Sudanese journalists start hunger strike over censorship
November 4, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – Over 150 Sudanese journalists launched today a 24-hour hunger strike and three newspapers will shut down for three days in a protest against media censorship
After 16 years of full control on the media, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the interim constitution upholds freedom of the press and expression since 2005. But laws guaranteeing press freedom have yet to be passed, and security officials inspect the editions of every newspaper nightly.
Sudanese journalists began a 24-hour hunger strike and the Ajras Al-Hurriya, Al-Maidan and Rayal Al-Shab newspapers halted production for three days, saying they could no longer accept government restrictions over editorial content.
“We are being censored every day,” said Ajras al-Huriya newspaper’s general manager Saleh Ahmed Mohammed Elhag at the protest launch.
Journalists say news articles and editorials are banned, particularly on subjects deemed sensitive such as the conflict in Darfur, International Criminal Court, corruption and human rights.
Reporters and human rights activists also say the current crackdown started in February after newspapers published reports accusing the government of backing Chadian rebels in a failed coup attempt.
Elhag said he had been ordered to remove so many articles that he had been forced to pull entire editions more than 20 times since the paper’s launch in April.
Ajras al-Huriya whose name means Freedom Bells in English, had failed to appear more than 20 times since its April 7 launch owing to censors. The daily is closely linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the main partner of the National Congress Party and the ruling party in southern Sudan.
Al-Maidan and Rayal Al-Shab newspapers are respectively belonging to the opposition Sudanese communist party and the Popular Congress Party.
However journalists from other independent newspapers took part in the protest.
“I have been interrogated many times by security officers,” said Amal Abbas, the former editor of Al-Sahafa newspaper and a columnist in the same daily who is taking part in the hunger strike and suspending her column.
Ajras al-Huriya columnist Yai Joseph said he had been censored on a range of subjects including the Darfur conflict, corruption allegations, food price hikes and pollution.
The launch of the strike hunger was addressed by different opposition leaders like Shafei Khidir and Farouk Abu Eissa and also Edward Lino from the SPLM.
Lino, said censors had ordered Ajras al-Huriya to remove an interview with him from Tuesday’s edition.
“Censorship will effect how people will campaign in the elections (promised in 2009 by the north-south peace deal).It will effect how people are going to be shown what is going on. It will effect how the results come out,” he said.
(ST)