Page 45 - EVOLUTION OF THE SUDAN PEOPLE’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT(SPLM),

conference. Despite the absence of the South, the decision was ended to finally annexed Southern
Sudan to Sudan Khartoum, though, they called another conference on 18 August 1947 in Juba,
in which Southern Sudanese tribal chiefs and some public administrators and police sergeant

majors attended, there was no new resolution, but the colonial administrators from Khartoum
were able to persuade Southern Sudanese conferees to endorsed the 1946 resolution that annexed
Southern Sudan autonomous region to Sudan Khartoum. This was the beginning of the political
conflict between Northern and Southern Sudan (Well and Dillas, 1993).

As the 1946-1947 resolutions developed into a forced-unity of unequal’s, the British and Egyptians
governments at home, their colonial officials in Sudan and the Northern Arabs elites and Islamic
religious leaders, Abdel Rahman Al Mahdi and Ali Al Marghani, allied to British and Egyptians
respectively, in Khartoum made conclusive move, inside the legislative Assembly in 1953 (Lam

Akol, 50-51), the right of self-determination for Sudan to be become independent or union
with Egypt. To prefer for independence, the Condominium authority formed an administrative
advisory council and a legislative Assembly in 1953, only for Northern Sudan (Sudan). On the 19
December 1953, the Northern Sudan Assembly unilaterally declared the independence of Sudan

inside the legislative Assembly, thus preempting the referendum process, without participation of
Southern Sudan as stipulated by the British and Egyptians’ made interim constitution (reference
to the interim constitution and its article that required the presence of one third of Southern
representation) which required the participation and approval of Southern Sudan in the future

unified independent Sudan. Southern Sudan was not consulted over the declaration of the self-
determination and independence (SAD.887/9/7-124). On 1 January 1956, the Northern Transitional
Government, led by Ismail Al Azahry (National Unionist Party, NUP) and Mohamed Ahmed
Mahgoub (Umma Party) declared and raised the flag of independent Sudan, during conspicuous

absence of Southern Sudan representatives (SAD.887/9/7-10).

There was no change of policy towards Southern Sudan. Having been accorded the support of
support of the outgoing condominium colonial government, Southern Sudan was now firmly

and forcefully commandeered as part of Sudan Khartoum, a resolution which was overruled
unanimously by the Southern Sudanese in Juba conference 1947 and supported by Southern Sudan
Military Garrison in a mutiny on 18 August 1955, just a year before the unilateral declaration of
independence of Sudan (Northern Sudan), in January 1956(HD2123.5 .Z8).

An Arab country was now born in the expense of the Africa majority. The first census carried
out in 1958 revealed that those who registered themselves Arabs were only 31 percent, Africans,
including Southern Sudanese, were 61 percent and others 8 percent. Thus proving that minority
Arabs had roped the country of its indigenous African identity, treating Southern Sudanese as
former Arab slaves and therefore are treated as fourth-class citizens below origin Arabs, Arabs

women and former slaves Northern Sudanese. (Well and Dilla, 1993). As one of the respondents
stated in support of this narrative;

“by this time we were politically aware, we resisted this discrimination of our people but we did

not have power to change the system we had to wait till the time we were in authority” ( O1,
Joseph Kolang John, Juba, 12/04/2017)

39