Sudan lifts ban on daily ArticleComments (0). Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 16, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese security authorities have terminated the suspension of the Arabic daily Alwan, its editor said on Friday, two months after the paper was suspended for “threatening national security.” Alwan’s editor–in-chief, Hussein Khogali, broke the news to the Khartoum-based daily Al-Sudani, saying that the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) informed him of the decision on Thursday and his paper would resume publishing as of Monday, 19 March. The title was suspended indefinitely and had its assets confiscated by the NISS in January this year under article 24 and 25 of the National Security Forces Act of 2010. The said articles allow the NISS director to ban any publication containing “materials threatening national security.” Also in January, the NISS suspended the pro-opposition Ra’y al-Sha’b and the privately owned Al-Tayyar. The latter was allowed to resume publishing after apologizing for a commentary critical of Sudan’s president Omer Al-Bashir, and obeying instructions by the NISS to sack some staff members. Khogali revealed in separate statement to the daily Al-Intibaha that “understandings reached with the NISS had led to the return of Alwan.” Sudan has intensified repression of press freedom following the secession of South Sudan in July this year. President Al-Bashir justified this in an interview aired on Thursday by the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera by saying that the papers suspended had threatened national security and insulted the armed forces. “We are now fighting and we have an army battling. Any [negative] comments on the spirits of the armed forces or attacking the armed forces or endangering national security; no state accepts prejudice to its national security,” Al-Bashir said. Sudanese newspapers continue to grapple with a long list of untouchable issues including the war in the border regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile as well as in Darfur. Although direct censorship by the NISS was officially lifted last year, the papers still receive orders from the NISS to avoid reporting on certain issues and events. Sudan has been ranked among the world’s 10 worst countries with regards to media freedom in the 2011-2012 Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
