Journalists drawn from across Western Equatoria State on Tuesday commenced a three-day training in journalistic ethics, reporting, and safety.
Speaking during the opening of the training, the UNMISS Associate Public Information Officer in Yambio, Denis Louro Oliver, said the purpose of the exercise was to instill accurate reportage and unite the journalists in their field of work.
"It is an important event that we come together as journalists because we play a very great role among the communities. Journalists can be a source of conflict and the source of peace in the communities so we need to come together to discuss what we can do for our communities,” Louro said. “Some of the topics will be human rights, child protection, and gender issues. The whole idea is to encourage journalists to promote peace in Western Equatoria State. We will be here for three days and within these three days, we will be able to learn more."
Meanwhile, Governor Alfred Futuyo Karaba said the government conflicts with media houses in regards to how they report security and political matters.
"You do not know why the government is threatening media personnel? Let me tell you the reason, it is all about two things: politics and security. So do not follow and report anything on social media. You should get the evidence, then you report. Do not react to anything on social media, wait for the evidence," Governor Futuyo emphasized.
Eddy Ukele, the acting minister of information and communication, urged the journalists to report on development rather than concentrate on insecurity and issues that divide the communities.
He called upon the media practitioners to distance themselves from cheap politicians who want to divide the people.
"You do not need to hide the development activities happening in this state just to report the negative parts claiming that the state is not stable. Dear young people, do the right thing according to your profession with love and do not sell yourselves to cheap politicians. I am happy to see that you have come for this training. Media is supposed to be neutral and the truth always sets someone free," Ukele said.
The training brought together 30 Journalists from Maridi, Mundri, Tambura, and Yambio.