We won't let press collapse

Sudan’s minister of information has pledged to resolve a crisis facing the country’s printing industry caused by a shortage of printing materials. Ghazi Al-Sadiq said: "The state will not allow the press to collapse because of printing resources and will effectively and urgently contribute to resolve this dilemma." The minister promised to contact the finance ministry and Sudan's central bank to allocate funds to import paper and other printing materials essential for the industry. Al-Sadiq on Sunday met with the president of the National Council for Press and Publications, Prof Ali Mohammed Chemo, the secretary-general of the council Al-Abed Marwah and a number of other leaders. During the meeting, the information minister stressed on "the need for the relevant bodies to coordinate on press publishing”. He said: “We will give considerable attention to the press law ratified by the parliament and work on handling the negative aspects exposed in past experiences and practices." He expressed appreciation towards the role played by the press, saying that during recent events, the Sudanese press proved that it was an effective weapon in the unification of society. Council member Qureshi Al-Mubarak said: "The meeting dealt with aspects of cooperation between the information ministry and National Press Council in the framework of a supervisory role of the presidency on the council." Press council head Chemo in the meeting cited some of the problems and constraints faced by Sudan's press, saying they were becoming "a real threat to journalism".