U.S. to press Sudan on closure of Darfur radio and rights groups offices

November 2, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The United States has asked its special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration to press officials in Khartoum to reverse their recent crackdown on Darfur activists which occurred over the weekend.

Abdel-Mageed Salih, head of Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), told Reuters nine journalists and four HAND activists were detained during the raids.

“They also raided and closed our office and took all the things inside like the computers and documents and Radio Dabanga equipment,” he said from the United States where he now lives.

Radio Dabanga, registered in Holland, is one of few media outlets still reporting on the Darfur conflict. It is not licensed in Sudan and the government continually writes to the Dutch government asking them to close the station, Salih said.

HAND also has no legal status in Sudan. The government cracked down on rights groups following a 2009 International Criminal Court arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur. Many activists fled the country fearing for their lives.

“The United States is deeply concerned by the reported arrests of several human rights activists and the closure of the Darfuri radio station’s offices in Khartoum,” U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

“Radio Dabanga is a very important source of information, real time information in Darfur. Special Envoy Gration will express these concerns directly with senior Sudanese officials during his meetings tomorrow” Crowley said.

Separately, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said Washington “strongly condemns” the arrests and the reported shutdown of the Khartoum office of Radio Dabanga.

“These arrests indicate an emerging pattern of harassment and intimidation by the government of Sudan against civil society in advance of the scheduled January 9 referenda,” Rice said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Sudanese government Tuesday either to charge or immediately release the activists detained.

“The government appears to be targeting this group of people for their important work on Darfur, not because they committed any crime,” said Rona Peligal, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It should immediately charge these individuals or release them.”

“These arrests are clearly part of a wider pattern of stifling expression about ongoing human rights abuses in Darfur,” Peligal said. “The government continues to clash with rebels and attack civilians, in violation of international humanitarian laws, and these activists are among the very few speaking out about it.”

Darfur has been gripped by a civil war since 2003 that has killed 300,000 people and displaced another 2.7 million, according to UN figures. Khartoum says 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

(ST)