VZCZCXRO2750
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1676 3221303
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 171303Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2336
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 001676 
 
DEPT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, SE WILLIAMSON, AF/SPG, AF/PD, DRL 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL KPAO KPKO SOCI AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT: JOURNALISTS ORGANIZE CENSORSHIP PROTEST, KHARTOUM HAMMERS 
DOWN 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: On November 17, Sudanese authorities arrested more than 
60 protesters (many of them local journalists) outside parliament in 
Khartoum.  The demonstrators were rallying against the systematic 
censorship that forces papers to consult with government security 
personnel on the content of their newspapers on a nightly basis.  In 
addition, the protesters were denouncing the arrest of Salah Bab 
Allah, a journalist who published a report last week about the 
outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in Kordofan.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  Intentionally choosing the same day that parliament approved the 
electoral commission, journalists from a wide range of newspapers 
rallied to protest the nightly censorship that infringes upon press 
freedom in Khartoum.  In addition, the group was denouncing the 
arrest of Salah Bab Allah, a journalist from the Islamist 
"Al-Intibaha" newspaper who published a report last week about the 
outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in Kordofan.  Holding banners 
proclaiming "Give Us Our Rights," the group attempted to deliver a 
petition to the sitting parliament.  Instead, they were rounded up 
by police with long sticks, herded into caged trucks, and hauled 
off.  As of mid-day, on November 17, 63 journalists (24 women, 39 
men) from different newspapers were in the process of having cases 
opened against them in Omdurman court. 
 
¶3.  According to Deng Goc and Amel Habbani of "Ajras al-Hurriya," a 
newspaper that has been instrumental in speaking out against 
censorship over the last several months, the protesting group was 
representative of an extremely wide array of Khartoum-based 
newspapers from across the ideological spectrum.  Included amongst 
the protesters were journalists from "Al-Intibaha," a normally very 
pro-GoS newspaper, albeit with a radical Islamist twist (it often 
criticizes the regime for being too pro-Western) and their 
ideological rivals at the pro-SPLM, secular "Ajras al-Hurriya". 
Emboffs confirmed that Salah Bab Allah, the "Al-Intibaha" reporter 
who was arrested last week, has since been released and is currently 
with his family in Kassala.  In a phone conversation, the reporter 
said he was surprised by his detention, especially since "the 
censors had approved the article the night before." 
 
¶4.  COMMENT: The noose of censorship around the necks of newspapers 
in Khartoum has been tightening since the beginning of 2008 and 
worsened after the JEM attack on Omdurman in May.  Fortunately, the 
resolve and courage of Sudan's press corps has also increased. 
Beginning with the joint press conference "Ajras al-Hurriya" held 
with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the Popular Congress 
Party, and the Sudanese Communist Party in June - and continuing 
with several attention-getting newspaper shut-downs from a number of 
publications - an effective media campaign has significantly raised 
the public's awareness of censorship by Sudanese authorities. 
However, whether the media will be successful in gaining true 
freedom of the press, or instead be eventually squelched or co-opted 
by Khartoum's iron fist, remains to be seen.  As this regime relies 
heavily on media manipulation and censorship to craft its public 
image and prevent certain information from entering the public 
domain, it is unlikely that the press will see any improvement in 
the level of censorship anytime soon.  The arrest of the Al-Intibaha 
reporter is a perfect example, as the government was likely 
concerned that the information about hemorrhagic fever, which could 
potentially infect one million-plus sheep from Kordofan, might reach 
markets in the Gulf (particularly Saudi Arabia during the Hajj), 
thus denying Sudan an important source of revenue at a time of 
falling oil prices. Embassy plans to issue a statement criticizing 
the arrests. 
 
FERNANDEZ