S. Sudanese security downplay targeting journalists
November 22, 2014 (JUBA) – Members of South Sudanese security services have dismissed reports claiming they are political tools used by the government to target journalists critical of the current regime.
“There is a total ignorance of the important role the security does in this country. The principle of objective of the security services is to keep the country safe and secure from any threat, whether it comes from within or outside,” the official said on Saturday.
“This requires application of certain measures to ensure safety of all citizens and legal foreign nationals without discrimination,” he added.
However, the official said security agents are often misunderstood by some members of the public who misinterpret their work nature.
“I want you to know that we are also citizens of this country. What we are doing is just like the work which other people do in different capacities in different institutions. If there is a difference, it could be because we pay much attention to the national interest more than any other institution,” he said.
“So it is incorrect to say that we can be used against our own people. We are not targeting anybody. It is the way you work, especially you in the media that brings us into conflict with you and other members of the public. If you do work well, we will not be in problem with you. The same applies to other members. What is important is cooperation and respecting our role and duties, after all the country belongs to all of us and requires working together,” he added.
On Friday, South Sudanese journalist Mading Ngor claimed he was assaulted by a presidential guard member in the capital, Juba.
“At around 10pm last night I dropped a friend home by car at the Juba suburb of Jebel, some 10 minutes away from my neighbourhood. On my way back home, a man wearing civilian clothes suddenly emerged near the road I was driving in, apparently pointing a gun at me. I panicked. I immediately concluded that I was dealing with a carjacker. I accelerated down a slope,” he said.
Ngor claimed he was pulled out of the car, slapped on the cheek and later dragged into a detention cell where he spent a night.
“Some of the soldiers wanted to beat me up, but the prison warder refused. They also began to quarrel so loud over my car key custody such that I thought they would open fire,” he recounted.
The journalist deplored conditions in the cells, saying inmates slept on the floor and used one bed sheet as their mattress as well as blanket.
He said some soldiers have already been arrested in connection with the incident.
(ST)