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| Africa Horn |
| Sudanese journalists stage mass hunger strike over government censorship |
| 2008-11-05 |
| Sudanese journalists launched a mass hunger strike on Tuesday, and three independent newspapers stopped work for three days in the country's biggest media protest against government censorship. Between 150 and 300 journalists began a 24-hour hunger strike and the Ajras al-Hurriya, Al-Maidan and Rayal al-Shab newspapers halted production, saying they could no longer accept government restrictions over editorial content. "We are going to stop for three days as a start. We are going on a food strike for a minimum of 24 hours," said Salah Ahmad Alkagam, head of the board of directors of Ajras al-Hurriya and one of the protest organizers. "We are going to protest against this sad practice against freedoms. We just want our constitutional rights." Sudan's interim constitution, which is supposed to guide the country through a six-year phased implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended two decades of civil war, upholds freedom of the press and expression. But laws guaranteeing press freedom have yet to be passed, and security officials inspect the editions of every newspaper nightly. Editors who resist censorship risk their publications being banned outright or confiscated from distribution offices. Journalists say that news articles and editorials are banned, particularly on subjects deemed particularly sensitive such as the conflict in Darfur, corruption and human rights. Alkagam said that the 95 people working for Ajras al-Hurriya would be going on the hunger strike, joined by more than 40 from Rayal al-Shab and another 22 from communist Al-Maidan, as well as other print journalists. Two other reporters on strike said 250 to 300 people were refusing food. The protest is also highlighting the frequent arrests of journalists in the country. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 How do we get our journalists to get in a hunger strike 'one-up' contest with them? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-11-05 23:37 |
| #1 24 hours? What a bunch of wimps... |
| Posted by: Bobby Sands 2008-11-05 15:11 |