South Sudan’s government spokesman yesterday threatened to shut down the United Nations’ operations in the country after the UN radio service aired an interview with an exiled politician.
In remarks yesterday, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Michael Makuei slammed not only the United Nations but also local media houses, East African ceasefire monitors, and Human Rights Watch, which he described as an organization of blood-sucking liars.
As reported elsewhere, Makuei threatened specifically to shut down the UN radio service in South Sudan. Not hitherto reported is that Makuei in fact went further than that, threatening the United Nations more generally.
“That UN — I will shut it down,” he said.
Makuei, who is also the official government spokesperson, alleged on 8 March last year that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was supplying weapons to rebel forces.
In his role as government spokesman, he also declared on 18 April 2014 that unarmed Nuer civilians under the protection of the UN were legitimate military targets. He said this shortly after the massacre of 53 people at the Bor PoC site, near a government military base.
Yesterday, Makuei began his remarks by defending the recent shutdown of Nation Mirror newspaper for “negative agitation.”
“And any of you who writes like that, we will shut him down,” he warned. “Let me be clear with you. Not that only, but we are going further. Last time, we shut down the Eye Radio, and we gave them a warning. It is happening now at Miraya.”
“Miraya: you are interviewing rebels. If it happens again we are shutting you down. And this must be made very clear. We are shutting you down if you interview any rebel here to disseminate his or her plans and policies within South Sudan,” said Makuei.
The information minister then made an aside referring to a conversation he had in Addis Ababa recently with Mohammed Adow, a correspondent of Al Jazeera who was expelled from South Sudan last year. Makuei said he told Adow that he was “lucky” not to have been imprisoned “like the man in Egypt” — a reference to Al Jazeera correspondent Peter Greste.
Asked to specify what Miraya had done wrong he said, “They know what they did this morning. And it is unfortunate. If it happens again, I’m shutting down the Mirror [i.e., UN Radio Miraya, which means ‘Mirror’ in Arabic].”
Journalists who were present at the press conference with Makuei yesterday say that he was likely referring to the interview that Radio Miraya aired that same morning with exiled opposition politician Rebecca Garang.
‘Your muzungus have not been reporting to me’
The information minister complained that the ‘white people’ in management positions at Radio Miraya have not been reporting to him when summoned. The UN-run radio station is headquartered inside the UNMISS base in Tongping, Juba.
“We will write to you today, officially, giving you the final warning, because this has been repeating itself — I have been calling you, your people, your muzungus [i.e., white people] have not been reporting to me, they resist coming to me because they believe that they are UN. Huh? that UN — I will shut it down,” he said.
In further remarks, Makuei also criticized international IGAD ceasefire observers for saying the government violated the cessation of hostilities agreement repeatedly.
“These are just reports by people who are sitting over the fences here — they don’t go to verify on the ground, they just receive reports from people whom they know on the ground there, and meanwhile sitting on the fence in the UNMISS compounds they will write reports and say the government is in violation — the parties are in violation,” he said.
Makuei then went on to refer to the IGAD observers as the “friend” of the rebels.
Human Rights Watch ‘suck the blood of others’
Finally, the government spokesman responded to a question about a recent report by Human Rights Watch that found that government forces are actively and forcibly recruiting children in Malakal, Upper Nile State.
He denied the report and attacked HRW saying the organization is not independent but is externally funded and “must report in accordance with the will of their masters.”
“There is only one situation in which child soldiers appear, and that is in Unity State. There were child soldiers standing under a tree holding Kalishnikov. And these children are rebel children — rebel soldiers, standing under a Neem tree,” he said, apparently referring to a photograph.
Makuei emphasized, “We have no child soldiers.”
“These are people who must make their living by sucking the blood of others,” he said of Human Rights Watch. “Mosquitos,” added Cabinet Minister Martin Elia, concurring.
“Mosquitos, yes,” said Makuei.
Reporting by Radio Tamazuj
Photo: South Sudanese government spokesman and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Michael Makuei with Cabinet Minister Martin Elia, 16 February 2015
Related:
South Sudan orders closure of Nation Mirror newspaper (3 Feb. 2015)
January 2015 a devastating month for South Sudanese journalists (1 Feb. 2015)
Detained UN journalist denied legal aid by S Sudan security (13 Jan. 2015)
Timeline: media struggle in South Sudan (18 Aug. 2014)
Peacekeeping under attack in South Sudan, Part 2 (27 May 2014)
Peacekeeping under attack in South Sudan, Part 1 (27 May 2014)
Transcript: South Sudan Information Minister warns press (6 Nov. 2013)