A leading South Sudanese activist and civil society leader is calling for protection of journalists, saying that a critical media should be accepted as part of a democracy.
Speaking in an interview ahead of World Press Freedom Day, Deng Athuai Mawiir stressed that it would be “a big achievement” for the country if the government could provide an environment free of political interference in the media work.
“Society must appreciate that we are living in a multiparty democracy and multiparty democracy means that people will have divergent views and people are going to criticise either the government or other political parties. So criticism should be tolerated and accepted as part of democracy. In other words, I’m saying a critical press should be accepted as part of a modern day democracy,” Deng said.
He continued, “Some of the criticism may be extreme but that does not mean that the people who criticise you either government officials or individuals should be threatened or attacked physically. They should allow a critical press to thrive because that is a hallmark of democracy and doing this will be a big achievement for the country and will also paint a good political image to attract investment.”
He also reiterated that laws which hinder media freedom should either be repealed or amended.
“As the world will commemorate World Press Freedom Day, I think the best appreciation that government can give journalists lies in critical reforms in all the public sectors. The reforms should be done in a way that allow media access to public information so that the public is better informed and educated,” he stressed.
He further observed that expediting media reforms would translate into business entities investing in the country’s media industry. “The media needs an environment where people who have money can come and invest in the media sector. As you know, the media sector remains one of the strongest pillars in the nation building,” said Deng