PCP Official Welcomes Political And Media Support For Arrested Journalists

21 May 2010 - (Khartoum) – Journalists have joined opposition political parties in expressing their solidarity with staff at the Ray Al-Shaab and Ajras Al-Hurriya newspapers.

The move follows the closure of Ray Al-Shaab and the arrest of three journalists by the security forces.

In a press conference organized by Ajras Al-Hurriya in Khartoum on Thursday, the opposition Popular Congress Party’s political secretary, Kamal Omar, said Sudanese journalists and politicians have united in order to defend people’s liberties.

[Kamal Omar]: “Yesterday, we attended a meeting of journalists and they set up a body which will be supported by a number of political parties and now it seems that the political arena is united against the National Congress Party. If we study article 130 of the Interim National Constitution which regulates social and political life in Sudan, it stipulates that the security agency's authority is to gather information only and this authority does not give them the right to violate the constitution.”

Kamal is urging journalists to unite and defend their rights and the rights of the citizens.

[Kamal Omar-Arabic]: “I believe that now the popular movement is getting stronger everyday.
We are now approaching the referendum stage. There is no solution to the Darfur crisis in Doha and Darfur has returned to war. We are also back to arbitrary arrests and detentions and pre-censorship of newspapers and I believe that now these are signs that the National Congress Party has completely failed in managing the political situation in the country.”

However a senior NCP official in the government, Dr. Rabie Abdulaati, claimed that Ray Al-Shaab was shut down because it was disseminating malicious information.

Abdullaati spoke to SRS from Khartoum on Friday.

[Dr. Rabie Abdullaati –Arabic]: “There have been a number of incidents that made national security decide take these measures against Ray Al-Shaab. They include printing false information without providing evidence to back it up. Even the accusations that the NCP rigged the elections had no legal foundation courts, and this allegation was meant to mislead and confuse the general public. They published lies and allegations that Sudan is cooperating with Iran.”

Dr. Rabie Abdullaati was speaking to SRS from Khartoum on Friday.