South Sudan’s journalists push for protection
Media groups, journalists and international experts have voiced concern that the drafts of the media bills seen by government officials differs to the one due to be passed by the council of ministers.
They expressed concern that the 16-month-old nation may miss a chance to ensure freedom of expression and protect journalists from repression. Doubts are emerging about when the bill will be passed and what clauses it will contain.
Let us go to our newspapers and radio stations and put out editorials strongly supporting these laws.”
Journalists say that the version of the bill finally passed may not adhere to international best practices, as included in earlier drafts. Human Rights Watch recently warned that the development of the media law should be more inclusive, involving those working in the industry.
Edward Lodu Terso, editor of a weekly newspaper, warned about the difference between two versions of the draft media bills. He called on the government to merge the two documents before submitting them to the National Legislative Assembly - South Sudan’s lower house.
South Sudan Law Society Secretary-General Dong Samuel argued that the lawmaking process in South Sudan is not transparent.
Samuel pledged to lobby ministers to ensure that the same media laws passed by the Council of Ministers are the ones presented and endorsed by the national parliament. The journalists expressed their professional concerns at a solidarity conference on media draft bills organised by AMDISS in Juba.
Alfred Taban, veteran journalist and editor of The Juba Monitor, urged media houses to support the media bills, so that they are passed by the national assembly.
Let us go to the people. Let us go to the public. Let us go to our newspapers and radio stations and put out editorials strongly supporting these laws. And if that does not succeed, let us go to the streets and demonstrate and we say we are demonstrating for the freedom of press or the passage of these laws so that the constituencies that these people represent will be the ones to put pressure on their MPs,” Alfred said.
You will still revise these laws because we are coming up with a new constitution.”
Meanwhile Aleu Ayeny Aleu, a member of the National Legislative Assembly, called for patience, stressing that the media laws were still drafts and would be revised in the future when the new constitution is finalised.
These are not the final bills. They are just drafts, you will still revise these laws because we are coming up with a new constitution,” Aleu said.
