South Sudan denies arrest of newspaper editor
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By Ngor Arol Garang
October 1, 2011 (JUBA) - The editor in chief of The Citizen newspaper,
Nhial Bol, was on arrested and briefly held by police on Friday before
being released following his newspaper’s investigations into the
business dealings of a Warrap state minister.
JPEG - 28 kb
Nhial Bol, editor in chief of The Citizen newspaper, narrates his
arrest and detention during an interview with Sudan Tribune on 30
September in his Juba office. (Photo: Ngor Garang/ST)
South Sudan’s information minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin Bil, on
Friday told journalists at a press briefing that he was not aware that
any journalist in the country had been arrested.
“I am not aware. Nobody has told me about it”, said Marial in a brief
statement to the journalists gathered outside council of ministers for
a weekly briefing.
Mary Ajoth Goc, a reporter from the English language daily said Bol
was picked by police from The Citizen’s Juba office on Friday morning.
“They came and said they were looking for Nhial [Bol] and refused some
of us when we wanted to accompany him", said Ajith.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune in his Juba office later on Friday Bol said
he was picked at 9am by the police who held him briefly before he was
released after the attorney general said he had not authorise his
arrest.
He said the arrest was connected to a publication of an article about
closure of offices belonging to Chinese oil company Tesco South Sudan
Ltd. and subsequent arrests of its general manager by a Joseph Malek
Arop a state minister from Warrap State.
Minister Arop has a 10 percent stake in the company, according to Bol,
and "last week he went with his bodyguards and arrested the Chinese
shareholders".
"The Chinese are saying that he has to pay his shares because he
booked the shares and did not pay them."
Bol said that a reporter from the The Citizen took a photo of Arop on
23 September locking the company’s office and leaving with the key
after talks between him and the company broke down.
"When our reporter called him to balance the story he started
threatening the reporter that he will make him disappear in Juba”,
explained Bol.
Bol said he called the minister into his office to explain what they
were going to publish, producing a document about the incident from
the ministry of foreign affairs, which is has also been sent to South
Sudan’s president.
The document addressed to acting undersecretary in the ministry of
foreign affairs explained the incident in its entirety and said the
act of the minister was no longer a police case because it involves
the arrest of foreign nationals. The company therefore wrote a letter
to the ministry and gave a copy to the media including The Citizen.
“I am pleased to write to you this message to inform you that minister
Joseph Malek Arop from Warrap State has arrested our General Manager
of Chinese Oil Company in Juba, kicked out our Chinese employees and
locked our office and took the key. Now the issue is not a police case
because it involves foreign citizens. This action of our minister is a
concern to the government of the republic of China, because we are
responsible for the protection of their citizens who are working in
the oil fields and their offices in Juba”, reads part of the paper
seen by Sudan Tribune.
However minister Arop said that he had paid the money he owed and had
merely locked the office and had not closed the company.
PRESS FREEDOM
This is the fourth time Bol has been arrested since he established the
newspaper in 2006. Journalists in South Sudan regularly complain that
they are not allowed to work freely.
“It is becoming a habit these days that journalists are picked up and
arrested by the powerful individual government officials and released
without charges after spending long times in jails. This is not
acceptable. The government needs to stop this practice”, says Ojja
William Benjamin a freelance journalist from Eastern Equatoria State
currently visiting Juba on Friday.
Benjamin said he is experiencing similar situation in his home county
of Magwi, saying he has been detained thrice since the year 2011
began.
South Sudan on Friday denied t hat it had arrested journalists and had
them without charge after media alliance and human rights activists on
Friday protested against the arbitrary detention of members of the
media including editors in chief and argued the government to stop the
practice.
“I thought journalists in Juba were more safe those of us in the bush.
Some of us in the states are arrested even for something they did not
do because of being a journalist. Hearing the title alone by some
local officials invite arrest I have been arrested thrice this year
and released without charges”, explained Benjamin
“I am sometimes told not leave my house. Some of my colleagues have
had press cards withdrawn and torn at our watch which is unacceptable
and I thought this is a practice being experienced by journalists
living outside the national capital”, he said claiming he was arrested
for reporting existence of illegal taxation check points in most part
of the state where he lives.
Mac Ajuei Panchol, another journalist from Bor, the capital of Jonglei
state said in an interview with Sudan Tribune at the premises of the
council of ministers that he was also experiencing restrictions. He
said there are people creating conflict between the government and the
media for their own personal interests, calling for intervention of
the president and the minister of information.
“We call on our President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his minister of
information Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin to ensure that the government
of South Sudan allows and respect press freedom”, said Panchol.
He called on the government to create an environment of press freedom
and take constitutional measures to protect journalists s well as
human rights and community activists.
(ST)
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