Text of report by private Sudanese newspaper Al-Ra’y al-Amm on 19 July
The Sudanese government has informed the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] of the termination of its contract to broadcast BBC Arabic on FM radio in four cities in northern Sudan (Khartoum, Port Sudan, Madani and Al-Ubayad). The decision does not include the [semi-autonomous region of] southern Sudan.
Insiders disclosed to Al-Ra’y al-Amm that the decision comes against the background of the confiscation of unauthorized broadcasting devices which had been in a diplomatic consignment, something which Khartoum considers to be a violation of Sudanese laws.
It is to be noted that in the past few days a high-ranking BBC delegation has held talks with the authorities in Khartoum to try and negotiate the release of the confiscated devices whose value is estimated at 1m British pounds. However, BBC’s efforts have been to no avail.
The sources further indicated that the notification letter sent by the government to the BBC stated that the termination of the contract would come into effect three months after the date of the letter.
(Source: Al-Ra’y al-Amm, Khartoum, in Arabic 19 Jul 10 via BBC Monitoring)
