When two elephants fight...

16 The Niles | Media
“We fight for the
impossible”
Mahjoub Mohamed Salih is the “grey eminence” of Sudanese
journalism and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al-Ayyam. Here
he explains the strength of the press in Sudan, the lack of investigative
journalism and the secret of writing critically about the
government without being arrested.
Q: Mr. Salih, you are the most experienced editor-in-chief in
Sudan and have been working for more than 70 years as a journalist.
Do you ever regret your choice of profession?
A: At the beginning, I didn’t consider journalism as a profession.
Those days, Sudan was a relict type of colony under Anglo-Egyptian
rule and under colonial rule, the press is an advocacy tool. I
come from a working class family and wrote my first article at the
age of 12. I later joined a Marxist group and became one of the
leaders of the student movement.
Q: So your professional aspirations were initially politically motivated?
A: We wanted to get across to the people our wishes for the future.
Journalism to me was a way to express my political views specifically
for liberating the country from foreign rule. So that’s why I became
a journalist.
Q: Expressing political views under colonial rule – this sounds like
a mission impossible.
A: Several people were imprisoned. I went to jail because I took
part in demonstrations but also because I was a junior reporter. At
that time, it didn’t take much to get incarcerated.
Q: One must not even go back to the colonial era. This year,
the Sudanese press reported the temporary suspension of the dailies
Alwan, Al Tayar and even Akhir Lahza. Many journalists have
been detained. Isn’t working in this profession just like tilting
at windmills?
A: Absolutely not. The strength of the press in Sudan is that
it affects the public opinion, the discourse, and those who make
the decisions – despite confiscations and political repression. The
majority of Sudanese are illiterate and they’d rather listen to the
radio. But for the elite, the press is a major point of reference. And
as such, it is looked upon by the ordinary man as a very important
organ in his hands, reflecting his views and educating him.
Q: Balance and education – is this also the philosophy of your
newspaper Al Ayaam?
A: Definitely. I think what makes our newspaper special is the
different types of views people find in it. We try to address issues
in depth and in a very open manner. I think people who read us
look for that. And I believe that this was one of the privileges of Al
Ayaam since it started in 1953. We are broken, but outspoken and
very good. This combination is important.
Q: Is it really as easy as that? After all, Al Ayaam was closed
down by the authorities from 1989 to 2000 and then again in 2003
for a couple of weeks.
A: I was over 60 years old by that time, so I relaxed a bit. No,
seriously speaking, I think good journalism needs to be credible.
You have to cover all events and views, even those you don’t like.
But you are free to express your views decently and correctly, whatever
they are. You can go against the government 100 percent, but
you can’t accuse persons for things they haven’t done. That’s why we
need investigative journalism in Sudan, more than ever before.
Q: But investigative journalism implicates the unveiling of a
hidden truth, which leads to the question of access to information.
A: Freedom of information is definitely lacking in the shape
of the Sudanese legal framework. We need a law that demands that
everyone who runs an institution, private or governmental, must
make information available. We suggested a law to this government
five years ago and they didn’t do it. We don’t expect them to do it.
We know it is impossible, but we fight for the impossible.
Q: Meaning?
A: Al Sudani recently published an article about a government
official who broke the rules through his business links. The government
issued orders to prevent us from commenting on this affair
because the guy is under investigation. We continue fighting for our
right to report on this case. Being under investigation should not
mean we stop publishing. So it is possible to have investigative journalism,
but I would say that it is difficult.
Q: Looking at the Sudanese newspaper market, the variety of
publications seems to underpin your argument.
A: This is not a unique phenomenon for Sudan. Whenever you
have a dictatorial regime, the society is closed down. But as soon as
it begins to open up a little, the right to express yourself becomes
predominant, because people have been kept silent for such a long
time. This happened in Eastern Europe, after the fall of the communist
system. This happened in Iraq after Saddam Hussein as well.
Q: So, going back to my initial question: Have you never thought
of giving up and becoming a doctor or an engineer instead?
A: I decided to stay in journalism with all of the ups and downs. It
has never been lucrative, it is even a poverty profession, but I persist.
”
Mahjoub Mohamed Salih is the editor-in-chief of Sudan’s second
oldest, independent and liberal daily newspaper, Al-Ayyam. He was
born in 1928 and his first articles were published in 1940 in the pupil’s
section of the daily newspaper Sawt Al-Sudan. After studying at
Gordon College, he founded Al-Ayaam in 1953, a daily newspaper
that was shut down twice by the Sudanese authorities during the
1960s, leading him to become an editor for the English newspaper
Morning News and work as a correspondent. During the Nimeiry
Era, (1969 – 1985), he was a stringer for newspapers outside of Sudan.
Al-Ayaam was closed from 1989 to 2000 and again from November
2003 until January 2004 for covering the war in Darfur. Salih was
imprisoned several times for his coverage of critical topics
“I’m not radical,
I’m flexible”
by Waakhe Simon Wudu
A year since South Sudan gained its independence, journalists and
rights activists still express concern about inadequate press freedom,
even as officials underscore the role of media in building a strong,
democratic society. An interview with one of South Sudan’s most
outspoken independent journalists and publishers, Nhial Bol,
editor-in-chief of the daily, The Citizen.
Q: Mr. Bol, recently Atem Yaak Atem, the Deputy Minister of
Information and Broadcasting, said: “One of the important aspects
of the struggle was to establish a better society where there is justice,
equality and freedom of expression.” Has press freedom improved
since independence?
A: If you have observed the cases of journalists who have been
beaten, arrested, harassed and humiliated since independence, it is
clear that we are heading for the worst. We cannot say that there
is press freedom when we do not have a legal instrument or a law
that regulates it.
Q: The South Sudanese Information Minister, Barnaba Marial
Benjamin, described the media environment in South Sudan as
“hostile and dangerous,” due to the absence of the legal framework
you mentioned. The media bills have been passed by the National
Council of Ministers and await legislation by the National Parliament.
Why did the president order the withdrawal of the bills?
A: The intention was to allow stakeholders to participate. But until
today, the stakeholders, especially the media, say they have not been
consulted and their views have not been taken into consideration.
Q: But the Minister of Information and Broadcasting said during
the commemoration of this year’s World Press Day that these laws
were withdrawn from parliament at the request of some media
activists and that consultations about the laws were being held?
A: As far as I know, the directors of the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting and the directors of the Ministry of Telecommunication
and Postal Services were the ones who discussed our draft
bills and we were not consulted. I protested this. Even if these laws
are proper and up to international standards, press freedom will
be limited. It should have been a package of bills that relate to civil
rights in general, but media bills without civil rights laws will
prolong the current crisis.
Q: What are the most pressing challenges that the independent
media is facing as a result of the current situation?
A: The security people have been calling us about stories they do
not want published— that we should not touch the president and his
personal life for example. We invite them to sit down and interact
but they do not turn up, so they are exercising indirect censorship.
Q: South Sudan has media umbrella institutions, such as the
Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS)