The Sudanese Communist Party (
abbr. SCP; ar, الحزب الشيوعي السوداني, Al-Hizb al-Shuyui al-Sudani) is a
communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Enge ...
in
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic ...
. Founded in 1946, it was a major force in
Sudanese politics in the early post-independence years, and was one of the two most influential communist parties in the
Arab world
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
, the other being the
Iraqi Communist Party.
In 1971,
President Gaafar Nimeiry launched a wave of repression against the party after
a failed coup implicated the involvement of a number of communist military officers. The party's most prominent figures
Abdel Khaliq Mahjub,
Joseph Garang, Alshafi Ahmed Elshikh, Babkir Elnour and
Hashem al Attawere executed, and the party was officially banned. The party resurfaced after Nimeiry was
overthrown in 1985.
The SCP opposed army colonel
Omar al-Bashir's
1989 coup and his subsequent 25-year-long tenure as Sudan's head of state. The party is currently opposed to
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan ( ar, عبد الفتاح عبد الرحمن البرهان, Abd al-FattāḥʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Burhān; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese politician and Sudanese Army general who is the ''de facto'' head ...
's
Transitional Military Council and the measures enacted after the
2019 coup.
History
Foundation and growth
The Sudanese Movement for National Liberation (also known by its Arabic acronym HASTU) was founded in 1946, through the merger of two Sudanese communist groups – the ''
Omdurman
Omdurman (standard ar, أم درمان ''Umm Durmān'') is a city in Sudan. It is the most populated city in the country, and thus also in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the ...
'' group belonging to
Henri Curiel's
Egyptian Movement for National Liberation and a group in
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing no ...
which had been organized by Herbert Storey, a British soldier and member of the
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...
. During the 1940s and 1950s the party became popular amongst students, and it helped establish the Students' Congress in 1949. The party originally worked largely through different front organisations such as the
Anti-Imperialist Front, through which it contested the
1953 parliamentary election. At the third conference of the Sudanese Movement for National Liberation, held in February 1956, the party changed its name to the Sudanese Communist Party. A hundred party members attended the conference, which elected a 31-member
central committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the c ...
.
The party joined other groups in opposition to the government of
Ibrahim Abboud
General Ibrahim Abboud ( ar, إبراهيم عبود; 26 October 1900, in Suakin – 8 September 1983, in Khartoum) was a Sudanese political figure who served as the head of state of Sudan between 1958 and 1964 and as president of Sudan in 1964; ...
, and played a key role in toppling the government in the
1964 October Revolution, joining the subsequent transitional government.
The party contested two elections in the 1960s and came into conflict with the
Umma Party and
National Unionist Party-led government. Nevertheless, the party went on to win 8 seats in the
1965 election, with Ahmad Sulayman being elected from a territorial constituency, and
Abdel Khaliq Mahjub being elected as an independent. Another member of the party,
Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim
Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim ( ar, فاطمة احمد ابراهيم; – 12 August 2017), was a Sudanese writer, women's rights activist and socialist leader.
Early life
Ibrahim was born in Khartoum. Sources give her birth date variously as 20 Dece ...
, was the first woman elected to the Sudanese parliament.
The
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Len ...
caused a split within the party which lasted from late 1964 to early 1965. Pro-Chinese members were either expelled or chose to leave voluntarily to form the
Sudanese Communist Party – Revolutionary Leadership.
From 1965 to 1967, a number of parties attempted to outlaw the SCP from partaking in parliamentary elections. Some members advocated the establishment of an ideologically broader Socialist Party of the Sudan, which lasted from 1967 to 1969. Other members advocated operating underground.
Nimeiry government and 1971 coup
The military
overthrew the Sudanese government on 25 May 1969 in a
coup d'état led by
Gaafar Nimeiry. The SCP gained influence in the new administration, and SCP policies, such as those pertaining to regional autonomy for the south, were adopted by the Nimeiry government.
Joseph Garang, an SCP member, was made the Government Minister of Southern Affairs. The SCP was supportive of negotiations which led to the
Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972.
On 19 July 1971, A group of army officers led by Major
Hashem al-Atta launched a coup d'état against the Nimeiry government. However, Nimeiry loyalists retook the capital
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing no ...
three days later, freed Nimeiry, and restored his government. As many of the conspirators were members of the SCP, Nimeiry blamed the party for the coup and executed several of its leaders, including Mahjub and Garang.
The failed coup had its roots in historical ideological differences within the party, between the pro-Soviet faction and the nationalist faction. The nationalists, such as Ahmad Sulayman and
Farouk Abu Issa
Farouk Abu Issa ( ar, فاروق أبو عيسى; 12 August 1933 – 12 April 2020) was a Sudanese politician and the Chairman of the National Consensus Forces.
Abu Issa attended Hantoub Secondary School and was involved in activism from a you ...
, wished to cooperate with the Nimeiry government. The pro-Soviet faction, led by Mahjub, was less supportive and opposed the 1969 coup by Nimeiry.
Post-Nimeiry
On 6 April 1985,
Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab
Abdel Rahman Suwar al-Dahab (otherwise known as Suwar al-Dahab or al-Dahab; 1934 – 18 October 2018) ( ar, عبد الرحمن سوار الذهب) was the President of Sudan from 6 April 1985, to 6 May 1986.
His full name has also been liste ...
launched a coup d'état and overthrew Nimeiry. In this new climate the SCP, now led by
Muhammad Ibrahim Nugud, resumed its former above-ground activities and took part in the
1986 election, winning 3 seats, and returning
Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim
Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim ( ar, فاطمة احمد ابراهيم; – 12 August 2017), was a Sudanese writer, women's rights activist and socialist leader.
Early life
Ibrahim was born in Khartoum. Sources give her birth date variously as 20 Dece ...
to the National Assembly.
Following the
1989 Sudanese coup d'état
The 1989 Sudanese coup d'état was a military coup that occurred in Sudan on 30 June 1989 against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and President Ahmed al-Mirghani. The coup was led by military officer Omar ...
, however, the SCP was again repressed, with the party being banned and its leaders being arrested.
Recent developments
In a 2007 interview, then general secretary of the SCP
Muhammad Ibrahim Nugud claimed that the party enjoyed support from a wide section of Sudanese society, including "workers, farmers, students, women's groups, minority groups, in the
Nuba Mountains
The Nuba Mountains ( ar, جبال النوبة), also referred to as the Nuba Hills, is an area located in South Kordofan, Sudan. The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as the Nuba peoples. In the Middle Ages, ...
, in the
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
, and in
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...
". Human rights activist Suleman Hamid El Haj was most recently the assistant secretary and spokesman for the party. After the independence of South Sudan in 2011, the southern branch of the party split to form the
Communist Party of South Sudan
The Communist Party of South Sudan ( ar, حزب الشيوعي جنوب السودان, ''Hizb Al-Shuyu'i Janub Al-Sudan'') is a communist party in South Sudan. It was formed in June 2011, as the southern branches of the Sudanese Communist Party s ...
.
In 2008, the SCP and the
South African Communist Party
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...
jointly launched the African Left Network to facilitate greater cooperation amongst
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n communist parties.
Nugud died in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, the United Kingdom, on 22 March 2012. By then he had served as the party's general secretary for over four decades. He was succeeded by
Muhammad Mukhtar al-Khatib.
Ideology
Historical
During the
Cold War the party developed two main factions, an Orthodox
Marxist–Leninist and pro-
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
faction led by
Abdel Khaliq Mahjub, and a nationalist faction led by Ahmad Sulayman and
Farouk Abu Issa
Farouk Abu Issa ( ar, فاروق أبو عيسى; 12 August 1933 – 12 April 2020) was a Sudanese politician and the Chairman of the National Consensus Forces.
Abu Issa attended Hantoub Secondary School and was involved in activism from a you ...
, which emphasized a more localized Sudanese interpretation of Marxism.
The party previously supported the policies and positions of the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM; ar, الحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان, ''Al-Ḥarakat ash-Shaʿbiyyat liTaḥrīr as-Sūdān'') is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as the political w ...
(SPLM) in the early 1990s.
Current
The SCP advocates a return to democratic rule in Sudan and opposed the secession of southern Sudan. The freer political climate following the signing of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ar, اتفاقية السلام الشامل, Ittifāqiyyah al-salām al-šāmil), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on January 9, 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Moveme ...
has allowed the party to be more active in the country. Party leader Muhammad Ibrahim Nugud came out of two decades of hiding in 2008. Party members suffering during the decades of NIF rule had pleaded with him to be more active but Nugud feared arrest. Nugud visited Juba on 28 November 2008 at the invitation of southern Sudanese communists. The trip was aimed at "bolstering the activities of the SCP in southern Sudan". He was received by SPLM Deputy Secretary General Ann Itto.
The party participated in the
2018–2019 protests and is opposed to the measures enacted by the
Transitional Military Council in the aftermath of the
2019 coup d'état.
Party leaders
General Secretary
*
Abdel Khaliq Mahjub (February 1949 – 28 July 1971)
*
Muhammad Ibrahim Nugud ( July 1971 – 22 March 2012)
*
Muhammad Mukhtar al-Khatib ( March 2012 – present)
Election results
; Notes:
See also
*
Egyptian Communist Party
The Egyptian Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي المصري) (ECP) is a communist party in Egypt.
History and profile
The modern Egyptian Communist Party was formed in 1975 by a number of members of the former Egyptian Communist P ...
*
Communist Party of South Sudan
The Communist Party of South Sudan ( ar, حزب الشيوعي جنوب السودان, ''Hizb Al-Shuyu'i Janub Al-Sudan'') is a communist party in South Sudan. It was formed in June 2011, as the southern branches of the Sudanese Communist Party s ...
References
Citations
Sources
Books
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News and magazine articles
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Interviews
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Websites
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Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
1946 establishments in Sudan
Communist parties in Sudan
Formerly banned communist parties
International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
Political parties established in 1946
Political parties in Sudan
Sudanese democracy movements