Independence and National Rule (1956–1989)

     

The National Day of the Republic of Sudan is celebrated today.

Located in northeastern Africa, Sudan is the largest country of the African continent.
Sudan is a member of various international and regional organizations such as United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as serving as an observer in World Trade Organization.
The Sudanese capital is Khartoum, the country’s cultural, and commercial center, while Omdurman is the largest city.
The official and largest religion in Sudan is Sunni Islam and the official languages are Arabic and English.
Northern Sudan, ancient Nubia, was settled by Egyptians in antiquity and was converted to Coptic Christianity in the 6th Century.
Arab conquests brought Islam in the 15th century. In the 1820s, Egypt took over Sudan, defeating the last of earlier empires, including the Fung. In the 1880s, a revolution was led by Muhammad Ahmad, who called himself the Mahdi (leader of the faithful), and his followers, dervishes.
In 1898, the Mahdi Regime was overthrown by Anglo-Egyptian forces. In 1951, the government of Egypt repealed its treaties with Great Britain and amended its constitution to provide for a separate Sudanese Constitution

More About Sudan History 

                         Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899–1956)

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In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in the name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over the Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan.

"The War in the Soudan." A U.S. poster depicting British and Mahdist armies in battle, produced to advertise a Barnum & Bailey circus show titled "The Mahdi, or, For the Victoria Cross", 1897.

Lord Kitchener led military campaigns against the Mahdists from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. Following this, in 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, much to the revulsion of Egyptian and Sudanese nationalists, Sudan was effectively administered as a British colony. The British were keen to reverse the process, started under Muhammad Ali Pasha, of uniting the Nile Valley under Egyptian leadership, and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting the two countries. During World War II, Sudan was directly involved militarily in the East African Campaign. Formed in 1925, the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) played an active part in responding to the early incursions (occupation by Italian troops of Kassala and other border areas) into the Sudan from Italian East Africa during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. From 1924 until independence in 1956, the British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories, the north (Muslim) and south (Christian). The last British Governor-General was Sir Robert Howe.

Independence and National Rule (1956–1989)

Main articles: First Sudanese Civil War, Second Sudanese Civil War, and South Sudan

The continued British occupation of Sudan fueled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash in Egypt, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With the formal end of Ottoman rule in 1914, Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan, as was his brother and successor Fuad I. They continued their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the Sultanate was retitled as the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan, but the British continued to frustrate such reaches for independence.

However, some historians argue that beginning of the Sudanese nationalism dates back to 1920s, immediately after World War I. In 1919, six Sudanese graduates led by Obeid Haj Elamin formed the Sudanese Unity Society, a political forum called for independence of the Sudan and unity with Egypt. In 1921, a number of Sudanese militants working in the Sudan force, a branch in the colonial British Army, joined their civilian counterparts. In 1923, Ali Abd al Latif, a former army officer, had reconstituted -with Haj Elamin- the Unity Society into a political movement called "the White Flag League", which called for the independence of Sudan. The League had organized demonstrations in Khartoum that took advantage of the unrest that followed Stack's assassination.

Leaders of the White Flag League. From the left: Hussein Sherief, Ali Abdelateef, Salih Abdelgadir and Obeid Haj Elamin.

Ali Abd al Latif's arrest and subsequent exile in Egypt sparked a mutiny by a Sudanese army battalion led by the Lieutenant Abdelfadeel Elmaz, the suppression of which succeeded in temporarily crippling the nationalist movement. i.e the well known 1924 revolution.
The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 finally heralded the beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, Muhammad Naguib, whose mother was Sudanese, and later Gamal Abdel-Nasser, believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty over Sudan.

The British on the other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdi successor Sayyid Abdel Rahman who, they believed, could resist the Egyptian pressures for Sudanese independence. Rahman was able to resist the pressures, but his regime was plagued with political ineptitude, which garnered him a loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Egypt and Britain both sensed a great political instability forming, and opted to allow the Sudanese in the north and south to have a free vote on independence to see whether they wished for a British withdrawal.

Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony in the 1st of January 1956 by the Prime Minister Isma'il Alazhari and in presence of opposition leader Mohamed AhmedAlmahjoub

In 1954, the governments of Egypt and Britain signed a treaty guaranteeing Sudanese independence^{[citation needed]}. Afterwards, a polling process was carried out resulting in composition of a democratic parliament and Ismail Al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government.^[36] on 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and white
 stripes, was raised in their place by the prime minister Isma'il Alazhari.

WHAT IS SUDAN ?

Government

• Official name of state: The Republic of Sudan
• Short name: Sudan
• Government system: Presidential/Federal

Type of Government:

• The government in Sudan is a democratic one, elected since April 2010.
• The system is presidential where the president and state governors are chosen through a free and direct vote by the people. Members of the federal parliament and state parliaments are also elected through a hybrid system that combines direct free voting and proportional representation.
• The National Congress Party won the majority of votes in the last elections and formed the current government.

National capital: Khartoum
Geographical coordinates:

• 15?36#N
• 32?32#E

Time Zone:  UTC/GMT + 3 hours
Prayer Time: Mecca time
Administrative Divisions
Sudan consists of 17 states ruled by elected governors. Each state has an elected parliament through a free direct system and proportional representation. Each state consists of a number of localities headed by an appointed commissioner and has an elected parliament.
Names of States by Population Size
Khartoum (Khartoum), Gezira (Wad Madani), North Kordofan (El-Obeid), South Darfur (Nyala), South Kordofan (Kadugli), North Darfur (El-Fashir), Kassala (Kassala), East Darfur (Al-Diayn), White Nile (Rabak), Red Sea (Port Sudan), Al-Gadarif (Al-Gadarif), Sinnar (Sinja), River Nile (Al-Damir), Blue Nile (Al-Damazeen), West Darfur (Al-Jinayna),  Northern State (Dongola), and Central Darfur (Zalinji)
Number of Localities: 176
Independence

• January 1st 1956: Sudan gains independence from Egypt and Britain (known as the Anglo – Egyptian Condominium).
• July 6th 2011: The declaration of the second Sudanese Republic

Official Holidays

• Independence Day: January 1st
• Christmas (Eastern denominations): January 7th
• The Prophet Muhammad’s birth: Rabi Al-Awwal 12th
• Easter (Eastern and Western denominations): April 24th
• Commemoration of the National Salvation Revolution: June 30th
• Eid Al-Fitr: Shawwaal 1st
• Eid Al-Adha: Dhul Hijja 10th
• The Islamic New Year: Muharram 1st
• Christmas: December 25th (Western denominations)  

The Constitution
The Republic of Sudan is an independent sovereign state, a decentralized democratic country that abides by and respects human dignity, and is based on equality and justice. Sudan is a united country and its sovereignty lies in the hands of its people.
The constitution lays down the basic principles that govern the formation and performance of ruling institutions and stipulates the obligations, freedoms and rights of citizens. It affirms the documentation of rights as a pledge between all people of Sudan and the government. It also stresses the need for the respect of human rights enshrined in agreements, conventions and international charters endorsed by the Government of Sudan as an integral part of the constitution’s document.
The constitution also stipulates that Islamic law and consensus are sources of regulations and laws enacted at the national level. On religious rights, the constitution guarantees freedom of worship for all Sudanese, and states that Arabic is the country’s official language. It also affirms that citizenship is the basis of rights and obligations and guarantees personal freedom and ensures equality for all before the law, it incriminates torture and guarantees every person the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression through media, and freedom of organization, movement and residence. The constitution also guarantees the protection of motherhood and childhood by the State, protection of women against injustice, and guarantees equality between the sexes and affirms women’s role in the family and public life. The constitution also provides details regarding the State’s institutions and their sphere of jurisdiction (the executive branch / the legislative branch / the judicial branch / governments of states)

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إعلان الاستقلال من داخل البرلمان

في هذه الجلسة التاريخية تقدم السيد عبد الرحمن محمد إبراهيم دبكة نائب دائرة بقارة نيالا غرب بهذا الاقتراح سيدي الرئيس : أرجو أن أقترح الآتي : أن نقدم خطاب إلى معالي الحاكم العام بالنص التالي نحن أعضاء مجلس النواب في البرلمان مجتمعاً نعلن باسم شعب السودان أن السودان قد أصبح دولة مستقلة كاملة السيادة ونرجو من معاليكم أن تطلبوا من دولتي الحكم الثنائي بهذا الإعلان فوراً «. يسرني أن أتقدم بهذا الاقتراح العظيم في هذه اللحظة التاريخية الخالدة بعد أن اجتمعت كلمة الشعب السوداني المجيد على الاستقلال الكامل والسيادة للسودان ممثلاً في التقاء السيدين الجليلين وتأييدهما الذي تم بعون الله ولمرضاته ومصلحة البلاد العليا وفي اجتماع كلمة الأحزاب والهيئات السودانية عند هذه الغاية الوطنية الكريمة وفي هذا الإجماع الرائع الشامل لجميع أعضاء البرلمان ممثلاً في هذا المجلس الموقر على إعلان استقلال السودان من هذا المنبر الشريف «. أثني علي هذا الاقتراح التاريخي الخطير السيد مشاور جمعة سهل ( نائب دارحامد غرب ) وقال (أقدر مدى الشرف الذي يناله مقترحه ومثنيه في جلسة كهذه سوف يسجلها في سجل الشرف تاريخ هذه البلاد المجيدة وسوف تكون حداً فاصلاً بين عهد الاستعمار وعهد الحرية الكاملة والسيادة التامة والانعتاق الذي يجعل السودان أمة بكل مقوماتها لا تستوحي في شؤونها الداخلية والخارجية الا مصلحة الشعب وإرادة الأمة وتقيم علاقاتها مع الدول جميعاً على قدم المساواة بين ند وند لا سيد وعبد . وأخيراً أهنئ زملائي النواب بهذا التوفيق وأهنئ الشعب السوداني بفجر الحرية الذي يطل اليوم من هذه القاعة ويصل إشعاعه إلى كل ركن من أركان السودان ليبدد الظلام ويملأ أرجاء البلاد نوراً وسلاماً ورخاءً». ولم يغفل السيد/ محمد أحمد محجوب ( زعيم المعارضة ) ان يسجل اسمه في هذا الشرف الكبير فابتدر حديثه التوثيقي ( سيدي الرئيس في السادس عشر من شهر أغسطس الماضي أصدر مجلس النواب قراراه التاريخي بجلاء القوات البريطانية والمصرية عن الرضي الوطن وكان قراراً بالإجماع وفي العاشر من شهر نوفمبر غادر البلاد آخر جندي أجنبي فأدرك الشعب بجميع أحزابه وهيئاته أن استقلال البلاد التام أصبح حقيقة واقعة وارتفعت أصوات الشعب في كل مكان تنادي به باستقلال السودان التام ومطالبة الدولتين الاعتراف به وهانحن اليوم نتقدم بهذا الاقتراح باسم الشعب السوداني أن السودان قد أصبح دولة مستقلة ذات سيادة كاملة ونطلب من دولتي الحكم الثنائي الاعتراف الفوري .لا شك عندي في أن هذا الاقتراح سيجاز بالإجماع كما لا شك عندي في ان هذا الشعب السوداني شعب عظيم توفرت لديه كل مقومات العظمة ، شعب يعرف متى يختلف وعلى ماذا يختلف كما يعرف متى يلتقي وثقف صفاً واحداً فكلما ادلهمت الأمور ودهمتها الحوادث وكاد الشك يتسرب الى نفوس الحادبين علينا وظنوا بنا الظنون ، وحسبونا قد تفرقت كلمتنا برزت كلمة الشعب وقوته وتقديره لمصائر الأمور واستطعنا أن نجتاز الصعاب وأن نخط سطراً ناصعاً في تاريخ هذه البلاد وتاريخ أبنائها لله وتحدث السيد/ مبارك زروق ( زعيم المجلس ) قائلا ( لله أخالني يا سيدي الرئيس إلا متكلماً باسم جانبي المجلس حين أؤيد هذا الاقتراح فالجانيان اليوم وأمامهم هذا الاقتراح مجلس واحد . أعود إلى الاقتراح الموضوع أمام هذا المجلس وأبين أننا نجلس هنا كنواب للأمة السودانية في هذا البرلمان الذي يمثل جميع وجهات النظر في البلاد والذي اعترفت دولتا الحكم الثنائي بصدق تمثيله في أكثر من مناسبة ، من حقنا بهذا الوصف يسندنا في ذلك الرأي العام السوداني كله ممثلاً في هيئاته وصحفه أن نعلن الاستقلال اليوم لله ومن ثم أجيز الاقتراح بالإجماع
ينابيع الشعر:_

وما حدث من استقلال وعودة كيان الامة جعل ينابيع الشعر والادب تتدافع لتسطر القوافي التي تحكي هذا المجد التليد والمثير وكان بعض شعراء الوطنية حداة للركب الوطني في زحفه نحو الاستقلال، ومن الشعراء الذين لمعوا في تلك الفترة الشاعر يوسف مصطفى التني، واغنيته (في الفؤاد ترعاه العناية) ويحتوي ديوان التني على مجموعة من القصائد الوطنية التي تدعو الى وحدة الصف الوطني ونبذ الفرقة والشتات وترك التحزب وكذلك في دواوين الشاعر محمد المهدي المجذوب خاصة ديوان منابر فقد اوقفه على الشعر السياسي خلال فترة الكفاح الوطني..ولعل شاعراً مثل ادريس جماع كان الاستقلال عيداً له .. ومن القصائد الاولى في ديوانه لحظات باقية:

«هنا صوت يناديني
نعم لبيك اوطاني
دمي وعزمي وصدري
كله اضواء ايمان
سأرفع راية المجد
وابني خير بنيان
هنا صوت يناديني
تقدم انت سوداني»
وفي ختام هذه القصيدة يقول:
«مضى عهد مضى ليل
وشق الصبح استارا
فلا ذل ولا قيد
يكبلنا ولا عارا
نصون لارضنا استقلالها
ونعيش احرارا
هنا صوت يناديني
تقدم انت سوداني»

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