South Sudanese media regulator has warned journalists against
what it termed as an "assassination of the country and its government".
Speaking
at a forum on Freedom of Expression and Journalists' Safety held in
Juba on Thursday, the director of media compliance at the South Sudan
Media Authority, Mr Sapana Lado, accused reporters of fuelling the
crisis in the war-torn country through biased reporting.
He said local journalists lacked patriotism and were acting as foreign agents.
“Our
problem is that our journalists are acting as vendors selling South
Sudan. Most of the negative reports that appear or are released by
international media agencies are collected by the local media in Juba.
“You should stop assassinating the character of this country and its government,” Mr Lado told journalists.
He threatened to take reporters critical of the country and government to court.
“I wish I will still live long so that you [journalists] face the high court,” he said.
This is not the first time that the media regulator has threatened reporters.
Last
year, it banned about 20 foreign journalists from entering the country
on what it said was “unfounded reporting that can incite violence”.
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But,
Mary Ajith, the acting chairperson of the Association of Media
Development in South Sudan said the comments by Mr Lado were
unacceptable as they threatened the lives of journalists in the country.
She dismissed the claims that the local media was biased, saying rather that it only reported matters as they are.
“If
a civil society activist tells the truth to the media, that truth is
censored. But when a government official give false news, it is
published. Now, who is giving fake news, the media or the government?
She posed.
Lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Reech Malual, also slammed Mr Lado.
“Legally
it is wrong to issue such statements which constitutes threats against
journalists by a responsible official serving in the responsible arm of
government. It is a hate speech,” he said.
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Early
this month, President Salva Kiir warned foreign envoys and media in the
country against publishing negative reports about South Sudan, saying
that it was hurting and delaying the restoration of peace and stability.
South Sudan has been ravaged by a four-year civil war that erupted barely two years after it seceded from Sudan.
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