Future of the media in the Sudan is bright – official

NAIROBI, July 15, 2005 (Sudan Radio) — The secretary general of the Sudan Press Council, Ali Shumo, says the future of the media in the Sudan is bright and that media work will improve tremendously because the atmosphere is conducive for the freedom of expression.

In a telephone interview from Khartoum with Sudan Radio Service, Shumo said the media will be a major beneficiary in the new government of national unity.

Ali shumo said “the future of the media and the performance of the media will be much, much better in the coming days because the atmosphere is different and the environment is different. And all the elements of success of publishing readable papers are there. So it is a different situation now, we have started a new era, the media will be the organ which will benefit more from the new era to inform the people what is happening.”

Shumo says the media will play what he calls its rightful role of being the watchdog of society, to be vigilant in reporting cases of corruption, to promote unity and a culture of peace.

Although censorship laws in the Sudan have been officially lifted, the English-language Khartoum monitor newspaper is still closed. Shumo says the Khartoum monitor was closed by a court injunction.