The Sudanese government has intensified its repression of the country’s independent media in recent months. Since a new conflict broke out between Sudanese forces and armed opposition groups north of Sudan’s border with the newly-independent South Sudan, the government in Khartoum has led a campaign against the press. News organisations have been raided, copy has been confiscated and many journalists have been arrested. And late last month, the daily newspaper Al-Tayyar became the third this year to be forcibly shut down by Sudanese authorities.
Crackdown on journalism
Reem Shawkat, a Sudanese journalist, explained that newspapers are discouraged from hiring writers known to oppose the regime and write critical pieces.
“There is direct interference in choosing the editor-in-chief of newspapers, especially the independent ones” she said. “Last month, Salah Al Den Awoda was completely sidelined from becoming the editor-in-chief of Al Jareeda newspaper because of his writings and views.”
She continued to describe how the government intervenes by “confiscating issues after publication. [This] puts a lot of pressure on a newspaper in terms of finances, and is bad for its image in the market.”
In 2009, a journalist named Azaz Shami was asked to write a column for Al Akhbar newspaper. In her piece, she questioned the Public Order Law that controls women’s dress code and behaviour, describing the law as being vague, against the core principles of human rights and humiliating. “The article I presented was censored before even going to print” she explained, adding “the Sudanese government fiercely targets all newspapers and journalists who write about such critical topics”.
Shami reported that in 2011 the government loosened the grip on newspaper censorship, allowing her article about a Youtube video of a girl being publicly lashed by a police officer to be published. It seems, however, that this more liberal stance did not last long.
A controlled media environment
The ruling party in Sudan, the National Congress Party (NCP), has been suppressing the media throughout its 22-year reign.
“Oppressive governance and control of media go together hand in hand” explained Nagi S to Think Africa Press. “For a government that came by force and has been ruling by force like the one in Sudan, controlling the media is a necessity.
“For over two decades, the government has been systemically deceiving the trusting Sudanese people, driving the opposition abroad or underground and falsely educating the young. The government knows very well that if the truth starts to go out to the masses then it is the end game for the government, so it will do whatever it can to control what goes through mainstream media.”
Usamah M, activist and social media enthusiast said: “Controlled media does exist and it represents a huge obstacle for journalism and media in Sudan. Sudanese authorities systematically manipulate the laws governing media and publication regulations to control the media and hinder its ability to freely report on the state of affairs in the country. It is now an established practice for a security agent from the NISS to visit every single newspaper at midnight before it goes to print and proofreads its content”.
While repressive, however, political commentator Mustafa Abdelbagi suggests that Sudan is more tolerant to media criticism than most other oligarchic systems in the region.
“They seem to have certain categories of criticism that they deem unacceptable”, he explained. “Disparaging their policies is much more benign than calling for a revolution or for the president to step down. So yes, media is controlled, but that's what one expects from a dictatorial regime. You also get the news outlets which are blatantly pro-government, again, another symptom of a dictatorship. So, technically, it's not that much different from any other tyrannical system in Africa or the Middle East.”
The role of social media
“Social media is gaining ground in Sudan, and its impact has been proved to be extremely significant” Abdelbagi continued. “It has allowed many to express their opinions on political issues without having to worry about the repercussions. Before social media, one would have never imagined that deep-rooted political discourse could take place in a public-like atmosphere.
“It has also given the opportunity for the Sudanese youth to gain access to information that they lack in their country, and enabled interaction between local and international professionals in journalism, IT and many other fields. Not only has it enabled interaction between the sexes, but it has given women a chance to enforce the changes they want to see happen without the consistent condescension that they would usually face.”
Abubakr Abdelaziz, an engineer who lives in the gulf, says social media is still at its infancy. “This is mainly due to the high cost of communications, smart phones, limited middle class, high technological and illiteracy rate in Sudan, etc. Unfortunately social media penetration in Sudan is very limited and I can only see the number of users declining and being used almost exclusively for entertainment and social purposes. Also, with the government’s crackdown on any sort of discontent and criticism I can see that access to uncensored information is becoming more difficult.”
Usamah M., who observed that internet connectivity in Sudan is both relatively high and cheap, took a more cautious view in suggesting that social media does not have much of an impact as of yet. “There are two barriers to wide adoption of social media by the public: technological and linguistic. Computer and internet-illiterate people will probably have problems using social media. English language is still the main language for effective communicating on the internet. The bet is on well-educated, English-fluent Sudanese activists and social media consumers to bridge this gap by constantly reaching out and educating their fellow citizens”.
The future of free speech in Sudan
As long as the current regime stays in power, most predict that there will be little improvement in terms of honest journalism and an unbiased media.
“The current wave of Arab Spring popular uprisings made governments across the region extremely sensitive and paranoid about independence of media” said Usamah. “Sudanese authorities persistently silenced honest reporting on human rights violations in the country. A case in point was the arrest, detention and holding up of kangaroo courts for journalists who reported on an alleged rape case of a female student activist who participated in a protest against rising prices and economic hardship earlier in 2011”.
Abdelbagi said “Sudan is stuck with an archaic media system which uses conventional methods of biased reporting, depending on the poignancy of event. This, unfortunately, will not change due to political issues. Because, primarily, the development of media threatens the system of governance.”
“This regime is staying in power by keeping citizens ignorant and disconnected from each other,” remarked Dalia Haj Omer, a human rights activist. “I don't think this situation will improve under the ruling regime. The only way out, in my opinion, is for citizen journalism to go viral by citizens taking charge and telling their stories locally and internationally.
“It's starting to happen in Sudan; as we saw in the recent events of Khartoum University last December. However, for that to have real impact we need a critical mass of citizens, and Sudan is still far from that. Sudan's challenge is that we are a poor country with high illiteracy rates, low internet penetration and a shrinking middle class...all that is not to our advantage. Given these challenges, we have to find creative ways to bridge the online citizen journalism with on-the-ground citizen journalism.”
This article was first published here
Crackdown on journalism
Reem Shawkat, a Sudanese journalist, explained that newspapers are discouraged from hiring writers known to oppose the regime and write critical pieces.
“There is direct interference in choosing the editor-in-chief of newspapers, especially the independent ones” she said. “Last month, Salah Al Den Awoda was completely sidelined from becoming the editor-in-chief of Al Jareeda newspaper because of his writings and views.”
She continued to describe how the government intervenes by “confiscating issues after publication. [This] puts a lot of pressure on a newspaper in terms of finances, and is bad for its image in the market.”
In 2009, a journalist named Azaz Shami was asked to write a column for Al Akhbar newspaper. In her piece, she questioned the Public Order Law that controls women’s dress code and behaviour, describing the law as being vague, against the core principles of human rights and humiliating. “The article I presented was censored before even going to print” she explained, adding “the Sudanese government fiercely targets all newspapers and journalists who write about such critical topics”.
Shami reported that in 2011 the government loosened the grip on newspaper censorship, allowing her article about a Youtube video of a girl being publicly lashed by a police officer to be published. It seems, however, that this more liberal stance did not last long.
A controlled media environment
The ruling party in Sudan, the National Congress Party (NCP), has been suppressing the media throughout its 22-year reign.
“Oppressive governance and control of media go together hand in hand” explained Nagi S to Think Africa Press. “For a government that came by force and has been ruling by force like the one in Sudan, controlling the media is a necessity.
“For over two decades, the government has been systemically deceiving the trusting Sudanese people, driving the opposition abroad or underground and falsely educating the young. The government knows very well that if the truth starts to go out to the masses then it is the end game for the government, so it will do whatever it can to control what goes through mainstream media.”
Usamah M, activist and social media enthusiast said: “Controlled media does exist and it represents a huge obstacle for journalism and media in Sudan. Sudanese authorities systematically manipulate the laws governing media and publication regulations to control the media and hinder its ability to freely report on the state of affairs in the country. It is now an established practice for a security agent from the NISS to visit every single newspaper at midnight before it goes to print and proofreads its content”.
While repressive, however, political commentator Mustafa Abdelbagi suggests that Sudan is more tolerant to media criticism than most other oligarchic systems in the region.
“They seem to have certain categories of criticism that they deem unacceptable”, he explained. “Disparaging their policies is much more benign than calling for a revolution or for the president to step down. So yes, media is controlled, but that's what one expects from a dictatorial regime. You also get the news outlets which are blatantly pro-government, again, another symptom of a dictatorship. So, technically, it's not that much different from any other tyrannical system in Africa or the Middle East.”
The role of social media
“Social media is gaining ground in Sudan, and its impact has been proved to be extremely significant” Abdelbagi continued. “It has allowed many to express their opinions on political issues without having to worry about the repercussions. Before social media, one would have never imagined that deep-rooted political discourse could take place in a public-like atmosphere.
“It has also given the opportunity for the Sudanese youth to gain access to information that they lack in their country, and enabled interaction between local and international professionals in journalism, IT and many other fields. Not only has it enabled interaction between the sexes, but it has given women a chance to enforce the changes they want to see happen without the consistent condescension that they would usually face.”
Abubakr Abdelaziz, an engineer who lives in the gulf, says social media is still at its infancy. “This is mainly due to the high cost of communications, smart phones, limited middle class, high technological and illiteracy rate in Sudan, etc. Unfortunately social media penetration in Sudan is very limited and I can only see the number of users declining and being used almost exclusively for entertainment and social purposes. Also, with the government’s crackdown on any sort of discontent and criticism I can see that access to uncensored information is becoming more difficult.”
Usamah M., who observed that internet connectivity in Sudan is both relatively high and cheap, took a more cautious view in suggesting that social media does not have much of an impact as of yet. “There are two barriers to wide adoption of social media by the public: technological and linguistic. Computer and internet-illiterate people will probably have problems using social media. English language is still the main language for effective communicating on the internet. The bet is on well-educated, English-fluent Sudanese activists and social media consumers to bridge this gap by constantly reaching out and educating their fellow citizens”.
The future of free speech in Sudan
As long as the current regime stays in power, most predict that there will be little improvement in terms of honest journalism and an unbiased media.
“The current wave of Arab Spring popular uprisings made governments across the region extremely sensitive and paranoid about independence of media” said Usamah. “Sudanese authorities persistently silenced honest reporting on human rights violations in the country. A case in point was the arrest, detention and holding up of kangaroo courts for journalists who reported on an alleged rape case of a female student activist who participated in a protest against rising prices and economic hardship earlier in 2011”.
Abdelbagi said “Sudan is stuck with an archaic media system which uses conventional methods of biased reporting, depending on the poignancy of event. This, unfortunately, will not change due to political issues. Because, primarily, the development of media threatens the system of governance.”
“This regime is staying in power by keeping citizens ignorant and disconnected from each other,” remarked Dalia Haj Omer, a human rights activist. “I don't think this situation will improve under the ruling regime. The only way out, in my opinion, is for citizen journalism to go viral by citizens taking charge and telling their stories locally and internationally.
“It's starting to happen in Sudan; as we saw in the recent events of Khartoum University last December. However, for that to have real impact we need a critical mass of citizens, and Sudan is still far from that. Sudan's challenge is that we are a poor country with high illiteracy rates, low internet penetration and a shrinking middle class...all that is not to our advantage. Given these challenges, we have to find creative ways to bridge the online citizen journalism with on-the-ground citizen journalism.”
This article was first published here