The media in the North are controlled, they cannot get away with the kind of journalism that they are practising, where they even forget the basic practices in journalism, such as getting the views from the other side in order to come up with a balanced story. What we are witnessing now is appalling and if not checked will lead to loss of public confidence in the media,” he said.

He urged the media to reassess themselves and begin to set the agenda for political discourse and promote healthy debate among stakeholders instead of carrying hate speech and articles, which were only aimed at destroying organisations, political parties and the religious groups.

Chol said while the North Sudanese state-owned media know the facts about disadvantaged Sudanese people, they chose to ignore the truth and instead go with their own fabrications.

(ST)