"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.
SSHURSA SOUTH SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS SOCIETY FOR ADVOCACY Head Office:Kololo-Tongpiny Road Plot 41 Opposite ARC International After US Embassy Behind Government Ministries,Juba, Republic of South Sudan Tel: +211955300382/+211915364531; E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected] Submission of SSHURSA on the National Elections Bill 2012, To The Office of the Chairperson, Legislation and Justice Committee, South Sudan National legislative Assembly, Juba, South Sudan Presented By Biel Boutros Biel Executive Director, SSHURSA At PUBLIC HEARING ON THE NATIONAL ELECTIONS BILL 2012 National Lesgislative Assembly March 1-2, 2012, Juba, South Sudan
Sudan attempts to silence opposition news coverage
New York, March 1, 2012-Sudanese authorities must halt their efforts to silence news coverage of opposition leadership, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Authorities have already closed three newspapers in 2012 and confiscated thousands of copies, CPJ research shows.The National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) confiscated the entire print run of the independent daily Al-Tayar on February 20 after the paper printed claims by Hassan al-Turabi, head of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) and leading critic of President Omar al-Bashir, saying the NISS had bugged his office, according to news reports. Two days later, the NISS indefinitely suspended Al-Tayar on charges of “jeopardizing national security,” news reportssaid. The newspaper frequently ran investigative stories on government corruption, its editor, Osman Mirghani, told Reuters.Also on February 20, authorities confiscated the entire print run of independent daily Al-Youm al-Tali for publishing al-Turabi’s accusations, news reports said.”By closing news outlets and seizing newspapers, President al-Bashir’s government demonstrates its continuing appetite to censor critical news coverage,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. “The government must immediately allow the shuttered newspapers to resume operations, and it should stop its practice of seizing every newspaper edition that carries an unflattering story.”Al-Tayar is the third newspaper to be closed in the past two months, CPJ research shows. Authorities shut down Rai al-Shaab, a daily affiliated with al-Turabi’s party, after raiding its office and confiscating its print run in early January, news outlets reported. The NISS also raided the offices of another private daily, Alwan, which had published several articles in support of al-Turabi, and confiscated its print run in mid-January, news reports said.In 2011, authorities confiscated newspaper print runs on at least 19 different occasions, CPJ research shows. In each case, the authorities waited for the newspapers to be printed and then confiscated the copies before they were distributed, thus inflicting maximum financial losses.
###
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization
that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.
PaanLuel Wël – Founder and Editor-in-Chief of PaanLuel Wël Media
PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a prominent news and commentary platform dedicated to covering the news, history, culture, literature, and socio-political affairs of South Sudan and the world. Established in July 2011, the website was born out of PaanLuel Wël’s vision to create a space for free expression and constructive dialogue during a pivotal moment in South Sudan’s history.
Through PaanLuel Wël Media, he has cultivated a vibrant intellectual forum that features a diverse range of voices, from poets, authors, and academics to activists, commentators, and community columnists. The platform is rooted in the belief that an informed and engaged citizenry is essential to the project of nation-building and social transformation.
PaanLuel Wël is a passionate advocate for the power of media to educate, empower, and connect people across political, ethnic, and generational divides. He is committed to fostering a culture of dialogue, tolerance, and inclusivity and is deeply invested in mentoring the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.
