South Sudan has been ranked on the list of the top 5 ‘most fatal places for journalists to work, according to a report released by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists – CPJ.
The ranking is linked to the incident early this year when five journalists traveling with a county official were ambushed and killed by unidentified gunmen in Western Bahr al Ghazal state.
The killings of the five South Sudanese journalists are part of at least 26 cases CPJ is investigating to determine whether they were work-related.
The motive for the attack and its perpetrators are unknown, as the murders landed South Sudan on CPJ’s Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered and their killers go free.
The report also spotlights the killing of Peter Julius Moi, a Freelance journalist who was shot dead as he walked home from work.
“Peter Julius Moi used to ride a motorbike without wearing a helmet, despite warnings from one of his colleagues to be more careful. Moi would just shrug off those concerns, saying that as a South Sudanese journalist “risk was simply part of life.”
Speaking to the Breakfast Show on Radio Miraya, Sue Valentine of the Committee to protect Journalists, encouraged government to respect freedom of expression.
“We would encourage the authorities to allow the media to do their job, to respect the role that journalists play in the society to convey their information.” – Sue Valentine said.
Sue also said that Journalists in South Sudan should be allowed to ask the tough questions and get the right answers for the citizens.
” We believe that journalists need to be able to report positive and negative stories, and they have to have the right to ask questions so that citizens can be better informed.” Valentine added.
She said that journalists do not need to be praise singers; ‘they need to be free to report different perspectives on a story and to be critical and ask tough questions as well as just reporting the happy moments when things are going well.’
Sue said 69 journalists were killed in the line of duty, worldwide—including those murdered in reprisal for their work as well as those killed in combat or crossfire or on other dangerous assignments.
Key Highlights of the report
Seventeen journalists worldwide were killed in combat or crossfire. Five were killed on a dangerous assignment.
At least 28 of the 47 murder victims received threats before they were killed.
For the first time since 2007, CPJ did not document a single journalist killed in direct relation to work in the Philippines. However, at least seven journalists were killed in unclear circumstances.
Broadcast reporter was the most dangerous job, with 25 killed. Twenty-nine victims worked online.
The most common beat covered by victims was politics, followed by war and human rights.