Sudan’s journalists’ union has accused the Port Sudan-controlled Ministry of Culture, Information, Tourism and Antiquities of reviving policies used under the former Bashir regime through a mandatory electronic form for registering online news websites.
In a statement, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate said the form requests sensitive information and represents a violation of press freedoms.
The union said the measure clearly violates the law and Sudan’s constitutional framework, arguing that it imposes unlawful restrictions on journalistic work and grants the government powers not provided under the Press and Publications Law.
According to the syndicate, the ministry is using the form to reproduce the same economic exclusion policies practiced by the former regime, including directing government advertising toward selected newspapers while depriving others.
It also warned that the process carries implicit threats and conditional promises aimed at placing newspapers under security and financial control.
The union rejected any interference by the ministry in union affairs, describing such actions as a breach of international labor conventions ratified by Sudan and of basic democratic principles.
It called on the ministry to immediately withdraw the form and abandon any attempt to impose it on media outlets.
The syndicate said any discussion about “regulating” the profession must take place through a free, civilian dialogue, warning against a return to the security and economic policies that restricted freedoms and impoverished independent journalism.
