The Sudanese authorities announced, on Tuesday, the suspension of the work of Emirati and Saudi channels in the country on the basis of their “lack of commitment to professionalism and transparency,” at a time when relations between the government of Sudan and the Emirates are witnessing severe tensions against the backdrop of allegations of support regarding the Gulf state’s support for the Rapid Support Forces, while relations prevail. Quiet between Riyadh and Khartoum.
The Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information issued a decision to suspend the channels “Al-Arabiya, Al-Hadath and Sky News Arabia in Sudan for not adhering to the required professionalism and transparency and not renewing their licenses.”
However, according to assurances from residents of Sudan, they are still able to follow the broadcast of these television channels until now, which makes it clear that the problem will relate to the work of these channels on the ground, which is a matter that faces difficulties mainly due to the battles that have been going on for about a year between the army forces led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
The decision came in light of tensions between the UAE and the Sudanese government, which accuses Abu Dhabi of helping the Rapid Support Forces. A few days ago, the Sudanese government submitted an official complaint to the Security Council against the UAE, accusing it of interfering in the country’s internal affairs and providing rapid support with “various forms of political, media, diplomatic and financial support.” “In addition to supplying weapons and equipment and bringing mercenaries from various countries.”
The UAE has always denied supporting any party to the conflict against the other, and indicated that it is making political and diplomatic efforts to stop the escalation in Sudan.
Behind the scenes of the decision
The Sudanese Ministry of Information statement indicated that the reason for suspending the work of the three channels is that they violate professionalism. The Ministry did not respond to a request from the Al-Hurra website to clarify the nature of the reports that led the Ministry to rule that it was unprofessional and non-transparent, but we did not receive a response until the report was written.
The former Sudanese Minister of Information, Hassan Ismail, points out that “Sky News fabricated a report talking about the presence of ISIS in Sudan, along with other reports that lacked professionalism and were characterized by bias in favor of the Rapid Support Militia, which made it subject to government decision.”
Ismail told Al-Hurra website, “Sky News represents the media arm of the Rapid Support Militia, and many of its reports are cooked in the kitchens of the UAE intelligence, with the aim of achieving the agenda of supporting the militia.”
The former minister stressed “the importance of activating the role of the Sudanese government media, to avoid what he called “media poisons and the skewed treatment of some news channels.”
A journalist working for the Emirati channel Sky News Arabia, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the Sudan office had already received the comment statement, which was the same as the one published by the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA).
He added in his interview with Al-Hurra website: “Unfortunately, we will not work in Sudan until after the government retracts the decision,” noting that the decision means not publishing any reports, live broadcasts, or any presence of the channel inside Sudan.
Sudan suspends the work of Al-Hadath, Al-Arabiya, and Sky News Arabia channels
The Sudanese official news agency (SUNA) quoted the Minister of Information, Gerham Abdel Qader, as saying that the country suspended, on Tuesday, the work of Al Arabiya, Al Hadath and Sky News Arabia channels “for not adhering to the required professionalism and transparency and not renewing their licenses.”
The director of the offices of the Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath (Saudi) channels in Sudan, Lina Yaqoub, confirmed in statements to Al-Hurra website that her organization was surprised by “a letter leaked on social media by the Ministry of Information carrying a decision to suspend the work of Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels under the pretext of not renewing the license, and not pursuing professionalism and transparency.” “This is a letter that has not been delivered to us until now.”
She added: “These are flimsy reasons. The office renewed its license in March 2023, and a month after the outbreak of war, no office renewed its license due to the lack of work of the Foreign Media Department responsible for issuing approvals. The Ministry of Information also did not specify the positions of unprofessionalism taken by the channel during its coverage of the events.”
After announcing the suspension of broadcasting, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate condemned the decision and considered it “a dangerous trend… and a clear violation of the freedom of expression, the press, the media, and the sanctity of press and media institutions.”
The union’s statement issued on Tuesday indicated that “closing satellite channels and restricting those working in the profession would silence the voice of the professional media, and would also open the door to the spread of rumors and hate speech.”
For her part, the director of the Al Arabiya channel’s offices in Sudan continued her talk to Al Hurra, and announced that although the decision has not been officially received yet, “we have decided to stop working on our field coverage,” explaining, “We have 4 offices, in Khartoum, Omdurman, Darfur, and Port Sudan.”
Ismail points out that “the decision to stop Al Arabiya and Al Hadath channels was marred by miscalculation on the part of the Sudanese authorities, because the two channels’ performance showed a great deal of professionalism and balance, even if it included some mistakes.”
He ruled out that the decision would affect the relationship between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, which is leading mediation to stop the war through the Jeddah Platform negotiations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
He added, “I do not expect the decision to have any negative consequences on the relationship between Khartoum and Riyadh, nor will it affect the Saudi mediation seeking to end the war.”
He pointed out that “the decision is not against Saudi Arabia, but against a media institution affiliated with it, and it is also against Sky News Channel and not against the UAE, given that Sudan is waging a separate diplomatic battle against Abu Dhabi through an official complaint submitted to the Security Council regarding its support for the Rapid Support Militia.”
ISIS report
In his interview with Al-Hurra, the journalist at Sky News Arabia referred to “altercations” during the recent period between the government and the channel during the last days over a report, which caused the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement in this regard.
The Sky News Arabia channel had published a report on what it described as “the involvement of ISIS in the Sudanese civil war.” The Sudanese Foreign Ministry commented in a statement published by the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), which said: “The Emirati channel Sky News Arabia rebroadcast on the night of March 29, 2024.” Euro News channel video in 2016 about the attack by Al-Shabaab in Somalia on Mogadishu airport, and claimed that it was members of ISIS fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces against the terrorist militia.
The statement continued: “The aforementioned channel’s approach to covering Sudan news, which lacks the minimum foundations of professionalism and objectivity, does not need a statement. However, the descent to the depths of open fraud is unprecedented, and it must be stopped.”
The channel responded, on Monday, by saying that it had conducted a review of the report mentioned by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry, and confirmed that it adheres to the report and that it obtained its information from reliable sources.
But she came back and confirmed that after the review it was also revealed that “there was an editing error represented by the use of archival video footage not exceeding a few seconds from a four-minute long report on ISIS that was misplaced,” adding, “We confirm that the unintended error does not affect the realistic and solid basis of our report.” “.
In turn, Sudanese political analyst, Othman Al-Mardi, believes that “resorting to decisions to close media institutions, regardless of their performance, will not change the reality of their handling of events, and will increase their extremism, if they are truly not neutral and biased.”
Al-Mardi told Al-Hurra website, “It is better for the Sudanese authorities to work to promote and strengthen official media institutions, rather than resorting to the easy option of gagging mouths and confiscating freedoms, because the absence of official media from the media space makes room for other media platforms.”
The political analyst disagrees with the former Sudanese Minister of Information, and points out that the decision to stop Sky News, Al Arabiya, and Al Hadath channels stems from political reasons and positions, not professional ones, noting that “the Sudanese government classifies the UAE as a major ally of the Rapid Support Forces, and this classification is the reason for the issuance of the decision.”
The US special envoy to Sudan, Tom Perello, announced on March 26 that the United States is looking forward to resuming peace talks on Sudan in Saudi Arabia on April 18, as part of its effort to resolve the conflict that has led to the displacement of millions and caused the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. .
Perillo added, “Washington explicitly made clear that the talks between the warring parties should be comprehensive and include the UAE, Egypt, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development for East African Countries (IGAD), and the African Union.”
Whether the negotiations were held on time or not, and with the unclear position of the warring parties on participation, Perillo said, “It is appropriate to resume the talks after the month of Ramadan and also the donors’ conference in Paris on April 15.”
At that time, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, ruled out negotiations or a truce with the Rapid Support Forces.
Fighting broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April last year, with tensions that had been simmering for a long time erupting.
Saudi Arabia and the United States led talks in Jeddah last year in an attempt to reach a truce, but they were unsuccessful.
The conflict resulted in the largest displacement crisis in the world, pushed segments of the population of 49 million people to the brink of famine, and unleashed waves of ethnically motivated killing and sexual violence in the Darfur region in the west of the country.
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