Sudanese newspapers need an overhaul to restore credibility by putting a stop to unethical practices.

In the offices of a local newspaper, a reporter was recently overheard speaking into his cell phone loudly enough for everyone in his midst to hear: “I’m not doing the story unless I know how much they’re offering,” he said. Raising his voice, he added, “No sir, I won’t repeat my last mistake; it was too little money, so if they want us to cover this tour they should tell us from the start how much they’ll pay or I won’t go.”

This type of coverage-for-hire is just one illustration of a glaring lack of ethics in Sudanese journalism. The payment for news reports, interviews and opinion columns in local newspapers is no secret. Corruption has become entrenched in everyday reporting to such an extent that it’s now the subject of public debate.

Even if government restrictions on press freedom are lifted, journalism in Sudan could use a makeover. © Hassan Farouk

According to a prominent newspaperman who wished to remain anonymous, a large number of publishers and chief editors are behind these unethical practices.

Special interest representatives sometimes target individual journalists directly, away from the management. In the absence of a clear editorial policy on this subject, consent is usually granted to reporters to accept such invitations, even when it’s apparent the resulting articles may well resemble public relations handouts more than factual news articles.

“Newspaper managers basically rent out their reporters to anyone who comes to them, be it a political party, a governmental agency, an institution or a company.”   - Anonymous journalist

Chief editors usually sanction such junkets, the source explained, because the newspaper pays nothing to send a journalist into the field. “The result is a rush of reporters into the arms of these parties that cover all their expenses,” he said.

Two documented examples illustrate the deterioration of journalistic standards in the Sudanese capital.

I. We pay your way, so we buy your words

In March 2007, Khaled Fatehy, formerly with the daily al-Sahafa, accompanied a government delegation on a trip to northern Sudan. One of their stops was Kajbar, where the construction of a controversial dam project had recently triggered bloody unrest.

A public gathering with the regional governor was on the verge of becoming a violent confrontation between police and protesters when the situation was contained by the chief of police. But the atmosphere was still tense, and citizens gave the visiting officials a hostile reception. In an effort to calm the crowd, the governor told the gathering, “We came with an open heart to start a new chapter.”

Fatehy was later chastised for doing his job as he saw fit: reporting events the way they occurred.

“I made sure to communicate the scene as it was without any omission or addition,” he said, “but the next day, some of the senior members of the delegation accused me of exaggerating what happened, and that by doing so, I might contribute to a failure of their initiative by fanning the flames of discontent.”

Fatehy said he felt ostracized by the officials, who eventually stopped speaking to him.

“The lesson that I’ve learned from this experience is that  reporters should never travel with any party, because when it foots the bill, their ability to convey the facts freely and honestly is compromised,” said Fatehy.

II. Toe the line or be fired

Some newspapers rate their journalists according to how closely they adhere to their employers’ editorial alliance with the governing regime, or a certain institution, company or individual. Those who stray can be arbitrarily dismissed from their jobs or forced to resign.

In one recent incident, the daily al-Ray al-Aam fired a number of its staff reporters. In a recent phone conversation, Mohammad Abdul-Qader, deputy chief editor, denied their dismissal had anything to do with their politics.

Describing the 66 year-old paper as “distinguished,” Abdul-Qader insisted that al-Ray al-Aam evaluated its journalists’ progress according to their skills, capabilities and potential.

“The newspaper’s creed is based on encouraging diversity,” he said. “We haven’t fired any journalists because of their attitudes.”

While he admitted to suspending the reporters, he refused to name the reason. He referred to the action as a “reshuffle,” adding they represented different political backgrounds including the ruling National Congress Party, the left, and independent movements.

Self-aggrandisement, conflicts of interest and bias

Personal ties with members of the business community, political parties or other ventures often get in the way of factual reporting in Khartoum.

“In general, there’s evidence of a serious overlap in journalism between advertisement and questionable relationships,” said Haitham Capo, chief editor of the daily Fenoon. “For example, certain stories of public concern are not published because they might hurt the standing of our advertising clients.”

At another paper, a journalist who did not want his name used said his chief editor regularly criticises his reporting staff while taking sole credit for the success of the publication, even though the paper is 16 pages in length.

“Such editors climb on the backs of correspondents and build  personal glory through our efforts,” he said. “This kind of star mentality is incompatible with the practice of good journalism.”

The role of the media is far greater than merely disseminating honest news. Journalists should personify professional integrity, a sense of justice and unbiased observation. Instead, Sudanese journalism is mired in censorship and favouritism.

Meanwhile, the truth about any given issue, which it is our job to uncover, becomes all the more elusive.

But there is hope that we will revive the long-forgotten values of our trade and make our profession respectable once again. The stakes are high, as the words of the early 20th century poet Ahmad Shawqi remind us: “Nations are nothing without ethics; once they are gone, nations will follow.”

Journalists and rights activists have expressed concern about diminishing press freedom in Sudan.

Reporters attribute their pessimism to what they call a “coup” against public liberties. Chief among their concerns is the press freedom that was stipulated in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), whose duration concluded with South Sudan’s independence that took effect on 9 July.

In the starkest example, the National Council for Press and Publications closed down six newspapers (five published in English, one in Arabic), citing a law that prohibits shareholders of foreign origin. Some of the newspapers have affiliations with South Sudanese, whom Khartoum now classifies as foreign citizens.

The suspended publications include the Khartoum Monitor, The Juba Post, the Sudan Tribune, The Advocate, The Democrat and Ajras al-Hurriya. A seventh newspaper, al-Ahdath, was seized by security personnel on the weekend without explanation.

The closures have been heavily criticised by members of the media in Khartoum.

Faisal Mohammed Saleh, Teeba Press. Photo: Deutsche Welle / K. Danetzki. (courtesy SudanVotes)

Faisal Mohammed Saleh, a writer and journalist, warns against “further repression and suppression of press freedom,” referring to “an attempted coup” to quash liberties that prevailed during the transitional period of the last six years.

A number of indicators reflect a decline in press freedom at the hands of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), he said. Foremost among them is a planned amendment to the press law of 2009.

“We hoped the law would include more reforms rather than backing away from them,” he said.

Saleh refers to an “ill will” on the part of authorities who closed down the newspapers, despite legal justifications.

“The law does not allow press institutions to have foreign shareholders,” he explained. “The ill will in the enforcement of this law is evidenced in the suspension of the six newspapers just one day before the declaration of the south’s secession, under the pretext that the shareholders are foreigners.”

He pointed out that Khartoum and Juba had agreed on a period of nine months to settle arrangements regarding the citizenship status of South Sudanese.

Professor Ali Shummo, chair of the National Council for Press and Publications, said his agency was not involved in the decision to suspend the newspapers partially owned by southerners.

“The resolution was issued by the government,” he said, “the council only implemented it.” He denied that press freedom is under any threat in Sudan.

But according to Saleh, a number of Sudanese journalists are in detention. One of them has been in custody for nine months without trial. Another who was sentenced to prison and already completed his term has not yet been released.

Saleh condemned judicial pressure on journalists, saying that the period following the south’s secession has seen an unprecedented number of legal actions against journalists and newspapers, including some carried out by security forces.

The only positive sign, he added, is a movement of resistance represented by the Sudanese Journalists’ Network.

Arbitrary Rules

Illustration by Khaled Bay (courtesy SudanVotes)

Adel al-Baz, chief editor of the daily al-Ahdath, links Sudan’s diminishing press freedom with recent political developments.

“If political events take an unstable and confrontational course, the press comes under pressure,” he said. “But if the situation becomes stable, press freedom will resume as it was during the transitional period.”

Referring to an “arbitrary use of law and power,” al-Baz has condemned the newspapers’ closure, saying it was completely unnecessary.

Fears of Censorship  

Amira al-Jaali, a reporter at the English daily The Citizen, one of the suspended publications, expressed doubts about the future of press freedom in Sudan and said she anticipated the return of newspaper censorship.

“The margin of freedom provided by (the 2005 peace agreement) will be reduced to a minimum and is likely to erode,” she said, because of the “lack of genuine conviction” on the part of Khartoum authorities.

“The return of censorship could mean liberal journalists might quit their profession and look for safer jobs elsewhere,” she added.

Less breathing room

Anwar Awad, the deputy editor-in-chief of the daily al-Akhbar, said worsening economic conditions also present a serious threat to newspapers’ survival.

These are aggravated by the state’s monopoly on advertising and distribution operations, he added, which contributed to economic hardship when workers placed under constraints were not paid their salaries on time.

Awad criticized governmental “indifference” for ongoing violations of press freedom in Sudan. He has accused the General Union of Sudanese Journalists of “vehemently seeking to amend the press and publications law, while keeping journalists’ registration in order to collect their fees.”

At the National Council for Press and Publications, Professor Shummo said the closure of the newspapers does not imply a cancellation of their operating licenses, adding there is still a chance to resolve the papers’ status “if the government agrees to it.”

The closure of six Sudanese newspapers represents another blow to press freedom, according to media watchdog organisations.

On 27 July, the Sudanese National Council for Press and Publications revoked the license of the daily newspaper Ajras Al-Hurriya.

Only days after South Sudan’s independence, Khartoum authorities froze publications of the Khartoum Monitor, the Juba Post, Sudan Tribune, The Advocate and The Democrat. The reason given was that publishers are required to be Sudanese citizens, and South Sudanese are now considered “foreigners” according to law.

Ajras al-Hurriya (“Bells of Freedom”) had already suspended its daily publication just before South Sudan’s secession because one of the shareholders of the company is a southerner.

The Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said the decision to halt publication of the Sudanese newspapers “has to be reviewed by (Khartoum) authorities.”

Interpretations of the closure range from mere respect of legal regulations to blatant censorship.

According to Al-Obeid Meruh, secretary-general of the Press Council, it has nothing to do with a decision to restrict press freedom. “The 2009 press act does not allow foreigners to be a part of the ownership of newspapers,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

But to a journalist who wished to remain anonymous, that’s too simple an explanation. “It seems the council was not aware of this clause in the press act; now they’ve discovered it after twenty days of suspension,” she said.

Authorities revoked the operating license of the daily Ajras al-Hurriya and five other dailies because they are partially owned by South Sudanese citizens. © Zeinab Mohammed Saleh (courtesy SudanVotes))

“The decision of the council is wrong,” said Nabeel Adeeb, a lawyer. “The council has no right to revoke the license of a newspaper.”

Only when the newspaper has committed any violations does the court have the right to close down a publication, he explained. “The (Press) council is not independent because it had orders.”

Al-Hurriya has been suspended more than 12 times since its first publication.

Photo by: Hassan Farouk

“The letter to withdraw the license came only after (the council) imposed impossible conditions for re-certification, which confirms the bad faith by the board and the government,” Adeeb said.

All of the dailies shut down have links to South Sudan. Hussein Saad, Ajras Al-Hurriya’s managing director, said the closure of his paper is a purely political move; others call it “racist.”

“It is because the paper is close to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the (Sudanese) opposition,” he told AFP.

1) The arrest of The Citizen newspaper, Editor-in_Chief, Nhial Bol for reporting about an attack on him and his driver; and the beating by security forces of one of the newspaper’s journalists for reporting about demolitions at Juba University.

2) The editor of the Juba Post was harassed and the newspaper was confiscated on March 31, 2011.

3) Bhagita Radio was threatened with closure by government officials.

4) Arabic newpapers, Al-Masir and Al-Istiqlal, both produced in the south but printed in the north were prohibited from being distributed in South Sudan.

5) U.N.-backed Miraya FM was warned by authorities to replace its staff or be shut down.

The media landscape in South Sudan is a complex one and Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post, which reports on media issues around the world, recently included a report on media freedom in the new Republic of South Sudan. The 25-minute episode begins with a report on journalist access into Syria. The situation for journalists in South Sudan follows (at 14:28).

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At a gathering to mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, journalists in Southern Sudan stressed the importance of a free and independent media in a region that will become the world’s newest nation on 9 July.

(The Guest of Honour, Joy Kwaje. © Boboya Simon Wudu)

Oliver Modi, chair of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), emphasized the media’s critical role in disseminating information throughout the semi-autonomous region after more than two decades of civil war.

But he expressed deep concern over recent attacks on press freedom, including the confiscation of newspapers and recent arrests of reporters.

With senior officials from the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) in attendance, Modi recounted several incidents that had compromised media independence.

“This year, a journalist from The Citizen newspaper was beaten by security forces as he tried to report on a demolition at Juba University,” Modi said.

He also cited the arrest of Nhial Bol, the daily’s editor-in-chief, for writing about an attack on his driver and reporter.

Separately, the Juba Post‘s editor, Michael Korma, had come under harassment for publishing an article that the government deemed a threat to the country’s security. Editions of the Juba Post were seized by security officials before they could be distributed.

Elsewhere, Juba’s Bakhita Radio and Liberty FM were threatened with closure by Central Equatoria State security officials for reasons Modi called “dubious”.

The event was characterised by counteracting speeches.

(George Garang Deng, Undersecretary GoSS Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, courtesy SudanVotes))

The GoSS Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, represented by Undersecretary George Garang Deng, accused journalists of “reporting on the principles of irresponsibility, dishonesty and inaccuracy”.

He defended the government for providing a “free and fair” media environment despite the absence of press laws.

“We believe there is no functional society without media.”

Jan LedangJan Ledang, Country Director of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in Southern Sudan, praised the media’s vital presence  during Sudan’s historic elections and the referendum on Southern Sudanese independence.

Stressing that “silence kills democracy”, he called for greater sensitization of government officials who may not fully understand the role of the media in Southern Sudanese society.

Journalists also weighed in on the absence of media legislation, which is seen by many as a stumbling block in the run-up to independence in Southern Sudan.

(Jacob Lupai, working with Sudan Tribune, courtesy SudanVotes)

But Jacob Lupai, a commentator for the Sudan Tribune, was optimistic that the press will thrive in the new nation, and that once press laws are introduced, they will provide both guidance and a legal framework for working journalists.

The media in Southern Sudan are beset by numerous challenges affecting their daily operations. These include inadequate resources and difficult logistics that limit journalists’ capacity to provide consistent and comprehensive coverage.

This year’s World Press Freedom Day marked the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration for the promotion of free and pluralistic media. The declaration was adopted after a conference held in the Namibian capital on the development of a free African press and its critical role in the development and preservation of democracy and economic development.

The UN General Assembly established World Press Freedom Day two years later.

(original article at SudanVotes)

(Copies of the bi-weekly Juba Post. © Boboya Simon Wudu, courtesy SudanVotes)

The confiscation of the bi-weekly Juba Post by Southern Sudanese authorities has lifted the lid on legal uncertainties for independent media in the emerging nation.

When security officials seized up to 2,500 copies of the Juba Post’s March 31 edition, the reason given by authorities was an article reporting that the renegade militia leader Gen. George Athor was planning to attack Juba before Southern Sudan’s independence in July. Whether this intention is carried out or not, a very real concern is the restriction of media freedom.

The paper’s article, titled “Athor plans to attack Juba” quotes a spokesman for a new rebel army, the South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM), Maj. Gen. Dok James Pouk: “Forces loyal to Gen. Athor will launch a heavy attack in Juba shortly before South Sudan hoists her national flag.”

Gen. Athor was a leading commander in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) before breaking away a year ago to form a rebel militia against the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS).

Southern Sudanese security officials had reportedly warned the paper to halt publication of the story. The newspapers were confiscated shortly after they were delivered to Juba from Khartoum, where they are printed.

A member of the SPLM who did not want to be named said he disagreed with the decision to seize copies of the Juba Post, and that GoSS should have acted by refuting the article instead.

Limits on media freedom have been imposed by GoSS in the past. Last year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting admonished Miraya FM, the UN-backed radio station in Juba, for broadcasting an interview with Gen. Athor, which it termed “inciting and divisive.” The station was warned to   replace its staff within a week or it would be shut down. GoSS did not follow up on its ultimatum.

(Nhial Bol)

In March, security authorities in Juba arrested the Citizen Daily newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Nhial Bol, following publication of a commentary criticising Southern Sudanese police for inadequate protection of civilians in the semi-autonomous region. He has been detained on numerous occasions, as have other journalists in the region.

The confiscation of the Juba Post newspaper ramps up the pressure on independent media organisations in advance of Southern Sudan’s independence on 9 July.

“We are alarmed that the authorities in Juba are already resorting to censorship,” said Tom Rhodes, East Africa Consultant for the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international advocacy group based in New York. “This does not bode well for press freedom in what will become Africa’s newest state. We urge the authorities to respect international norms of freedom of expression and allow the press to do its work without interference.”

Mille Andrew, who wrote the Juba Post article about Athor’s plans to attack the city, defended the right to practice his profession without bias. “My interest was to write according to the needs of the public,” he said, “to make them aware” of what is happening around them.

(Barnaba Marial Benjamin)

Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, GoSS Minister of Information, justified the confiscation of the Juba Post. “The press should enjoy freedom of expression in a responsible and ethical manner,” he said. “The paper published an article that was agitating for war.”

GoSS Minister for Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development had this warning for anyone violating the law: “Not only will we confiscate the (news)papers, but you will be prosecuted”, said John Luk Jok. “You have to abide by the constitution.”

But there is currently no legal framework to define and protect the precise function of the media in Southern Sudan.

According to Samuel Mono, a law graduate from Juba University, press freedom is secured in the Interim Constitution of the Republic of Sudan, which still applies to the whole of the country. Sub-section 1 of Article 39 states: “Every citizen shall have an unrestricted right to the freedom of expression, reception and dissemination of information, publication, and access to the press without prejudice to order, safety, or public morals as determined by law.”
Mono said the newspaper seizure amounts to an abuse of this constitutional right. “From a legal point of view,” he said, “GoSS should have sued the Juba Post and the court could have been the right body to give a ruling on the matter.”

(courtesy the Media Project)

At a recent conference of media practitioners in Juba, veteran journalists reiterated their insistence that GoSS approve the draft media legislation, which, according to the Association for Media Development in Southern Sudan (AMDISS), provides a legal framework supporting freedom of expression and independent media.

Although GoSS Vice President Dr. Riek Machar assured conference participants the bill would be approved, it was withdrawn at the request of President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the grounds of “inconsistencies”.

In Khartoum, two opposition newspapers said they were suspending publication to protest blocked distribution by authorities, according to AFP. The bi-weekly Al-Maydan and the daily Ajrass Al-Hurriyah have come under repeated criticism for reporting on sensitive issues.

(original article at SudanVotes)

(Was the raid on The Citizen an 'isolated incident' or a precedent for more censorship to come?, courtesy SudanVotes)

As Southern Sudan engages in the complex process of state building, free media seems to be one aspect the government needs to allocate more attention to. The Citizen, the only newspaper printed in the South, was subject to a police raid last Sunday.

With Southern Sudan soon to become an independent country, the main pillars of state building are now going through a process of revision and readjustment. Media in Sudan has known, under the rule of Khartoum, a series of abuses and sometimes violent instances of censorship. Free media is one of the pillars the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) claims to be committed to, as part of its transition towards democratic rule.

The latest police raid on Sunday 20 February against ‘The Citizen‘, the only newspaper with a printing press in Southern Sudan, triggers concern over the future of free media in the region. The raid has been described as an “isolated incident” by Barnaba Marial Benjamin, the Southern Sudan Information and Broadcasting Minister, in a report by AFP. The raid is not to compromise the basis of freedom upon which all media houses were and will be established in Southern Sudan, he further explained in the same report.

(David De Dau, head of South Sudan's Agency for Independent Media (AIM), courtesy SudanVotes)

The Chairman of the Editorial Board of ‘The Citizen’, Nhial Bol, guessed the raid to be caused by an article published in the newspaper, criticizing police management in the soon to become independent state. Establishing a printing press in the South was partially due to the high level of censorship exercised by the Khartoum government in the North, particularly against Southern media journalists. However, the freedom of media promised by the Southern government is now under scrutiny, as the North’s repressive methods against freedom of expression could be adopted in the South.

While the government promises a law guaranteeing the rights of journalists to be passed, media managers from other media outlets and activists like David De Dau, the head of South Sudan’s Agency for Independent Media (AIM), express concern and hope for the media bill to be passed shortly.

Marvis Birungi brings this report from Juba, describing different aspects of this raid:

(original article at SudanVotes)

How are our journalists and our children being treated?

(Are we taking our responsibilities for our children and journalists seriously? ©McKulka UNMIS, courtesy Sudanvotes)

It has taken quite some time for us to dig any information from our local politicians all over the country. Sudan in general is a special case, since the country has two ruling systems of governance. That is to say the Government of National Unity (GONU) headed by the National Congress Party (NCP) – the so called Khartoum government,  which is the umbrella of all systems of governance in Sudan and the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) is led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

My question is: Are war torn countries like Sudan giving hands of assistance and respect to their journalists to operate during this fourthcoming election in April 2010? I can say that yet there are some difficulties that would face the journalists to contribute to the conduct of free and fair elections. Through my experiences from interviewing Sudanese politicians, be it from NCP or SPLM, it is like the beginning of building a house where some sweat is required before making a good foundation.

I remember one time I was trying to interview the Governor of Unity State, Brigadier Taban Deng Gai, on the arrest of Pagan Amum and Yaser Arman by the Khartoum government. The Governor said he did not need to be interviewed, but instead grabbed my recorder and began to talk. Then he told me to go and play it on the radio.

Take for example Unity State, where people’s rights have been buried by the politicians, as seen in the SPLM candidates’ nomination. Instead people should select their own candidates to stand for whatever position the citizens wish him/her to contest, but SPLM has monopolised the system and come up with their own candidates without consultation with the civilians. The right of civilians has been denied by the so called SPLM Political Bureau. Let’s take also the example when Dr Joseph Nguen Monytuil defeated Governor Taban Deng Gai during the SPLM grassroots election in 2008 and became the party’s State Chairman. He also won the Electoral College nomination contest for the upcoming April 2010.

But see what happened: Governor Taban had to rush to the top, direct to the President of GOSS Salva Kiir to ask him to contest once more for the post of governorship in Unity State. If the Electoral College is not respected by the ruling GOSS government, it is unlikely that the rights of expression of journalists wil be respected.

So why do we lie to international governments and organisations that we are practicing democracy, while on the ground we are not applying it or implementing it with the people?

Currently in Unity State only the seated government is given the right to express their interests on public radio while leaving the other parties stranded and unheard. The local journalists are given instructions clearly to restrict freedom of speech, whether they like it or not.  But what do such restrictions bring to journalists?  It brings a big shame to professional journalism as there should be equal rights to practice freedom of expression in our society. It means that a democratic kind of government has not yet been reached by the Sudanese people and it seems is not being aspired to by the South Sudanese Government.  So why do we lie to international governments and organisations that we are practicing democracy, while on the ground we are not applying it or implementing it with the people?

When we talk about Sudan it is still so far from the globalised world in which other countries have known the roles of journalism and the rights of journalists. Again once more I remember one time I was trying to interview the Governor of Unity State, Brigadier Taban Deng Gai, on the arrest of Pagan Amum and Yaser Arman by the Khartoum government. The governor said he did not need to be interviewed, but instead grabbed my recorder and began to talk. Then he told me to go and play it on the radio. See that, do they respect our values as journalists? To be sincere, we need our freedom to be known by our government, both in Northern and Southern Sudan.

What is the use of recognising such days if journalists like Bonifacio Taban still face arrest and intimidation?

(UN World Press Freedom Day, courtesy SudanVotes)

What is the use of recognising such days in South Sudan, if journalists like Bonifacio Taban still face arrest and intimidation?

Please spend a moment to read some of these texts detailing the rights of international freedoms of the journalist:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Article 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”
Article 10, European Convention For the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one’s choice.”
Article 13, American Convention on Human Rights

“No people or society can be free without freedom of expression and of the press. The exercise of this freedom is not something authorities grant; it is an inalienable right of the people.”
Principle 1, Declaration of Chapultepec, Adopted by the Hemisphere Conference on Free Speech, Mexico City, 11 March 1994

Bonifacio Taban’s arrest of course makes me feel much more uneasy myself in my work, since I am also a journalist reporting about similar situations in the country. I am naturally afraid the same trouble might over take me. But take comfort in the fact that we are not alone. For example in Mexico journalists every day are facing a climate of intimidation, impunity and corruption. This has led to journalists wearing bullet-proof vests and not associating their names with their work. Are we going towards such ways in Sudan? Bonifacio Taban is an example to us all, as to how we must fight for our universal rights. He has written with strength and conviction in naming those who clearly violated his freedom. Read article here.

Now those that have infringed the freedoms of Bonifacio Taban over these last 13 days, can you tell us where is the peace and freedom that the CPA has contracted us all to? No wonder the theme of the next World Press Free Day (WPFD) will be “Media Under Fire.” And this will be the focus of a UNESCO conference marking World Press Freedom Day 2010. Journalists across Sudan, we must seek and speak the truth, for we are the voice of the voiceless millions. Let us remember all those journalists, editors and publishers who are murdered or assaulted in dozens of countries around the world, not forgetting what our colleague Bonifacio Taban has been through. May we continue our work, to fight for our freedom but more importantly the future freedom of our country.