Issue 4/ 2010
April
Editorial
JointMAG April is dedicated
to
Sudan
-
whilst
April
and
the
conflictual
history that these elections
are
based
contributors
role
and
on,
emphaziss
and
Sudanese Women Journalists Struggle to
Scoop
ermany
our
the
development
journailsm
frica
also
touching on the elections in
JOINT M
A
G
by Sarah Richani, Germany
of
media
in
An ever-growing number of Sudanese female journalists have taken up their pens in an
Sudan.
effort to facilitate Sudan’s trek towards democracy after decades of war, conflict and
We hope to contribute with a
continuing tensions. Indeed, as Sudan approaches its first elections in decades, followed
few different perspectives to
by the referendum potentially resulting in the secession of South Sudan, many women
the debate on Sudan. Please
journalists in both Juba and Khartoum are poised to cover these landmark events.
feel
free
to
comment
and
discuss.
Yet in spite of the recent rise in the number of female journalists, the Sudanese field of
journalism remains largely dominated by their male counterparts. With the exception of
Best,
a few women journalists in high positions in Sudan Radio and Television Corporation
D. Kumetat and L. Poppe
(SRTC), the Sudan News Agency (SUNA), the Sudan Radio Service amongst a few
others, women journalists are often left to report on women’s issues, family and other
Call for Contributions to the
non-political events deemed unimportant.
June Issue of JointMAG
“The situation of women journalists is an extension of the marginalized situation of
Experiences of
International
Partnership
women in society...Only a few reach leading positions and several media outlets don’t
provide women journalists with the same training or travel opportunities accessible to its
male staff”, said Lemia El-Ageily head of the political section of the Sudanese daily, AlAkhbar.
In June we will follow-up on
the Peer-Teaching Meeting of
In spite of the attempts made by donors and organizations supporting media reform to
Go Africa...Go Germany. If
encourage women representation in their activities, female journalists argue that they
you would like to contribute to
continue to be overlooked. Since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in
the follow-up with your
2005, international organizations and partners have poured into Sudan with the aim of
impressions and thoughts,
supporting local efforts for media reform. But, media personnel of both sexes continue to
please contact one of the
face difficulties ranging from persecution and poor working conditions to censorship,
editors personally or via
although Sudan surprisingly has a comparatively more vibrant press than many other
goafrica(at)bpb.de.
countries in the region.
Content
Still, women journalists face even more hindrances than their male counterparts. Lower
pay and positions irrespective of qualifications are amongst some of the recurring
complaints women journalists have voiced. Spending long hours in the newsroom and
Women journalists // 1-2
mixing with men is frowned upon as well. Also, the Journalists for Human Rights network
Call for Contributions // 1
in Sudan has recorded cases of women journalists being sexually assaulted by colleagues
Post-Elections Sudan // 2-3
and officials.
Sudanese Conflict(s) // 3
Electoral Compass Sudan //4
“Some men are even resistant to giving out information majorly because of cultural
Alumni Profile// 4-5
hindrances that restrict women from the public sphere…some politicians still consider
An Insider's Viewpoint
Post-Elections Sudan: A Series of Pessimistic Scenarios
by Lemiaa El-Ageily, Sudan; translated by Sarah El-Richani, Germany
The political scene in Sudan seems to get murkier by the day. In spite of the presidential,
parliamentary and regional elections held last week - the first in a quarter of a century- the polls
are unlikely to deliver the democratic change promised due to several technical and logistical
failures. The boycott of the elections by prominent and historical parties in protest over the
performance of the National Elections Commission and the unfavorable political environment in
which these elections were held raises further questions about this process’ credibility.
Indeed, the political scene is Sudan has witnessed excessive political maneuverings over the
past month resulting in the varied positions taken by parties ranging from boycotting and
withdrawing to participating in the elections. But, these conflicting positions taken by the
political players did not truly express the desires and ambitions of their bases.
All these developments cast a shadow over the situation in Sudan including the imminent
formation of government and the future of Sudan and its unity. Indeed, this flawed attempt at
an election has in fact increased the political tension and further complicated the Sudanese
crisis. The upcoming cabinet is expected to face big crises of which the most important is the
fate of Sudan and its expected secession into two hostile parts.
Still, there are some who expect more pessimistic scenarios for the beleaguered country. It is
clear that some influential members within the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) headed by
President Omar al-Bashir are concerned about the possibly explosive situation and have thus
intensified contact with other political powers after the end of the elections and prior to
announcing the results. [...] Despite these meetings however, President al-Bashir has said that
only parties, which partook in the elections ought to be represented in the cabinet and that the
seats ought to be allocated in proportion to the seats won in parliament. Still, Dr. Salaheddine
asserted that the upcoming phase demands a larger degree of national unity and dialogue with
all political players.
Women
journalists
continued
women
are
supposed
not
to
involved
in
be
public
issues”, said Marvis
Birungi,
deputy
editor
of
Sudan
Catholic
Radio
Network.
Indeed, whether in
Juba or Khartoum,
women
albeit
journalists,
growing
number,
to
in
continue
face
several
difficulties,
which
prevent them from
fully
fulfilling
their
professional
in
the
roles
Sudanese
media. As El-Ageily
put
it
“We
shackled
are
by
social
burdens
and
restrictions
some
who
by
in
society
are
opposed
to
women
working...but
we
shall continue.”
Meanwhile, several political commentators argue that the main issue is not who governs Sudan
but how it is governed. The only solution, they argue, will be to place national interests before
party interests and overcome the illegitimate election results. Instead, many have called for a
serious national dialogue joining all political parties, movements in Darfur and civil society
organizations in an effort to agree a specific programme which addresses the main issues and
proposes a national mechanism.
There are also those who believe there are two choices available to the upcoming government.
The National Congress Party, they contend, can either hold on to the election results, claim its
legitimacy and therefore bear the responsibility of unilaterally governing the nation as well as
the subsequent devastating consequences or they can rather be more modest and seek national
consensus that can rescue the nation from the dangers threatening its unity, security and safety.
On the other hand, the positions of the political parties in the opposition regarding the governing
party’s suggestions remain unclear and unorganized. The Sudanese Communist party has
confirmed its rejection of the results and that it will not recognize the government’s legitimacy.
Meanwhile, other parties such as the Democratic Unionist Party, led by Mohammad Othman alMirghani, have expressed their desire to participate in the government.
Sarah
El-Richani,a
Lebanese
DAAD
doctoral Student in
the field of media
and communication
studies,
has
several
spent
years
working
in Sudan,
Yemen,
Lebanon,
and other countries
in
the
MENA
region. She activly
tweets
on
Eastern
(srichani).
Middle
affairs
Post-Elections continued
Sudanese Conflict(s)
The Ummah National Party has called for
another
election
to
be
held
after
the
by Ingrid Hack, Germany
referendum. [...] Al-Sadek al-Mahdy, head
of the Ummah National Party, regardes the
The history of Sudan is interwoven with violent conflict since its creation.
elections as a superficial change in the
Northern Muslim elites were installed to rule the newly independent
government’s structure. He also warned the
republic in 1956, while the predominantly Christian/animist oriented
next cabinet of five problems it will face
south was not represented in government. Also the ethnic heritage
including
the
divides the predominantly Arabic North from the African South. Already
southern government, the resumption of
the British colonial power had administered these two districts separately.
the crisis in Darfur due to the armed
The outbreak of a violent rebellion against the authoritarian government
movements’ rejection of the election results
in 1963 thus mainly aimed at religious and cultural self-determination.
in addition to the International Criminal
While the peace agreement of Addis Ababa (1972) granted the South its
Court crisis.
own constitution and an autonomous government, the ceasefire could not
a
possible
aggression
by
outlive the discovery of major oil deposits in the border region in 1978.
Some
civil
several
society
other
and
The central government took possession of these areas, suspended the
believe
government of Southern Sudan unilaterally, and introduced the sharia
representatives
national
observers
that the elections and its results will not
change
much
in
the
current
nationwide. Civil war erupted again as an almost immediate response.
political
equation and will not affect any crucial
The incessant political and cultural suppression and the wilful neglect of
change in the appearance and nature of the
the vast rural areas by the governing elite in Khartoum constitute root
authorities. They also believe that the NCP
causes to other conflicts on Sudan’s territory, too. Albeit rich in natural
staged these elections in an effort to win it,
resources like gold and diamonds and of a high geostrategic importance,
and its leader, new legitimacy, extend its
the
power, and continue their repression and
impoverished.
aggression
oppressive regime dates back to the country’s foundation. Yet it remained
and
reproduction
of
political
country’s
for
East
Not
the
is
severely
surprisingly,
most
part
underdeveloped
considerable
even
when
and
its
resistance
the
population
against
continuous
the
Islam. In addition they suspect the NCP of
peaceful
aiming to topple the peace agreement so as
exploitation led to a severe humanitarian crisis in the late 1980s. Only in
economic
to monopolise authority and tend to their
1996 the permanent tensions escalated into a multitude of attacks on
interests, which are in direct opposition to
government institutions and the oil infrastructure.
the interests of the nation and its people.
Of Sudan’s conflicts, Darfur has been the one that received the greatest
even
public attention in the West. While population has tripled since 1960, the
political
widening desertification equally deprives nomadic shepherds and settled
landscape will no longer be as it was prior
farmers of arable land. The central government utilized the long-standing
to the elections. The political agitation will
conflict to its own purposes of defending an illegitimate claim to power
find its way to the streets as the masses
and its enrichment at the expense of the periphery. Fearing a unified
have discerned the extent of the failure of
front of Darfurian, Southern and Eastern Sudanese insurgents, the
the NCP, the scenario of secession, the
regime in Khartoum brutally intervened with massive air raids and ground
mother of all crises in Darfur, which have all
attacks conducted by a local equestrian militia, the Janjaweed. In 2004,
been further complicated by the polls. They
the UN coined the situation the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis.
The
upcoming
further
have
days
will
complications
even
noted
witness
and
the
the
failure
of
the
international community and organizations,
Today, individual agreements for each region regulate a fragile peace that
which monitored the elections.
is frequently interrupted by hostilities on the part of the government and
various rebellious factions alike. Not all of the key issues could be
But, no one can accurately predict the
addressed adequately in the peace treaties and their implementation is
reality of what is happening. Those who
often reluctant due to a lack of full commitment on both sides. The
have won, have won and those who have
national
boycotted have boycotted. What remains,
independence of Southern Sudan (scheduled for January 2011) make the
however, is internal political activism, which
coming year a very decisive one on Sudan’s difficult path to peace and
will definitely be against them, as well as
stability.
elections
(in
April
2010)
and
the
referendum
on
the
the external problems that they will have to
face alone as no one will support them in
Ingrid Hack graduated from Tübingen University, Germany with a Masters
this regard either.
in Peace Studies and International Politics.
In Practice
Alumni Profile
Electoral Compass Sudan – Voter
Education, Journalist Training, Music
& Videos
Interview with Emmanuel Akoto,
Ghana
by Roman Deckert, Germany
by Linda Poppe, Germany
Sudan votes from April 11th to April 13th 2010, for the
first time in a quarter of a century. Whatever one may
think about the recent the boycott by major parties: the
elections
are
a
central
component
of
the
2005
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended
decades of war. They are in spite of all the flaws in the
electoral process a substantial step in the democratic
transformation of the country.
Political
participation
requires
an
informed
public.
Therefore, the Berlin based NGO Media in Cooperation
and Transition (MICT) started its Sudan activities in
2008 by producing a local version of the “Electoral
Compass”, better known in Germany as the “Wahl-OMat”, in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
The interactive, bilingual online tool compares the views
of the user on 30 issues with the positions of the major
parties
and
provides
(www.electionnaire.org).
background
The
project
information
was
in
fact
welcomed by Sudanese civil societies not only as voter
education but also as “party education”.
In 2009 MICT started the project “supporting electoral
coverage” with funding from the German Foreign Office.
A group of 30 journalists from across the country and
the political spectrum is supported through continuous
training and editorial coaching (www.sudanvotes.com)
in cooperation with local NGO partners. Though political
pressures have remained both in the North and South,
the lifting of censorship has created new scope for
journalism.
Since access to newspapers and the internet in Africa’s
largest country is limited, traditional media like music,
dance,
theatre
dissemination
of
etc.
are
widely
information.
Thus,
used
for
the
MICT
has
also
produced a music album which gets distributed on audio
cassettes
as
well
as
a
number
(www.sudanvotes.com/musichopes).
of
The
video
clips
message
of
the music is: Yes to political participation! Yes to fair
and peaceful elections!
Roman Deckert has worked in and on Sudan since
1997. He is the editor-in-chief of sudanvotes.com.
Linda:
Hello
Emmanuel.
You
are
the
first
3rd
Generation Alumni we interview. Tell us about yourself.
Emmanuel:
I
am
Founder
&
President
of
ECA
Leadership Foundation, a youth oriented NGO whose
mission is to raise the next generation of young
leaders in Ghana. I am also an activist of the
Millennium Development Goals and have participated
in several national and international programmes[...].
Prior to starting my NGO, I worked for over four years
with The Coca Cola Bottling Company of Ghana
Limited
where
I
was
responsible
for
materials
planning and management.
Currently, I am hoping to enroll on the Bucerius/WHU
Master of Law and Business program at Bucerius Law
School in Hamburg, Germany in August 2010.
Linda: Do you follow the news on Europe and
Germany? And where do you get your information?
Emmanuel: Yes I do. Infact, right from primary
school, where I lost a current affairs contest to a class
mate, I have never ceased to be interested in
international news. I follow closely on news in Europe
especially Germany, UK and France. On themes, I am
particularly
interested
in
Europe-Africa
relations,
international trade and the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
I
watch
CNN,
BBC,
DWTV
and
Aljazeera
for
international news. In terms of quality, I would rate
high. However, in terms of coverage of Africa news, I
am sometimes upset as to why bad news is mostly
covered. Of course, I know bad news travels fast but
there should be a balance. Why wouldn’t CNN or BBC
report on a farmer in Africa, who is doing his bit to
reduce poverty by providing jobs for people and
exporting to Europe but will take a week to report on
a farmer, who has exported a container of slightly
deformed pineapple to Europe? Whiles the former
news will attract investors, the latter will dispel off
investors. I think the international media can largely
be blamed for the bad image Africa has in the western world.
At this point, let me express my deepest condolence to the people of Poland for the plane crush that killed their
President and 95 others on Saturday, April 10, 2010 in Russia.
Linda: And news on Africa? Where do you get them from and how do your rate their quality?
Emmanuel: I also follow in on news in Africa. Regrettably, I listen to these same international media for news on
Africa. Infact, the local TV stations in Ghana who report on news from other African countries also rely on the
international media for their news. The news is therefore not well covered but skewed towards the interpretation of
the international media.
On themes, I am particularly interested in development and the progress made by African countries in achieving the
MDGs. With less than five years to go, most countries in Africa have made little progress towards the achievement of
the MDGs. I would like to appeal to world leaders who will meet in New York in September 2010, for the High – Level
Plenary MDG Summit [...] to begin to take a holistic, clear, concise and realizable approach to achieving the MDGs
and stay committed to their promises. Talk is cheap. We need more actions. No one has been remembered for what
they wanted to do but only what they did. Poverty is screaming out on the African continent. History is watching all
of us to rise to the occasion. Yes we can.
Linda: So how do you envision African-German relations in ten years?
Emmanuel: Linda, kindly permit me to sound like a German. This is a
very good question. I would attempt to answer this question purely
based on my personal experience and not on any foreign policy paper.
Obviously, the future is unpredictable. However, inferences can be
made based on the current situation. In ten years, God willing, I would
be 37. I would be married and probably be a father of four. I hope to
work in the area of Business Commerce, promoting Africa as a perfect
investment
destination
and
persuading
German
investors
and
companies to move to Africa. Kai, my very good German friend, also a
scholarship holder would be 34. Although not old by then, I hope he
becomes the German ambassador to Ghana. I am most certain he has
the passion and aptitude needed to advocate for good policies in Africa
and the diplomacy, required to represent his country abroad.
On a more serious note, the future of Africa-German relations looks
promising. Although this relationship has been weak in the past, I see a
clear, consistent and precise strategy by the German government to develop a pro-Africa initiative. This was
witnessed in November 2005 when the German President Horst Köhler, launched the Partnership with Africa project
which also gave birth to our programme. I believe Horst Köhler, who has made Africa his political focus, made one of
the most profound statements in human history when he said before the German Bundestag, that “it is my
conviction that the humanity of our world will be measured against the fate of Africa.”
[...]
In ten years, I believe both Germany and Africa would have overcome what appear to be insurmountable odds to
develop a close and much deepened relationship. A new kind of partnership is needed between Africa and Germany
as well as donor countries to undertake bold comprehensive actions needed to meet the challenges that the
continent faces.
Editors: Dennis Kumetat and Linda Poppe // Editorial Team: Julian Bergmann, Mwenda Gatobu, Lerato Tsebe and Benjamin Zasche
Available online: www.bpb.de // Contact: goafrica (at) bpb.de