Dissolved journalists union resumes activities in Sudan

October 8, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The Islamist-controlled General Union of Sudanese Journalists (GUSJ) on Saturday officially resumed its activities 3 years after the decision to dissolve it.

After the coup in October 2021, the military-led government gradually reinstated Islamists in the civil service and their groups dissolved by the Empowerment Removal Committee (ERC) tasked with the dismantlement of the former regime.

“The Union has resumed its activity by providing services to journalists,” said Mohamed al-Fatih the acting chairman of the group in a press conference to announce the end of the ban of 2019.

Al-Fatih added that international journalists’ groups expressed concerns over the suspension of the GUSJ by the suspended committee.

He stresses that the ERC decision did not stop their activities during the past period

On August 29, Sudanese journalists elected for the first since 1989, an independent union for Sudanese journalists.

The Islamist journalists of the GUSJ sought to obstruct the electoral process and lodged a complaint saying the newly elected body could not replace their organisation.

The acting chairman said they would start their activities with the renewal of local, Arab, and international press cards of Sudanese journalists.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the dissolved Union, Salah Omer al-Sheikh, said they will strive during the coming period to complete the remaining projects that the Union intends to enforce.

Also, he said that they are preparing to form a steering committee to prepare for the upcoming elections.

In 2020, the prosecution of the ERC issued an arrest warrant against GUSJ head, Sadiq al-Raziqi, who resides in Turkey, over a range of corruption charges.

(ST)