Press group “appalled” by media treatment in Sudan
April 7, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has condemned the removal of the editor-in-chief of an independent Arabic-language daily in the Sudanese capital Khartoum last week, saying it is “appalled” by the country’s treatment of media.
Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) ordered Al-Nur Mohamed Al-Nur to resign his position from Al Sahafa on 3 April, threatening to confiscate copies of the paper unless management complied with the directive. Authorities also ordered that his name be removed from the paper’s letterhead.
Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Khartoum Al-Masalami Kabbashi and photographer Ali Mustapha were also summoned by the NISS on the same day for questioning, after being accused of unbalanced coverage and reporting “false information.”
“There is this incredible situation in Sudan in which the intelligence services decide how the media are run and who they appoint. [They are] totally opposed to freedom of information, they call all the shots, censor articles, confiscate newspapers and harass journalists”, RWB said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.
RWB said ongoing media harassment contradicted a surprise promise recently by Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir to free all political prisoners.
Bashir made the comments in his opening address to parliament on 2 April, during which he also hailed the country’s press freedoms, describing the media as “vital partners”.
“President Omer al-Bashir has made some conciliatory gestures in recent days, including an amnesty announcement, the release of some political prisoners and an invitation to the opposition to participate in negotiations about a new constitution, but we have seen no improvement in freedom of information. On the contrary, repressive policies towards the media have been intensified”, RWB said.
Al Sahafa’s management have since terminated Al-Nur’s employment as editor-in-chief and his name has been removed from the newspaper’s masthead.
Security authorities gave no reason for Al-Nur’s suspension, but it’s believed the newspaper, which was established in 1961, had come under increasing pressure not to publish articles critical of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP ) or the government.
Agence France-Presse quoted Al-Nur, who had been working at the newspaper since 2007, as saying his removal may have been linked to disagreements about the censorship imposed by the security services.
Sudan officially ceased direct press censorship in 2009 but continues to suspend and confiscate newspapers as a way of retaliation if they report on a long list of issues considered sensitive.
Media organisations in Sudan have complained that security services routinely order them not to report on certain subjects, while news reports and articles are also regularly censored prior to publication or broadcast.
“There is no journalism in Sudan anymore. We write what we’re told to write. This is the situation,” one Khartoum-based print journalist told Sudan Tribune.
On 24 March, the NISS confiscated all copies of the Arabic-language daily Al-Khartoum, also seizing 14,000 copies of the pro-government daily Al-Sudani at the end of January.
RWB says it recorded the seizures of 20-plus newspapers by the intelligence and security services in 2012.
Ranked 170 out of 179 countries in the 2013 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index, Sudan is accordingly classified among the world’s 10 worst countries in regards to respect for freedom of information.
(ST)