Why do the Sudanese protests get so little news coverage?
The Bashir administration's hold on power is precarious. But you won't see that story on TV news or your newspaper's front page.
The Bashir administration's hold on power is precarious. But you won't see that story on TV news or your newspaper's front page.
鈥⒙犅�A version of this post appeared on the blog聽"A View From the Cave."聽聽The views expressed are the author's own.
If you have been following the聽#SudanRevolts聽hash tag on Twitter and/or read news sources such as Al Jazeera and DAWNS, the story of popular revolts against聽austerity聽measures in Sudan would not be new to you. If you happen to be the majority of people, you likely do not know much more about Sudan than Darfur and maybe heard something in regards to conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. The latter group can be excused because most reporting has ignored Sudan.
Carol Gallo provides a nice summary of what lead to the protests聽in the UN Dispatch聽a few weeks ago.
Protesters gathered for mass聽demonstrations聽on 29 June to lick their elbows in defiance聽of NCP vice聽Chairman聽Nafie Ali Nafie, who famously indicated that overthrowing the regime is a futile as trying to lick one's elbow.
Despite the growing unrest, the coverage has been rather subdued. Some activists are trying to tie it to Arab Spring, but others are a bit聽hesitant聽to make that link. Jeffrey Gettlemen聽wrote in the New York Times聽last week:
On the same day, Mohamed El Dahashan questioned聽in聽Foreign Policy聽why the revolution in Sudan is being ignored.
He continues by pointing out that the situation may be too complex to adequately convey to an American audience.
Though there is something to be said for the trouble with complexity, this argument misses the mark. The international media can continue the narrative that Dahashan points out. If we accept his argument that international media makes Sudan out to be villians, how hard would it be to say that the government of Khartoum has continuously disregarded the rights of people to maintain power and this is yet another example of such actions. This time, Sudanese are taking to the streets in protest.
The issue of complexity, if that story is told, remains and is not addressed. That is another conversation. The problem here is a lack of coverage. A compelling story exists, but the problem is likely what Voll points out to Gettlemen in the NYT. In Arab Spring countries there was a single place to show as the center point for the revolution. It is much more complicated in Sudan. CNN can't camp out cameras in one place.
Though I find even that explanation too simple. There must be something more. A few minute clip can make it onto the television news networks to provide an update on Sudan. For some reason it is not a priority. Given the previous revolutions in the continent, it would seem that news outlets would love to cover these stories. Maybe they do, but the inability to gain access to Sudan is the most significant barrier.
Either way, an important event is happening right now and could certainly get a little more play.
Tom Murphy聽is a former aid worker who blogs about development, aid, and healthcare reform on聽"A View From the Cave."