Insights

by Mohammaed El-Tilib

Is there a way for the Sudanese press to resist the grip of censorship?

To say that the Sudanese press is at stake and at a crossroad is not an exaggeration. Ever since the reinstation of press censorship by the security authorities in the aftermath of the publishing of a controversial commentary on Al-Sudani newspaper in June last year, reports and commentaries that are deemed anti-government or tackling with sensitive issues such as Darfur have all been censored by the state's security apparatus.

Understanding how the situation of press in Sudan has arrived to this terrible point necessitates a background. Press censorship was declared null and void by the Khartoum government in 2006 following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the former southern rebels Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. As of that date, press censorship was exercised at minimum levels and newspapers enjoyed relative freedom. But this small margin of freedom was soon taken away when the government stepped up censorship following the publishing of a commentary entitled “Our Vehicles” by the well-known columnist Uthman Mirghani on Al-Sudani newspaper in June 2007. In that commentary, the columnist wondered about the fate of the money expended by the Sudanese government on supporting 300 the Chadian rebels with 300 veichles which to help them to advance on the Chadian capital N’djamena and depose Idris Dipi. That commentary gave rise to the worst wave of censorship the Sudanese press has ever experienced. The chief of security apparatus, Salah Gosh, held a press conference in which he lashed out at the journalists and went as far as accusing some of them of receiving money from “western embassies”. This press conference was the practical announcement of the return of press censorship. Many appalling events occurred after that, licenses of several newspapers had been revoked on flimsy excuses, intimidations of journalists became common practsie, a newspaper named Alwan was completely closed down and its properties were confiscated on the grounds of publishing a report on a weapons transaction for the army. This very approach in dealing with the press was one of the reasons that contributed to the failings of the Sudanese government in Darfur as well as other areas.
The question that I intend to address is what can Sudanese journalists do in order to counter infringements on their freedom by the government? I personally believe that we cannot rely on international pressure on the government to persuade it to loosen its grip on the press, so the solution can only stem from the Sudanese journalists themselves. History of civil struggle shows us that the only way to change situations and conquer oppression is unity and determination. Sudanese journalists will have nothing to lose if they unite against censorship. I am not hypothesizing a solution, I actually have some “practical” suggestions to put forward. It is beyond any doubt that neither the National Council of Press and Publications nor the Sudanese Journalists Union can be relied on as a body for the journalists to rally themselves under since they are both under the control of the government. So a creation of a new non-governmental body that advocates and defends the rights of journalists should be the first step. I also recommend that the newspapers stage an open-ended strike in order to put more pressure on the government. I know what I am suggesting might not be as easy as outlined but the way I see it, there is no other way for this to end except this.