Sudanese journalists halt Khartoum hunger strike

Today, the journalists of El Tayar newspaper decided to lift the hunger strike they embarked on at the newspaper offices in downtown Khartoum three days ago, after mediation by their Union and senior journalists.

The journalists embarked on the hunger strike on 1 March in protest against the suppression of the press freedoms in general and the suspension of El Tayar newspaper, since 15 December last year, in particular.

No reasons were given for the suspension, but editor-in-chief Osman Mirghani presumed at the time that his editorials sharply criticised the Finance Minister’s proposal to lift subsidies on basic commodities in 2016.

Mirghani told Radio Dabanga this afternoon that the decision to call a halt to the hunger strike was made after the chairman of the Journalists’ Union and a group of senior journalists intervened.

“They mediated between us and the authorities. The government stipulated some conditions and pledged to handle the case of El Tayar in court,” he said.

The editor-in-chief described what happened as “a milestone in the course of the Sudanese press. Our new approach has brought us victory. We have been able to claim our rights in a peaceful way.”