Journalists and security agencies attending the training in Wau. |Credit: AMDISS Facebook Page|
By Chris Anthony, freelance reporter.
Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) with support from UNESCO conducted a three-day training workshop for security agencies, journalists, and directors general on enhancing the understanding of the role of journalists, observance of media framework, access to information, and safety of journalists in Wau, Western Bahr-El-Ghazal State.
The training brought together 52 participants from the South Sudan Police Service, SSPDF (South Sudan People’s Defence Forces), Military Intelligence, National Security Service, media managers, and freelance reporters to build trust and confidence, besides building relationships in the interest of protecting the right to freedom of expression and media freedom to cover events without intimidation.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, the Chairperson of the Executive Board of AMDISS, Josephine Achiro called upon the participants to discuss their issues in good faith as well as build effective working relations between the media and security sector.
“Please, discuss freely,” Achiro urged the security and journalists. “Whatever will be discussed in this training hall should not be used against any of you. In the workshop, you are free to discuss and if there is anyone here who is not willing to mend the relations with his brother or sister in this hall, he or she is in the wrong place,” she cautioned.
Achiro said as the country prepares for elections, there was a need to foster working relations between the media and journalists to create a conducive environment for electoral coverage across the country.
She affirmed her organisation’s commitment to continue building the capacity of journalists’ capacity to report ethically and professionally during and after the forthcoming polls.
“For journalists, you must be accurate, credible, objective, neutral, and independent in your practice. Never add your own opinion in the story. Report as it is. You may have your opinion as a human being but you should not express it in the news article that you’re writing because it is not about yourself but rather, you are working to amplify the voices of the public and bridge the information gap,” she asserted.
On his part, the Director General of the State Ministry of Information and Communication, David John Jongo commended AMDISS for piloting the training workshop to Western Bahr el-Ghazal State at the right time, saying the people of Bahr-el-Ghazal thirst for knowledge and capacity building.
He appealed to UNESCO to continue supporting the media organisations especially AMDISS which has been consistently building the capacity of journalists and media houses across the country.
“Thank you AMDISS for coming back to Wau. Your service to the people of Wau is always highly welcome. I would like to urge the reporters and journalists in this hall to pay attention to the facilitators and gain skills and knowledge to better your standards,” Jongo appealed.
UNESCO Representative, Mr. Paul Knight extended the regards of UNESCO Country Representative Mr. Julius Banda to the participants, affirming the unwavering support of UNESCO for media development in the country.
“UNESCO has been supporting the media for many years,” Paul said. “It is through this support that AMDISS and many other national media organisations were able to deliver the much-needed training and capacity building of media personnel across the country.”
“I am so encouraged and motivated by your punctuality,” he said. “When I came here, I found most of you already sited and waiting for facilitators. This is so encouraging. In your media houses, please use the local language or vernaculars spoken in your areas for people to understand and participate in your radio talk shows effectively. Your task is to inform the public and you have to do so for the sake of having an informed society.”
Meanwhile, the Director of Kuajok FM Radio Santino Manut Manyual appealed to AMDISS and the Union of Journalists of South Sudan to work together for the welfare of journalists and media houses in the country.
He expressed disappointment over the shrinking media landscape in the country, characterized by censorship, impunity, arrest, and detention of journalists.
“We have lost so many journalists since the independence of this country. Especially in Wau where many journalists were killed in the line of duty in Raja County. Since then, no perpetrator has been arrested or even identified. I am so disappointed because seems people are now forgetting this unfortunate incident. I would like to call upon the media support organisations and government to work together to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of these journalists and reparation should be provided to their families,” Manut appealed.
The participants at the event commended AMDISS and UNESCO for bringing on board well-qualified facilitators to share their skills and knowledge with the participants.
Some police officers and soldiers said it was their first time to understand the right to freedom of expression, the right of access to information, and provisions in the transitional constitution of the land preserving these rights.
The journalists appealed to the government to implement the reviewed harsh sections of the National Security Act 2014, particularly Sections 54 and 55 which empower the security agencies to arrest people without a warrant of arrest.
