New York, March 9, 2018--South Sudanese
authorities should allow the UN-backed station Radio Miraya to continue
broadcasting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The South
Sudanese Media Regulatory Authority ordered Radio Miraya to suspend operations
because the station had not acquired a broadcasting license, according to a
copy of the suspension notice seen by CPJ and a report by
the Dutch-backed Radio Tamazuj news outlet.
In the letter, the media authority,
which oversees the press, requested that South Sudan's National Communication
Authority "withdraw the frequency 101 FM," that was allocated to
Radio Miraya. Additionally, the media authority cited Radio Miraya's
"persistent non-compliance and refusal to be regulated" under South
Sudan's 2013 Media Authority Act as the reason for the station's suspension.
A spokesperson for the South Sudan UN
mission (UNMISS), Francisca Mold, told CPJ that Radio Miraya has not stopped
broadcasting.
"South Sudanese authorities must
ensure Radio Miraya is permitted to operate unhindered," CPJ Deputy
Executive Director Robert Mahoney said. "Journalists in South Sudan are
too often faced with bureaucratic red tape or other tactics of government
intimidation, which are incompatible with efforts to create conditions for
sustaining peace."
Mold told CPJ that the UN is "in
discussion with the government."
Radio Miraya broadcasts information
about UN activities and political programs meant to foster peace in South
Sudan, according to a Reuters report.
In late October 2017, South Sudan's
media regulator suspended the Union of Journalists of South Sudan, a press
association, until it applied for its operating license, according to CPJ research.
The union resumed operation after the media authority approved its licensing
application, according to media reports,
and Sapana Abuyi, director general for information and media compliance of the
South Sudanese Media Regulatory Authority.
CPJ has documented persistent government efforts
to restrict journalists' ability to operate freely in South Sudan.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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