Authorities close down Al-Jazeera office in Khartoum, detain correspondent

SudaneseOnline.Com
Posted on: 12/20 at 12:21am CDT

By MOHAMMED OSMAN Associated Press Writer

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Dec 19, 2003 (AP) -- Sudanese authorities have closed down the office of the popular Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera and detained its bureau chief for questioning, the government said Friday.

A statement issued by the Sudanese security authorities said the measure was taken against Al-Jazeera Thursday "to preserve the security, national interests and stability of the country."

"The channel has been preparing and diffusing, through its correspondent in Khartoum, ... a number of programs and articles filled with lies, weak analysis, biased reporting and selected pictures to serve (its interests)," said the statement, carried by SUNA, the official news agency.

Ibrahim Hilal, Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief, confirmed that the network's office was closed by Sudanese security Thursday and that bureau chief Islam Salih was detained.

"It is not clear to us what is the real reason behind the objection to Al-Jazeera's coverage," Hilal said from Qatar, where the network is based. "Sudanese affairs have been making headlines recently, so maybe the sensitivity (of officials) has increased."

Hilal rejected the Sudanese government's accusations, saying: "I do not see how we could be biased. We cover the events as they are."

The government statement said Al-Jazeera's office will remain closed until the network appoints "responsible persons who will carry out the message of the channel with all impartiality and professionalism, covering the views and the opposite views."

The closure and arrest came a day after Sudanese officers stormed Al-Jazeera's Khartoum office just before an interview with a leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, Hilal said.

"They pulled back when they saw a Southern rebel leader, apparently so as not to come across as trying to prevent southerners from voicing their opinions," Hilal said.

The officers took a transmission device and left, he said.

Hilal defended Salih, the bureau chief, saying he is "one of our ... most experienced correspondents."

Sudan has a history of suspending newspapers and detaining journalists. In August, President Omar el-Bashir declared that state censorship of newspapers would be lifted. But press restrictions have remained in place.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Sudan criticized the government for its suspension of two independent newspapers in November.