Southern Sudan Media Bill To Be Passed Before The End Of The Interim Period

25 February 2011 – (Juba) – The would-be southern Sudan media law bill is expected to be enacted by parliament before southern Sudan is declared independence on July 9th.

In a briefing to media practitioners in Juba on Thursday, GoSS minister of information, Dr. Benjamin Barnaba Marial said that the drafted bill is currently being processed by the ministry of legal affairs and constitutional development.

[Dr. Benjamin Marial]: “Some independent journalists thought that there were some things -especially the freedom of information bill was not adequate enough to their satisfaction, so the two bills have been brought back, and both the civil society and the journalists have looked into them together with the government. They are now with the minister of legal affairs and constitutional development, and they are supposed to go to the parliament because it seems everybody is satisfied with the form they are now in. we want these laws to come out before the 9th of July, because we want to begin with new media laws. It is a multipronged type of interest for all of us to have these laws to create a legal environment for a democratic new state to function.”

On the border demarcation, Doctor Marial said that the remaining twenty percent of the border not agreed upon cannot stop the-would be two independent states from functioning peacefully.

[Dr. Benjamin Marial]: “Eighty percent of the borders have been agreed, the twenty percent remaining is what is being discussed and this will be resolved at a higher level. Twenty percent of our border will not be an issue; we will continue talking about it. It does not mean that you will not have two states living side by side peacefully. South Sudanese should not think that we can have a hundred percent border immediately. But I can assure you that people will definitely reach an agreement so that we can have a definite border.”

That was GOSS minister of information, Doctor Benjamin Barnaba Marial speaking to the press on Thursday.