Billboard erected near Al Sabah hospital in Juba |Photo: AMDISS|
By Vincent Samuel,
The Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) expressed deep concern over the stern warning issued by the Parliament’s Spokesperson, Oliver Mori Benjamin, forewarning the media to cease reporting divergent views of the opposition legislators.
On 27 May, Oliver Mori, who doubles as the chairperson of the standing specialized committee for information, in the transitional national legislative assembly, cautioned the journalists and media houses to stop reporting the views of MPs who are critical of the country’s President, Salva Kiir Mayardit and the ruling party, SPLM (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.
This follows the drama at the parliament where some lawmakers denounced the endorsement of President Kiir’s candidature for the December elections.
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Mori went on and said that “anybody who goes ahead and does otherwise will bear the consequences of his/her action.”
AMDISS considers Mori’s warning as a clear intimidation of journalists and media houses as well as a restriction on freedom of expression and civic space.
“In the spirit of promoting dialogue in South Sudan and creating space for journalists to do their work, AMDISS strongly urges Mori to withdraw his warning and refrain from using rude words against the media,” the press statement extended to Golden Times read.
AMDISS is a not-for-profit member-based media organization founded in 2003 by South Sudanese senior journalists to address the news and information void in Southern Sudan and to improve the capacity of national journalists to respond to the crucial issues of human rights, good governance, freedom of expression and democracy in this great nation.
