Darfur: Sudanese media report BBC thwarted by authorities
27 Feb 2008 16:35:00 GMT
Written by: Andrew Stroehlein
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A crew from BBC Arabic TV left Sudan on 24 February after running up against too many government restraints on their filming. Reporter Muhammad al-Khatim al-Mahdi’s investigation had been focused on the Janjaweed in Darfur. The BBC press office confirmed this with me today.
Nothing new in that, of course -- many other international correspondents have had the same frustrations with the Sudanese government when attempting to cover Darfur.
But it is somewhat unusual for the local media to report the problems foreign journalists have in covering Darfur.I first learned of this story through a contact reading the independent Sudanese newspaper Al-Ra'y al-Amm. Usually the Sudanese media are silent on Darfur altogether, let alone the trouble the world has in getting the story out.
Unfortunately, though perhaps not coincidentally, the paper’s website is down at the moment. UPDATE about an hour later: It is now working, its seems.
BBC Arabic TV, by the way, is set to launch on 11 March, starting with 12 hours of broadcasting every day.
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it does appear noteworthy that someone from within sudanese journalism is seemingly attempting to bring the sudanese people's attention to events within their own country. in my experience of sudan the vast majority of those living outside of darfur receive (unsurprisingly)little real news of events in their own country. certainly a brave or maybe reckless individual needs to be praised by western media
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Journalist Andrew Stroehlein is Director of Media and Information for the International Crisis Group, the conflict resolution organisation, where he promotes responsible coverage of current and potential conflicts and helps draw attention to forgotten wars around the world.
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Journalist Andrew Stroehlein is Director of Media and Information for the International Crisis Group, the conflict resolution organisation, where he promotes responsible coverage of current and potential conflicts and helps draw attention to forgotten wars around the world.
29 Feb 2008 09:21:27 GMT
it does appear noteworthy that someone from within sudanese journalism is seemingly attempting to bring the sudanese people's attention to events within their own country. in my experience of sudan the vast majority of those living outside of darfur receive (unsurprisingly)little real news of events in their own country. certainly a brave or maybe reckless individual needs to be praised by western media