The Southern Sudan: A Forgotten War and a Forgotten Peace
| Author | Paul Ladouceur |
| Published date | 01 September 1975 |
| Date | 01 September 1975 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070207503000303 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
PAUL
LADOUCEUR
The
Southern
Sudan:
a
forgotten
war
and
a
forgotten
peace
On
27
March
1972
representatives
of
the
government
of
the
Sudan
and
of
the
Southern
Sudan
Liberation
Movement
signed
a
document
in
Addis
Ababa
which
brought
an
end
to
seventeen
years
of
revolt
and
armed
conflict
in
the
Southern
Sudan.
Despite
numerous
difficulties,
peace
has
been
maintained,
and
the
tasks
of
reconstruction
in
the Southern
Region
and
of the
integration
of
the
region
with
the
rest
of
the
country
have gone
ahead.
The
conclusion
of
peace
won
the
Sudan
considerable
respect
in
Africa
and
has
enabled
the
country
to
play
an
important
role
in
Arab-
African
relations.
It
is
an
African
achievement
which
has
been
largely
ignored
by
the
outside world.
THE
'SOUTHERN
PROBLEM'
One
of
the
most
complex
of
all the
countries
of
Africa,
the
Sudan
is
also
one
of
the
least
known.
It
is
the
largest
country
in
Africa,
and
one
of
the
poorest.
The
Southern
Region
comprises
the
three
provinces
of
Equatoria,
Bahr
el
Gazal,
and Upper
Nile,
which
have
their
capitals
at
Juba,
Wau,
and
Malakal
respectively.
To-
gether
they
cover
an
area
of
250,000
square
miles
and
have a
population
of
3.5
to
3.8
million, about
one-quarter
of
the
country's
total
population.
The
population
of
the
Sudan
is
ex-
tremely varied;
but
in
general
the
people
of
the
North,
many
of
whom are dark-skinned,
are
characterized
by
Arabic
language
and
cultural
influences
and
Islamic
religion,
while the
people
of
Programme
Manager,
Multilateral
Programmes Branch,
Canadian
International
Development
Agency.
The
views
expressed in
this
article are
those of
the
author
and
do
not
necessarily
represent
those
of
the Canadian
International
Development
Agency.
THE
SOUTHERN
SUDAN
407
the
South
are
negroid,
related
to
various
sub-Saharan
tribes, and
animists
in
religion
(though
some,
especially
among the
educated,
are
Christians).
The
history
of
the
Sudan
can
be
traced
back to
the
second
millennium
BC
when the
Egypt
of
the
pharaohs
first came
into
contact
with
the country.
Since
then
relations
with
Egypt
have
been
the
dominant
leitmotif
in
the
country's
external
relations.
In
the
early
nineteenth
century
the
Sudan
was
annexed
to
the
Ottoman
empire,
and
it
was
against
the harsh
Turco-Egyptian
rule
that
the
Mahdi's
revolt
of
1881-5
was
directed.
Following
the
defeat
of
the
Mahdists in
1898,
the
Sudan
was
administered
as a
condominium
by
Egypt
and
Britain, although
in
practice
the
British
governed.
During
the
nineteenth
century
and
until
the
end
of
World
War
i,
the Southern
Sudan
was
exposed
to
Arabic
influences
from
the
North.
In
the
early
i92os,
however,
the
British
ad-
ministrators
formulated
a
'Southern
policy'
which
sought
to
isolate
the
South
from the
North,
on
the
grounds
that
the
South
was
so
unlike
the
North
that
it
warranted
different
policies.
In
general,
colonial
policy
in
the
Southern
provinces
was
similar
to
that
in
other
sub-Saharan
British
colonies.
In
1922
the provinces
were
declared
'closed
districts':
Sunday
replaced
Friday
as
the
day
of
rest;
English
supplanted
Arabic
as
the
principal
language
of
instruction
and
lingua
franca; Christian
missionary
activities,
as
well
as
local
languages
and
traditions,
were
encouraged;
North-
ern
officials,
soldiers,
and traders
were
excluded
from the
area.
For many
colonial
officials,
the
ultimate
objective
was
undoubtedly
to
unite
the
Southern
Sudan
with
British
territories
in
East
Africa.
However,
the
rise
of
nationalism
in
Northern
Sudan
brought
with
it
suspicion
and
hostility
towards
the
Southern
policy.
By
World
War
ii
it
was
evident
that
the
South
was
being
left
further
and
further
behind
the
North
in
such
vital
areas
as
education,
economic
development,
and
political
awareness.
In
1946
the
British
reversed
their
Southern
policy
and
promoted
the
unity
of
North
and
South
under
one legislative
assembly.
At
the
Juba
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