By Yohannes Kong Tut
(Gurtong Edited)-This is to sympathize with those journalists who were arrested in Juba for allegedly writing and attacking the person of President Salva Kiir and family in Juba. Since the last five years or so, a number of South Sudanese became occupied in series of internet debates and online forums, publication of articles, analysis, and occasionally by merely stating contradicting personal views and opinions. It is true that most of those who spend their time on this behaviour are either cronies of political parties, social activists or individuals who view things on the derivation of tribes, clans or subdivisions among others.
It would be better pointed out that some affiliate members of online forums and newspapers are communally or tribally owned as would be opposed to public. Most reporters or editors also take side depending on who they support or whichever measures they are encouraging in downward twisting of others.
There is an outraging public ailment here about which news is accurate or erroneous as phony “cock-and-bull stories” of news become a duty to all reporters and those who back them up in production of negative comments. In short, there is more to be done about media in South Sudan in terms of reform and others.
Reporting:
Media reporting is governed by freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly as established internationally through the UN’s UDHR, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, African Union Charter and all laws governing the codes of conduct. Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”
As the article states, it is clear that any attack of personal privacy is against Human Rights law whether that attack was carried out by Human Rights agents or journalists or any party that may be involved. President Kiir would be right to hold those who attack him accountable and responsible for their action under article 12 of UDHR.
Discrimination:
All attributes to discrimination are not acceptable in proper journalism on the basis of race; gender….as article 16 of UN’s Human Rights Charter declares it as “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.
(1) They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution:
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State”.
As we can clearly see under clear lights of this article, marital discrimination is not encouraged at all under any circumstances or form. This implies to the fact that there is no any reason why an Ethiopian national cannot engage a South Sudanese in marriage. It is absolutely her choice and not even Salva can force her.
What sense does it make to publish negative personal attributes of others in the name of journalism or media? Any journalist is always expected to reveal any form of discrimination, torture or mistreatment on the basis of tribe, clan or ethnic backgrounds but I wonder how those journalists of Juba seem to be encouraging attributes and traits that can divide people of the same country and nations so far. What school of journalism did teach them like that and under what code of conduct?
Freedom of expression:
There is no freedom without it consequences as it is often cited. You cannot express your opinions and how you feel about things up to the extend of hurting or embarrassing others as article 19 of Universal Declarations of Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
For example, if you feel like writing an article titled “Nyan Beny”, you don’t need to voice your personal opinions strongly rather than reporting only the views collected or the situation surrounding the event and scene of reporting. Freedom of everything should be kept within it limits just as you cannot drive off the limits of the road or you are dead or just as you cannot eat beyond limit or you make others hungry.
“Newspapers are the first chroniclers of history, and the mission of reporters lies in the constant pursuit of truth. Reporting must be accurate and fair, and should never be swayed by the reporter's personal conviction or bias. Editorial comment should be an honest expression of the writer's belief, not to court popularity” (The Canon of Journalism on Accuracy and Fairness of the report).
The “Nyan Beny” article that resulted in detention is a pure violation of the code quoted above and all the biased reports that were attributed to it.
“Member newspapers uphold their independence in the interests of fair comment and free speech. They must reject interference by any outside forces, and resolve to remain vigilant against those who may wish to use the newspapers for their own purposes. On the other hand, they should willingly give space to opinions that differ from their own, provided such opinions are accurate, fair and responsible” (Canon of Journalism on Independence and Tolerance of the report).
Based on this quoted article, the newspaper that published “Nyan Beny”should be able to dismiss those who were involved in those fabrications as a mean to gain favour and forgiveness from the offended party. They should be totally terminated for life from reporting for failing to remain vigilant against those who urged them to use the newspaper for personal purposes.
“Member newspapers should pay utmost respect to the dignity of human beings, put a high value on individuals' honor and give serious consideration to their right to privacy. They should also acknowledge errors and correct them promptly, and in cases when an individual or a group has been unjustly maligned, adequate steps should be taken to rectify the situation, including the provision of an opportunity to reply” (Canon of Journalism on Respect for Human Rights).
The newspaper should make an apology to President openly even before making any petition for release of their journalists. Human Rights Watch and all other rights agencies cannot condemn the detention of those who openly violate human rights constantly by attacking and interfering with other people’s privacy.
Political activism:
If you read some of the articles published by some journalists in South Sudan, you will clearly detect that some of them are having tough moment distinguishing political activism and journalism. As their audience, you can even realize based on the tone of their writings that they are not impartial. They are followers of parties, tribes, and other curiosity groups as would be opposed to media laws. These individuals need orientation on how to be reporting accurately and fairly with applicable aspect to respecting human rights.
I fully agree that they should be freed without any condition whatsoever and that they should stick to the norms of good reporting in real media world. They should work hard to overcome attribution to biased media as well as refraining from tribal manipulation of news in South Sudan. Vilification, slandering, libeling and all acts of famacide should be avoided by these folks. These persons are not journalists but are opinionated activists who remain objected to foreigners (Ethiopians and others) and are rationalizing their falsifying state of unconstructive emotions in the name of journalism.
The government of South Sudan should fashion ways to educate reporters to stick to their policy of appropriate demeanor when exposing, and to preserve neutrality as to not affirm strong personal views or all kinds of assorted feelings resulting in misrepresentation of issues.
Finally, if you read the “Nyan Beny” article carefully, you will notice that there is no any featuring of journalism in it. It is mainly personal and anchored by author’s feelings and outrage of the situation rather than by proficient media consent. He even stated the word “I”, meaning that; there is no connection between the article and journalism. It is actually like saying fish are eggs if ostriches are not cows.
Yohannes Kong Tut, Juba, South Sudan. yboth2010@msn.com