Security officials and journalists met in Juba on Thursday to discuss ways to cooperate with each other in providing information to the public.
The two-day meeting was organised by the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS) in collaboration with the UN Mission (UNMISS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The workshop aims to boost mutual relationships between journalists and members of the organized forces in the country.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, the Commissioner for Access to Information Commission, Mr. Moyiga Nduru, said the security sector benefits a lot in its work from the information they get from the media.
“Security personnel get other information from the media because the media is very fast, which is a benefit to the security sector. You (security) get it and follow up; you get the information and then follow up. So this is a great benefit because journalists are faster to get the information the public would wish to know,” said Moyiga.
He added that journalists and security personnel have a similar role as they record and deal with information. “Journalists carry cameras, and the security personnel carry the gun, but all of them carry the pen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ben Dotsei Malor, UNMISS Head of Communication, said the work of journalists remains crucial in telling the story of members of the security sector.
“The security sector needs media personnel to tell their story, media personnel to document the work they do, media personnel to report the sacrifices that soldiers of this nation make to die in the fields for the sake of all of us or the sacrifices the police made. Who will tell the story? It is the media to tell the story of the security sector. There is common ground there for the media and the security sector,” Malor added.
Malor underscored that media and security are the cornerstones of democracy in South Sudan. “The media and the security sector should be important partners in building this nation to be a peaceful, secure and prosperous democracy,” he said.
“Journalists or media people are not criminals. Journalism or media work is not a crime at all. Journalists should have freedom guided by the responsibility and ethics of their profession to serve the people of South Sudan and then do their job without fear, threats and intimidation. Media personnel should be seen as partners for peace, sustainable development and prosperity across this great nation,” Ben added.
For his part, UJOSS Secretary General Majak Daniel Kuany said the workshop’s purpose was to create harmony between journalists and members of the organized forces.
“This is a very crucial activity that we are having with UNMISS and UNESCO for us to bring all the key security partners together with journalists for them to be able to have a platform that they will be able to have a harmonious relationship,” he said.
The workshop was attended by about 40 people, including the Undersecretary at the National Ministry of Information, army spokesperson Major General Lul Ruai Koang, and deputy police spokesperson Major General James Dak.