El Mahdi: ‘Radio Dabanga has become the song of Sudan’s oppressed people’

Imam El Sadig El Mahdi, head of the National Umma Party, expressed his appreciation for the fundamental role that Radio Dabanga played in light of democratisation, peace, and freedom in Sudan.

During a formal meeting with Radio Dabanga editor-in-chief Kamal El Sadig and the Director of the Netherlands based organisation Free Press Unlimited, Leon Willems, who are on an official visit to Sudan for the first time since the station was established in exile in Amsterdam 11 years ago, El Mahdi said that Radio Dabanga supported the Sudanese people in their struggle for freedom, peace, and justice during the tough times of the deposed Al Bashir regime.

‘There is no doubt that Radio Dabanga has become the song that most of those affected by the dictatorship in Sudan listen to, especially the displaced, refugees, and those in war-affected areas in Sudan’

“There is no doubt that Radio Dabanga has become the song that most of those affected by the dictatorship in Sudan listen to, especially the displaced, refugees, and those in war-affected areas in Sudan,” he said.

El Mahdi also highlighted that the next step for the exile radio station which is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands is to move to Sudan because Radio Dabanga has gained the confidence Sudanese people and the experience to face the challenges of the transitional period.

“The transitional period requires strong and competent media that can support peace and democracy process as well as face the counter-revolution media that works against the ongoing democratic transformation,” he said.

El Mahdi’s remarks echo those of Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok who, speaking at the Presidential Palace in Khartoum on Sunday where he received El Sadig and Willems, expressed his gratitude and appreciation “for the fundamental role that Radio Dabanga has played over the years in the fight of the Sudanese people for democracy, justice, prosperity, and peacebuilding”.

Sudan’s Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism, Faisal Mohamed Saleh, praised the work of Radio Dabanga over the past 11 years. In a meeting with El Sadig and Willems in Khartoum, he said: “I witnessed the popularity of Radio Dabanga in Darfur and other regions of Sudan and I think Radio Dabanga still has a role to play.”

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