JUBA, June 22 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's media regulatory body on Thursday lifted ban on foreign journalists to allow them to operate in the country and pledged to allow unhindered media coverage of the war-torn country, an official said.
Alfred Taban, head of Information Committee for Steering Committee for the National Dialogue said the leadership of the South Sudan Media Authority has agreed to relax the restrictions imposed on foreign journalists to allow the media wider coverage of the ongoing national dialogue, the humanitarian crisis and issues of concern to the public.
Taban, who also heads the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), added that the media authority further pledged to ease conditions for acquiring media accreditation permits.
"I took up the issue of banning foreign journalists from the country with the Media Authority and they promised me that this (ban) has been suspended. So now if somebody wants to come, there will be no question (of) somebody being denied Visa because that has been cleared," Taban said during a meeting with diplomats and UN envoys.
The South Sudan Media Authority recently said it had banned at least 20 foreign journalists from media coverage in the country for what it termed "unsubstantiated and unrealistic stories".
But the media regulatory body failed to name the journalists or media outlets affected by the ban.
The ban attracted condemnation from the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), the Foreign Correspondents Association of East Africa (FCAEA) and Reporters without Borders (RWB).
Elija Alier, the Managing Director of the Media Authority on Thursday denied imposing any ban on foreign journalists entering South Sudan, adding that the body would continue to ease entry and work of foreign media in the East African nation.
"We have never stopped foreign journalists from coming (to South Sudan) and they will continue coming. As media authority, we will continue giving them permits," Alier told Xinhua by phone.
