"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.
South Sudan security detains two journalists CPJ Press Freedom Online
New York, November 7, 2011–Two South Sudanese independent journalists have been imprisoned since last week over a column critical of President Salva Kiir, according to local journalists and news reports. On November 1, South Sudan National Security …
South Sudan security detains two journalists
over a column
New York, November 7, 2011-Two South Sudanese independent journalists have been imprisoned since last week over a column critical of President Salva Kiir, according to local journalists and news reports.
On November 1, South Sudan National Security Services (NSS) agents in the temporary capital of Juba arrested Peter Ngor, editor of the private daily Destiny, and ordered the indefinite suspension of his newspaper for running an October 26 opinion article by columnist Dengdit Ayok, news reports said. The article, titled “Let Me Say So,” criticized the president for allowing his daughter to marry an Ethiopian national and accused him of “staining his patriotism,” news reports said.
In an official letter sent to Destiny, NSS Director Gen. Akol Koor accused the newspaper of non-adherence to “the media code of conduct and professional ethics,” and of publishing “illicit news” that was defamatory, inciting, and invading the privacy of personalities. NSS agents arrested Ayok on Saturday.
Neither journalist has had access to a lawyer or been officially charged, local journalists told CPJ.
“It’s alarming to see the world’s newest nation already arresting journalists under vaguely worded accusations,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes. “We call on the authorities to release the journalists and lift the ban on the newspaper.”
The two journalists were held in a security detention center in the Jebel Market area in Juba, but were moved today to an undisclosed location, local journalists told CPJ. Before the paper was shut down, its staff published an apology to the First Family for the comments in the article, and suspended Ayok for a month, said Abraham Malek, senior editor with the Arabic-language daily sister publication, Al-Masier.
Information Minister Benjamin Marial told CPJ that he was unaware of the detentions and said his office would look into the matter. South Sudan’s constitution dictates that a suspect may not be held for more than 24 hours if not released on bond or produced in court.
In September, CPJ released a report on South Sudan that described the concerns voiced by journalists in the world’s newest nation. After decades of armed struggle for independence, they said, “the former rebels turned government officials still harbor a war mentality that is unaccustomed to criticism, and they are not prepared to extend the freedoms they fought hard to attain.”
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CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.
PRESS RELEASE – Destiny Newspaper shut down by security services
The Association for Media Development in South Sudan, AMDISS, has learnt with dismay the arrest of a journalist and editor of Destiny English daily newspaper, Ngor Garang, on Wednesday 2nd November 2011. Reportedly, Mr. Garang was arrested by the Security services for an article that appeared in Destiny expressing an opinion.
To date, since his arrest on 2nd November, Mr. Ngor Garang still remains in detention without being charged pursuant to any press freedom offences that are defined by law. Furthermore, the deputy editor in chief of Destiny, Mr. Deng Ayok, reportedly the author of the opinion piece that sparked off the arrest of the editor, has also been detained and the Destiny paper was shut down.
AMDISS is very concerned by the intervention of security services to shut down a media outlet without any recourse to ‘due process’ for handling press and broadcast complaints. This regrettably is coupled with the long detention of alleged offenders of press freedoms without bringing any charges against them before the courts of law in South Sudan for journalistic offences.
AMDISS urges the security services to respect and operate within the rule of law, and further urges the Government of South Sudan and the National Legislature to prioritise passing overdue media legislation bills to protect press freedoms and bring into legal effect ‘due processes’ for press and broadcast complaints handling on journalistic or defamation offences.
AMDISS therefore calls for the immediate release from detention of Ngor Garang the chief editor of Destiny, and Deng Ayok his deputy. The security services have every opportunity to bring before courts any lawful charges against the Destiny newspaper without indefinite detention of the editor and his deputy for journalistic offences (which are not criminal in nature).
PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.
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