The Association of Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS) has condemned the closure of an independent radio station in South Sudan by national security agencies and urged its immediate reopening.
In a statement, AMDISS said the “act of closing media houses by national security is unacceptable and a violation of media laws” and a denial of the right of freedom of expression and the right of the freedom of the press.
Eye Radio, which is funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was closed on Friday after National Security Service (NSS) agents switched off the transmitter and locked its studios before leaving with the keys. According to the BBC, they ordered all staff to leave the premises.
“AMDISS strongly condemns the closure and calls on the security to reopen the radio immediately and unconditionally, and use dialogue to amicably resolve any issue that might have led to the shutdown of the station,” said a statement signed by AMDISS chairperson, Alfred Taban.
Further, AMDISS urged the national security to leave all matters related to the media to be handled by the Media Authority.
There is speculation that the decision to shut down Eye Radio was prompted by a news broadcast by Eye Radio last month that aired comments from rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has also condemned the action by security agencies, saying terming it “arbitrary" and a "brute force censorship of a vital source of independent news for the people of South Sudan."
Through its East Africa representative Murithi Mutiga, CPJ called on authorities in South Sudan to cease intimidation of journalists and the media and to immediately reopen Eye Radio, which is one of the independent news outlets in the country.
"The closure of Eye Radio is arbitrary and amounts to brute force censorship of a vital source of independent news for the people of South Sudan," said CPJ on its website. "The government should immediately allow Eye Radio to resume broadcasts and stop harassing journalists for doing their jobs."
At the same time, Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, regretted the closure of Eye Radio, which he said was spreading messages of peace. He promised to ask the authorities to reconsider their decision of closing the station.
“This is a time when we need powerful and spreading messages of peace that is what we need, we don’t need hatred,” he said in response to a question from a journalist, during a press conference he held just before he left the country after a 5-day visit.
This latest incident is a continuation of interference with operations of the media in the country by state security agencies. In July, Juba Monitor editor Alfred Taban was detained for a week and the newspaper ordered closed.
In September, the NSS ordered the Nation Mirror closed for allegedly engaging in activities that are incompatible with its registration status.