Khartoum Monitor

Khartoum Monitor (Sudan)

In 2002 Amnesty International "called on the Sudanese authorities to stop harassing the independent daily Khartoum Monitor and its staff.

"On 15 January, Nhial Bol, the Khartoum Monitor's Chief Editor, was sentenced to six months imprisonment unless he pays a fine of 5 million Sudanese dinars (about USD 1,905). The newspaper was fined 15 million Sudanese dinars (about USD 5,703). Its assets are under threat of seizure if the fine is not paid."

In 2001 the International Press Institute noted that "The most striking newcomer to the press scene is the English-language Khartoum Monitor, a daily newspaper launched in October 2000 by a group of southern journalists aiming to meet the needs of non-Arabic speaking southerners and foreigners. Stridently articulating southern grievances, the paper was suspended briefly in December 2000 before returning with a milder tone. "Now every issue goes to the censor, so we are exercising self-censorship beforehand," editor-in-chief Albino Okeny told Reuters."

Funding

 * Received a grant from the NED in 2002 for $20,000 "To deliver and distribute 500 copies of the Monitor, Sudan’s only English-language daily newspaper, to three southern cities, Wau, Malakal, and Bentiu, on a daily basis for six months. Funding will subsidize six weeks’ worth of paper, allowing for the Monitor to be distributed free of charge for the initial period."
 * Received a further NED grant in 2004 for $20,000 "To support an independent press. The Khartoum Monitor will continue its Publicationand reporting on issues of concern to southern Sudan. Monitor topics include the war, peace process, NGO activities, economic development and health for its target audience of southern Sudanese and international communities in Sudan."

Related Sourcewatch

 * Albino Okeny
 * Alfred Taban