August 16th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) has called on the South Sudan media to be part of the solution to the ongoing conflict in the country which started in December 2013 after a party convention for the ruling SPLM ended up in violence.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has been trying since January 2014 to resolve the conflict but has been hampered by regional backings of some countries to warring parties fighting in the conflict.
Speaking during the opening of a two-day workshop that targeted members of South Sudan media on Thursday, JMEC Chief of Staff, Ambassador Berhanu Kebede, urged the media houses to promote cohesion and relations between communities.
“We urge you (the media) to promote cohesion; build brotherhood and good neighborliness. JMEC wants you to be part of the solution, not part of the problem and above all, hold the signatories of these Agreements accountable,” he said.
The workshop organized in collaboration with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), is aimed at giving an update on the Peace Process, receive a briefing on progress on the implementation of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Protection of Civilians and Humanitarian Access (ACoH) from the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM), as well as impart skills on how to write reconciliation stories to 100 journalists attached to local and international media houses based in Juba.
He added that media sometimes can fuel conflict if not properly used pointing to the positive role media can play in solving the ongoing South Sudan conflict.
“History shows the media can fuel wars and turn communities against each other. Equally, the media can be agents of peace and reconciliation, counter hate speech, fight impunity and uphold supremacy of the law,” he said.
