Security officers of Northern Bahr el Ghazal and journalists working in the state met on Monday to discuss ways to cooperate with each other in providing information to the public of border areas. The two-day meeting was organised by the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) in collaboration with the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Security Sector.

National and foreign journalists have often been facing challenges by South Sudanese security officers since the country became independent in 2011. Last month, two Ugandan journalists were arrested near the airport in Juba and released a few days later.

Abraham Agok, representative of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state media, said journalists face “a lot of difficulties from the security sector due to misunderstandings between them." He urged the two bodies to cooperate for the development of South Sudan.

The Chairman of the UJOSS, Oliver Modi, supported Agok's claims saying that “If the media and security work together, the country will develop faster.”

SPLA Director of Information and Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Malaak Ayuen Ajok, said security and media in South Sudan are “the legs of the government.”

“Media and security are the two organizations that work around the government … they are very essential. So, I am sure that bringing them together to dialogue and agree how to do their work is very essential. And the agreement is that, 'you do your work and let me do my work'. So the security will do their work and they will allow the media to do their work,” Ajok was quoted as saying.

State Security representative Benjamin Mathok told the participants they will brief their field security personnel about the outcome of this meeting and how to cooperate with journalists on the field.

The workshop, funded by the Norwegian People Aid (NPA), was attended by more than 40 participants that included journalists and security officers. Participants are said to have “appreciated” the dialogue and urged the UJOSS to carry out similar activities across the country.

Mangok Mangok, the Acting Minister of Information of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, asked the UJOSS to provide capacity building to the state journalists, particularly on the ethics of reporting and on the security of personnel on the field. 

Photo: Northern Bahr el Ghazal (Wikipedia)