Stand of solidarity with Sudanese journalists

Tweet

Sudanese journalists based in Qatar joined staff members from DCMF to express support for the media in Sudan

In light of the recent government crackdown, DCMF hosted a solidarity stand with Sudanese journalists in support of their colleagues at home.

Sudanese journalists based in Qatar have called on international organisations and colleagues in the diaspora to continue to oppose the ongoing crackdown facing the media in their home country by reaffirming their commitment to media freedom and expressing solidarity with their fellow men and women at home.

Participating in a solidarity stand at Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) today, journalists were keen to point out their frustration with the difficulties facing members of the media in Sudan, demanding that steps be taken to improve working conditions and protect the rights of the Sudanese people to be informed.

In recent weeks, the Sudanese government has implemented a brutal crackdown on protestors across the country as thousands have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the cutting a fuel subsidies and subsequent price hikes in basic commodities.

“I feel very sad to see the current situation – the strong censorship of the media and the detention of journalists,” said Shawqi Mustafa, himself a journalist who left Sudan in December 2012.

“They are working in very hard conditions; we have to try and get the detained journalists released and try and help them get a healthier situation for them to work in,” he said.

Mustafa explained that he is friends with Burham Abdel-Moniem, the journalist who was arrested after confronting government officials at a press conference last week.  He noted that the outpouring of support Abdel-Moniem received following his initial detention – some 5,000 people joined a Facebook page demanding his release within two hours of his arrest – serves as an indication of the power of popular support for journalists in Sudan.

“Support can help prevent further problems – that is why we are asking all supporters of freedom to help,” added Mustafa.

Every day journalists are intimidated and harassed

Amira Elsheikh is an activist and online media contributor who decided to participate in the solidarity stand to show support for those suffering in her homeland.

“It is very important for us people living abroad who want to support our country – Sudan is always in our hearts,” she said, expressing gratitude to DCMF for hosting the solidarity stand.

“They are arresting journalists and stopping newspapers depending on the mood of the security services – every day journalists are being intimidated and more.”

“We need the world to know exactly what is happening in Sudan and the problems facing journalists in Sudan, especially the lady journalists who are facing even worse intimidation,” added Elsheikh.

“This government is against human rights and especially the rights of women, journalists and activists,” she said, noting “journalists are told what to write and others are stopped from writing – the situation is very bad.”

Her thoughts were echoed by Faisal Hadra, another Sudanese journalists working in Qatar, who highlighted the importance of organisations such as DCMF’s work to defend media freedom for journalists across the globe.

“We really appreciate the work of DCMF supporting journalists around the world,” he said, adding “we think that the statement condemning the crackdown and the open letter to President Omar Al-Bashir are both genuine and fruitful steps for defending the media in Sudan and we hope to see more.”

“We need freedom in Sudan, we need to be able to protest peacefully and we need no illegal decisions to be made against journalists,” he added.

Government continues to bend the rules

“The government is handcuffing journalists, stopping them from writing and putting boots in their mouths to keep them silent,” argued Asaad Maghrabi, a journalist who came to work in Qatar two years ago.

“The situation for journalists is really poor and they have no freedom."

Maghrabi was in Sudan as recently as last month and he participated in demonstrations before he returned to Qatar:  “I saw terrible things there – I saw one protestor who was stood less than 50m away from me who was shot dead.  He was holding a sign declaring “Peaceful” and he was shot twice in the chest.”

The journalist explained that he has personally experienced harassment, detention and torture at the hand of the security services in Sudan, and has been arrested on numerous occasions for speaking his mind and refusing to be silenced.

“I have been arrested and beaten badly, and I have been tortured just for saying and writing what I believe,” he explained.

“But it never stopped me – I believe in what I am saying and doing and they could never stop me.  In fact their aggression strengthened my belief that what I believe is right.”

Having witnessed firsthand how the Sudanese security forces treat the voices they wish to silence, Maghrebi is fully aware of the difficulties facing many of his friends and colleagues at home.

“The situation has never been so bad”

“There is no media freedom in Sudan,” argued Mustafa, a point shared by his fellow journalists.

“Media freedom in Sudan? There is absolutely no freedom at all – the situation has never been so bad,” added Elsheikh.

The revolutions which have taken place throughout the Middle East and North African region in recent years have undoubtedly played a major role in the Sudanese government’s response to events in their own country.  

There is genuine fear concerning the power of the media to promote instability and fuel cries for political change. 

The country’s foreign minister, Ali Ahmed Karti has previously stated: “Media make revolutions.  If the revolution is created by the media, we have to be serious in dealing with it.”

However, this by no means makes the authorities’ strict treatment of members of the media acceptable; understandable perhaps, but not acceptable. 

DCMF has expressed solidarity with Sudanese journalists since the beginning of the current crackdown, and will continue to urge the government of Sudan to respect its commitment to media freedom, a commitment it reaffirmed to members of the centre during a visit to the country earlier this year.

However, should Sudanese journalists continue to display the courage that many already have, supported by their peers both at home and around the world, the government may find their efforts to curb press freedom and prevent the truth emerging from Sudan, prove to be futile.

Sudanese journalists based in Qatar joined staff members from DCMF to express support for the media in Sudan