CAIRO: The Sudanese government kept up its crackdown on local media on Sunday by blocking the publication of a newspaper affiliated with a leading opposition party. It is the latest barring of a media outlet from publishing in the country by security authorities. Al-Maydan, the bi-weekly mouthpiece of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), on Monday circulated a release saying that copies of its Sunday's edition were confiscated by officials of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). The newspaper said that no reason or justification was given for the confiscation, which occurred after the paper was printed. Al-Maydan noted that this was the 6th time in the last four months that its publication had been confiscated, crying foul over the heavy financial losses it incurred as a result. The paper went on to censure the National Council of Press and Publication, the official regulator of print-media, and the government-controlled Union of Sudanese journalists for their failure to respond to such violations by the security apparatus. “As much as we condemn the recurring behavior of the NISS towards our paper and others, we also condemn the negative attitude of the press council and union of journalists towards what is happening and we consider it as part of a wider conspiracy targeting newspapers and journalists in order to further restrict journalistic work,” the paper's release said. Sudan's constitution guarantees freedom of press but newspapers, especially privately owned and pro-opposition ones, are frequently subjected to a variety of measures to prevent them from reporting on issues deemed sensitive by the authorities. BM
