S. Sudan: Media, rights entities protest closure of Lakes state radio
July 2, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudanese media and human rights advocacy group on Tuesday protested against the closure of an independent radio station in its Lakes state.
Using such reasons to take the radio station off the air was an attack on the “heart of South Sudan’s Constitution”, SSHURSA’s statement reads in part.
“This must be condemned by anyone who cares about South Sudan’s current and
future democratic and rule of law based governance”, it adds
The 2011 Transitional Constitution of South Sudan 2011 allows for the right to freedom of expression and media. Article 24(1) states:
“Every citizen shall have the right to the freedom of expression, reception and dissemination of information, publication, and access to the press without prejudice to public order, safety or morals as prescribed by law”.
Garang Deng, a member of South Sudan civil society alliance said the way state authorities acted sends a frightening message to the press and demonstrates the government’s intolerance of independent and critical views.
“Unilateral decision should not be the immediate response of the authorities to issues on which they hold different views”, Deng told Sudan Tribune Tuesday.
Several media and human rights bodies accused Lake state information minister, Dut Makoi Kuok of unilaterally ordering the closure of the radio, allegedly for broadcasting a meeting he held with the station’s management.
Makur Marial, who regularly commented on the radio said government blundered in its decision and that the reasons it put forward did not amount to closure of the Catholic founded station.
“I was not present at the time, but I learned from colleagues that the minister just decided to shut down the radio to show that he is in the position of authority. There are no good reasons he could give to convince the people”, Marial said by telephone from Rumbek, the Lakes state capital.
Some of such reason, according to the minister, includes allegations that the radio station had been reporting on human rights abuses in Lakes state and that the programs and activities at the station have been politicised, he added.
Multiple sources, including activists and local journalists told Sudan Tribune that Lakes state authorities are furious about the way the station reports local politics.
Meanwhile, South Sudan Union of Journalists (SSUJ) called on the authorities to respect the internationally recognised standards of freedom of expression and freedom of the press it purports to uphold, and to cease all further acts of harassment and intimidation against journalists and media houses.
SSUJ, in a statement, further called urged South Sudan’s top leaders, including Lakes state’s governor and the country’s information minister to “quickly” reverse the decision, release all the equipments detained by the state administration and to allow the media to operate freely and without fear of repercussion.
“This is a threat to democracy and human rights; it is an affront to fundamental human rights of the citizen and of the profession which is guaranteed by the constitution of the Republic of South Sudan”, the union’s statement reads in part.
Two year since it attained independence, South Sudan still lack functional media laws, with many of its journalists arrested on shaky grounds and held without trial.
The crack down on the media, media practitioners say, is seen as a contradicting move by a government, which declared its commitment to freedom of the press.
South Sudan, according to Reporters Without Borders, dropped fell 12 places in this year’s press freedom rankings, which placed it at 124 out of 148 countries globally.
(ST)
ST – Human rights group condemns closure of Lakes state radio station
