فلنتضامن مع الصحفي نيال ونطالب بعودة صحيفته

Khartoum Monitor daily closed and Its editor jailed

On Saturday, 10 May 2003, the North Khartoum criminal court, presided by Judge Mohamed Sir al-Khatim Gharbaw, has ordered the English-language daily Khartoum Monitor to cease publication for two months and its daily chief editor, Nhial Bol, to be jailed after finding them guilty of inciting religious discord.















Subject: Memo of suspension of Khartoum Monitor Newspaper







Professor Ali Shummu,
Chairman,
National Press Council,
Khartoum




Dear Sir,

Reference to the letter addressed to Khartoum Monitor Newspaper dated May 11, 2003, I would like to clarify some of the points raised to you as well as to the General Secretariat of the National Press Council.

Some of these points Mr Chairman do not hold legal grounds to Khartoum Monitor as far as the management is concerned. Our speculation is that the suspension is a security measure intended to exert pressure on us and take our freedom from us.

My Chairman, to be sincere to you as well as to my country, there is nothing inhuman than allowing a citizen to violate his own constitution. I personally did not participate in the drafting of 1998 Constitution of the Sudan. But today I am abiding by it. Moreover at the same time the constitution has granted me freedom as regulated by the laws and policies of the Sudan.

In short, the points I want to clarify are as follows:
On 12, April 2003, one of the Khartoum Monitor contributors was arrested by the security and we asked for the reason of his arrest, and the man in charge asked the Chairman of Board Directors and me to see him on 13 April 2003. When we went there we found a very senior officer in civilian clothes. We initiated the discussion over Edward the contributor arrested but the official told us that these were minor issues. The man told us brothers, "I want Khartoum Monitor to speak for Northerners and Southerners alike and that the National Security Organ is ready to assist us financially but we told him that we have financial problems yes but it was not legal for us to be supported by the security organ.

The man insisted but we promised to look into the issue. On 17th April, I went there and met the same man and I told him that we in the management had adopted four options for a deal with the security organ. We raised these issues because we have in mind that the arrest of Edward was a pressure on us and we had to deal with it as a crisis.

The four options I presented (not written) are:
a) That if the security organ wants to support Khartoum Monitor, it should take such financial support to H.E. the Minister of Information and Communication and the intention is that the Minister will legalize such support since he is directly responsible for media policy in the country.


b) That if the security organ wants to support the paper, it should channel the support through the National Press Council because the NPC is the legal body that promotes the media in the country.

c) That if the security organ wants, it can authorize advertisements from government ministries, departments and corporations to advertise in Khartoum Monitor to strengthen the financial position of the paper or impose extra subscription to increase the volume of circulations

d) That if the security organ wants to support the paper, it should delegate its representative to shareholders meeting and he will be given a chance to declare the security intention to that meeting.

The reply to the four options was too negative and the meeting between me and that officer ended without resolution. I reported this to the Board meeting and it was resolved that we should be prepared to face the hard time in our lifetime.

Our speculation is that since we failed to accept unacceptable deal, the security organ would impose measures and we were prepared.

When I got arrested on Tuesday, the 6th of April 2003, I noticed that the security organ had already stepped in for pressure and the nature of my arrest was the first of its kind because I was arrested at odd hours when the official working hours were over and my journalistic immunity was not lifted through Journalists' Union.

I was tortured severely as if as I was the one who wrote the article. I was made to stand in the water for five hours while facing the wall. Two policemen were insulting me, depicting me as a devil, anti-Islam when the paper was the one that published the article. I only represented the paper and the writer was Victor Ladu Darious. How then did I become a devil and what made these people to use abusive language when I was arrested simply because I represented the Monitor?

Mr Chairman, the security attitude towards Khartoum Monitor is very discriminative and that is why I became a victim to this organ. All the cases raised against the Khartoum Monitor are only aimed for pressure not more than that. The aim to our best understanding is geared to impose more restrictions on the newspaper and this is a violation to freedom of _expression and access to information.

Mr Chairman, I have a feeling that the recent fines and suspension against Khartoum Monitor and me were aimed to cause us financial losses and the security organ had succeeded in this. My argument is, will the fall of Khartoum Monitor bring stability to the security organ? I doubt it instead it has created misunderstanding.

Mr Chairman, I am writing this memo to alert you that professionally the interference of the security organ in the press freedom is taking shape for the worst despite the lifting of censorship on us since 2002.


Mr Chairman, Khartoum Monitor is a victim of suppression of its professional ethics and we will continue on the same path. We believe all the cases against us are political ones intended to suppress our national role. We believe the courts are not fair in their decision and they are not neutral therefore such punishments are imposed.

The current campaign against Monitor Mr Chairman is part of the historical intimidation aimed against the people of Southern Sudan. Vigilant Newspaper was killed in the same way by the same organ, which is now championing the death of Khartoum Monitor. We will not abandon our professional duty due to the security pressure. We will wait for the last day to see the death of our paper and put the dead body in a coffin to be buried in the South where its monument will stand as a forum for non-state actors.

The fine imposed on me on the May 10, 2003 was a political case because you cannot fine me when I was representing the paper. I did not participate in writing in any of the articles but the court strangely fined Khartoum Monitor and me.

Secondly Mr Chairman, the judge ordered us to pay the fine of 15 million Sudanese pounds and he indicated that there was a court, which fined Khartoum Monitor in May 2000. Mr Chairman, this was a great lie for the Monitor did not exist in May 2000. We started to work in September 2000. I have a feeling that it was wrongly directed since Khartoum Monitor was not existing then.

Thirdly Mr Chairman, to prove the security involvement in the press freedom, the judge Mohamed Sir El Khatim was using security facilities and one evidence of this is the letter of request to the National Press Council which was faxed to your end via security fax machine. The answer back of this security fax read as follows: God Bless you ***mmmmtttttt fax no 249110000000. This number is a security facility and the NPC received its fax message from a judge who claimed to be neutral. Can we call such court a court of justice or security court?

More specific, the Monitor did not commit any crime against the state. The aim was from security organ to drive us out and I call this on our side as a battle for dignity and profession. I will maintain my profession despite the pressure on us.

Believe me or not this is the end of justice.

Thanks,


Nhial Bol Aken,
Acting Editor-in-Chief,
Khartoum

هل هل
كمان محمد سر الختم ذاتو
المهم نحن بندين اي اعتداء علي الحريات الصحفيه
وبنطالب باطلاق سراحو

التضامن من اجل حريه التعبير واطلاق سراح جميع المعتقلين

لا لتكميم الافواه وتحجيم الاقلام ومصادره الصحف

أشجب واستنكر تضييق الخناق على الحريات الصحفية
والتحية للزميل نيال

الاخ خالد .. ماذا نتوقع من نظام احادى الرؤية ضيق الافق غير الذى يحدث .. فالنقف كلنا صفا واحدا من اجل بناء سودان واحد متوحد، تكفل فيه كل الحريات... لنقف مع نيال و محمد الحسن حميد وكل الشرفاء الذين يجودون بالغالى والنفيس من اجل ان يتنفس الوطن هواء نقيا..
ــــــ
بنقيف فى وش المدفع
ونقيف فى وش الطيش
جبهتنا عاليه .. عاليه
ما جبهه تبيع العيش
ووطنا غالى .. غالى
ما بيحكموه ناس براطيش
الشعب بيحمى سلاحو
والسارق جه من الجيش ؟؟

الرفض التام لتكميم الافواه ومصادرة الحريات

اتضامن

عادل

أطلقو سراح نيال الان

تكميم الافواه لو بينفع كان نفع صدام

لا لتكميم الافواه
ومصدرة الحريات

تحية لكم ولنيال الذي كتب رسالة قوية وارجو ان يتضامن الجمبع ومسالة الحريات وحقوق الانسان مبدئية ونيال وسودان مونيتر اصيبوا في حرية الراي وحق التعبير
والكتابة.

لنهتف جميعا ضد القمع الفكري
وليسقط القمع الديني
المشاء

Secondly Mr Chairman, the judge ordered us to pay the fine of 15 million Sudanese pounds and he indicated that there was a court, which fined Khartoum Monitor in May 2000. Mr Chairman, this was a great lie for the Monitor did not exist in May 2000. We started to work in September 2000. I have a feeling that it was wrongly directed since Khartoum Monitor was not existing then.