Sudan: Still in the Spotlight

Al Manar’s coverage of Sudan continued this week. Al Manar continued to cover Sudanese President Al-Bashir’s "defiance" via his travels abroad, reporting on his visits to Qatar for the Arab League Summit, Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage to Mecca, and Libya for a meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. In addition to covering Al-Bashir’s travel itinerary, Al Manar also ran a story today about the US envoy to Sudan's visit to Khartoum and quoted the envoy, Scott Gration who said

"I come here with my hands open and it would be up to the Sudanese government to determine how they want to continue with that relationship.”

The article was brief but conveyed that the US government is eager for stronger ties with its Sudanese counterpart. Al Manar also reported the Sudanese government’s announcements that Sudan will hold its first general election in 24 years in February 2010. While the article did mention that the election was supposed to be held in 2009, it's tone attempted to provide the Sudanese government with more legitimacy as a regime dedicated to peace and progress.

In addition to reporting on actions taken by Sudanese leadership, Al Manar continued to cover leaders' rejection of Al-Bashir's indictment. For instance, in its coverage of the 2nd annual Arab-South American Summit, which was similar to Telasur’s coverage, Al Manar focused on Arab and South America’s rejection of Al-Bashir’s warrant, quoting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who referred to the ICC as "a judicial horror and a disrespect to the people of the Third World."

Al Manar also covered a meeting held for Arab foreign ministers in preparation for the Arab Summit where the ministers called for the annulment of Al-Bashir’s arrest warrant and urged Arab nations not to cooperate with the ICC. The Arab League's Secretary General said that the ICC’s case against Al-Bashir “shows the use of double standards” and called for objectivity from regional institutions such as the Arab League and African Union.