Sudan: End Crackdown on Press
The government of Sudan should end its
recent crackdown on the press, Human Rights Watch has said in a letter to
the Sudanese president. In the past week, the government's National Press Council (NPC) has
confiscated entire daily editions of three newspapers.
For Immediate Release:
Sudan: End Crackdown on Press
(New York, September 11, 2002) - The government of Sudan should end its
recent crackdown on the press, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to
the Sudanese president today.
In the past week, the government's National Press Council (NPC) has
confiscated entire daily editions of three newspapers. Security forces
called the editors in for questioning, demanding that they stop printing
articles critical of government decisions. They also arrested Osman
Mergani, a journalist with Al Ra'i Al A'am, an Arabic-language
newspaper, on September 3, and held and questioned him for two days.
Mr. Mergani had criticized the government pullout from the Machakos
peace talks on Al Jazeera international television on September 3.
"The Sudanese government is cracking down on people who criticize its
pullout from the peace negotiations," said Jemera Rone, Sudan researcher
at Human Rights Watch. "This represents a real deterioration in human
rights in Sudan."
The Sudanese government announced on September 1, 2002, that it was
withdrawing from internationally-sponsored talks with the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Machakos, Kenya.
On September 4, the NPC targeted the English-language Khartoum Monitor
and the Arabic-language Al-Horiyah, confiscating issues and
interrogating editors. These newspapers had criticized the decision to
pull out of negotiations with the rebel SPLM/A in Kenya. The Monitor had
run a story featuring the Dinka of Abyei, who was pressing in the peace
talks that their town be included in the south. The government wants it
included in northern Sudan.
The crackdown on the monitor came on the heels of a July decision to
heavily fine the Monitor for other articles unpopular with government
officials.
On September 5, the NPC moved against another Arabic-language newspaper,
Al Sahafa. Government authorities confiscated the newspaper's entire
press run after it had published a piece critical of the government
withdrawal from the Machakos negotiations.
The letter to President El Bashir is available at
http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/09/sudan0911ltr.htm.
For more information, please contact:
In Washington, Jemera Rone: +1-202-612-4328
In London, Steve Crawshaw: +44-20-7713-2766
In Brussels, Jean-Paul Marthoz: +32-2-732-2009
--
Jeff Scott
Africa Division
Human Rights Watch
Phone: +1-212-216-1834
Fax: +1-212-736-1300
http://www.hrw.org/africa/index.php
en français, http://www.hrw.org/french/africa/