Sudan’s Media Blackout & Gaza’s “Elusive” Truce | Media Arabic Booster 04/24

This month’s Media Arabic Booster explores how political pressure is applied, both on the battlefield and in the newsroom.

We’ll start with a headline from al-Sharq al-Awsat about Gaza waiting for an “elusive truce,” giving us a chance to explore the vocabulary of difficult negotiations.

Then, we dive into a fascinating article from al-Arab that explains why Sudan’s government shut down major news channels like Al-Arabiya and Sky News, and how this move is a high-stakes message to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

This issue will equip you with the Arabic vocabulary needed to discuss media freedom, censorship, and geopolitical maneuvering.

A close look at a headline

Headlines in Arabic media are generally easy to understand – but there are also some tricky words.

al-Sharq al-Awsat: The expression بَعيد الْمَنالِ

On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, the Saudi newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat (الشرق الأوسط) had the following headline on its front page:

The terrible situation in Gaza is a daily topic on the front pages of most Arab newspapers. In the title of this headline, I noticed a phrase that is worth knowing:

The phrase بعيد المنال – what does it mean? Let’s analyze it.

The word مَنالٌ means achievement; obtaining. It is the مصدر ميميّ of I-verb نالَ – يَنالُ which means to get; to receive; to achieve; to obtain.

• The expression بَعيدُ المَنالِ can be translated as unattainable; intangible; far from reality. You could also say صَعْبُ الْمَنالِ or عَسِيرُ الْمَنالِ which basically also means unattainable; unavailable.
• If you want to express the opposite, you can say قَرِيبُ الْمَنالِ or سَهْلُ الْمَنالِ which translates as easy to reach, achievable.

Vocabulary list

All the words marked in yellow above are explained here.

Translation of an article

Let’s focus on certain parts of the text and translate each sentence carefully. The words marked in yellow can be found further down in the vocabulary list.

al-Arab newspaper (London): “Sudan sends messages to Saudi Arabia and the UAE…”

On April 4, 2024, the independent pan-Arab newspaper al-Arab (العرب), published in London, carried the following article about possible reasons why the authorities in Sudan had shut down some major Arab TV channels such as al-Arabiya (العربية) or Sky News Arabia (سكاي نيوز عربية).

Notice: Al Arabiya TV and Al Hadath TV said on April 23, 2024, that Sudanese authorities have allowed them to reopen their offices (see press release).

Let’s examine a large section of the article more closely.

السودان يبعث رسائل للسعودية والإمارات عبر وقف العربية والحدث وسكاي نيوز

Sudan sends messages to Saudi Arabia and the UAE via Al-Arabiya, Al-Hadath and Sky News

قررت وزارة الثقافة والإعلام السودانية إيقاف عمل قنوات العربية والحدث وسكاي نيوز عربية في البلاد، بـسبب “عدم التزامها بالمهنية المطلوبة والشفافية وعدم تجديد تراخيصها“، في خطوة تعكس موقف مجلس السيادة السوداني من السعودية والإمارات اللتين يريد رئيس مجلس السيادة السوداني عبدالفتاح البرهان إيصال رسائل لهما عبر إيقاف القنوات التي تمثل وجهة النظر الرسمية لهما.

The Sudanese Ministry of Culture and Information decided to suspend the work of the Al-Arabiya, Al-Hadath and Sky News Arabia channels in the country due to “their failure to abide by the required professionalism and transparency and failure to renew their permits.” This move reflects the position of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council towards Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is seeking to deliver messages to the two countries by banning channels that reflect their official point of view. (…)

ويعتبر القرار السوداني مفاجئا بالنسبة إلى قناتي العربية والحدث لأنهما لا تساندان في خطابهما قوات الدعم السريع، وتشير تغطيتهما إلى موقف أقرب للجيش منه للدعم السريع، فيما ذكرت مصادر مطلعة أن الجيش يريد تغطية أكثر انحيازا له، كما أنه يريد مكاسب أخرى من السعودية وربما دعما ماليا وعسكريا نظير عدم تلبية الطلب الإيراني بإقامة قاعدة عسكرية.

The Sudanese decision comes as a surprise to both Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels because (their discourse does not support the Rapid Support Forces and their coverage rather indicates a position closer to the army than to the Rapid Support Forces. Meanwhile, well-informed sources said that the army wants (aspires for) coverage that is more supportive/favorable of the army in addition to seeking other gains from Saudi Arabia, possibly even financial and military support as a result of not meeting the Iranian request of establishing a military base [in Sudan]. (…)

ويأتي إيقاف قناتي العربية والحدث السعوديتين كورقة ضغط سياسي على الرياض وبعث رسالة مفادها أن الدعم الخطابي لا يفي بالغرض، وأن صد المساعي الإيرانية يستوجب تعويضا عسكريا أو ماليا وذلك رغم أن مدينة جدة سبق أن استضافت المفاوضات السودانية بين طرفي الحرب ولم تنجح النتائج في التوصل الى اتفاق لإنهاء القتال.

The ban on the Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath Saudi channels comes as (constitutes) a political pressure card being used against Al-Riyadh and a message indicating that verbal/rhetorical support is not enough and that the deterrence of the Iranian efforts calls for military or financial compensation. The city of Jeddah had previously hosted the Sudanese talks (negotiations) between the two conflicting parties, but this did not result in an agreement to end the fighting. (…)

ويحيل إيقاف قناة سكاي عربية إلى موقف الخرطوم من أبوظبي واتهاماتها التي تفتقد للأدلة بدعم قوات الدعم السريع، إذ تحشد قيادات الحركة الإسلامية داخل الجيش ضد دولة الإمارات مؤخرا، بعد مزاعم ساقها عضو مجلس السيادة ومساعد البرهان الفريق ياسر عطا في أواخر نوفمبر الماضي وقال فيها إن “الإمارات تدعم قوات الدعم السريع”.

The ban on Sky News Arabia refers to (~is aligned with) Khartoum’s position on Abu Dhabi and the accusations – which are not based on any proof – that Abu Dhabi is supporting the Rapid Support Forces. Thus, the leaders of the Islamic Movement have been inciting against the UAE recently in light of claims voiced by the member of the Sovereignty Council and Al-Burhan’s assistant, Gen. Yasser Atta, last November when he said that the UAE is supporting the Rapid Support Forces.

ولم يقدم البرهان ولا مساعدوه دليلا على مزاعمهم، والتي رأتها دوائر سوادنية وسيلة لتبرير إخفاقات الجيش، وأداة لصرف الأنظار عن حقيقة ما يعتمل داخل المؤسسة العسكرية من سيطرة كبيرة فرضتها فلول النظام السابق على تحركات البرهان السياسية.

Al-Burhan and his aides failed to provide any proof to support their claims. Sudanese circles viewed these claims as a means to justify the army’s failure and a tool to divert people’s attention away from what was really going on inside the military institution in terms of the major control imposed by the remnants of the former regime on Al-Burhan’s political actions. (…)

ويخشى مراقبون من أن يتحول السودان إلى بؤرة معتمة إخباريا ومسرحا لانتشار الأخبار الكاذبة والمضللة، وذلك بعد خروج الصحافيين الأجانب وتوقف بث التلفزيون والإذاعة الحكومييْن مع بدء اندلاع المعارك وعدم انتظام بثهما بعد ذلك.

Observers are worried that Sudan could turn into an obscure region media-wise and an arena for the proliferation of fake news as the foreign journalists have left the country and as the state TV and radio stopped broadcasting upon the launching of the battles and suffered from irregular broadcasting after that. (…)

Vocabulary list

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1. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/world/middleeast/truce-cease-fire-and-armistice-the-legal-nuances.html ↩︎