Mayo’s revolution: the history of ascent and collapse – something for the fatherland – ✍️ Mr. Salah is strange
In the 20th century, the Arab region witnessed numerous revolutions and coups and, since its independence in 1956, Sudan has been the scene of a number of these events. Among them, the coup d’etat of May 25, 1969, led by Marshal Field Jaafar Muhammad al -Numayri, which was later known as the “May Revolution”. This revolution, or the coup d’etat according to the names of some, represented a turning point articulated in the history of Sudan, carrying the hopes of change and reform, before the winds of politics and the deterioration of the situation.
JAAFAR MUHAMMAD AL -NUMAYRI was born on April 26, 1930 and graduated from the Sudanese military college in 1952, the same year which witnessed the coup d’etat of free officers in Egypt. Al -Numayri was influenced by the ideas of the former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser on socialism and Arab unity, and participated in campaigns against rebellion in southern Sudan and several attempts to overthrow successive governments. After graduating from the Army College in the United States in 1966, Al -Numayri, at the rank of colonel at the time, led a military coup after three years to overthrow the civil government led by Ismail Al -Azhari. After the coup, Al -Numairi pushed himself to the rank of Marshair and combined the positions of the Prime Minister, the head of the Revolutionary Command Council and the President of the State of Sudan.
The coup d’etat of May was not a sudden event, but rather the result of the accumulation of political and economic crises in the country. After the parliamentary elections in 1965, the parties increased and the skirmishes intensified between the “Muslim Brotherhood” and the “Communist Party”, which led to the expulsion of the latter’s deputies of Parliament. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision to cancel these amendments, things have become more complicated and democracy has decreased.
Azmi Bishara and Ahmed Abu Shuk indicate in their book “The Sudanese Revolution (2018-2019)” that the parliamentary government elected at the time was not able to establish a permanent constitution which responds to the aspirations of the country. Instead, she was busy modifying the Constitution and dissolving the Communist Party, adding another failure to her file. Various conflicts have worsened and living and economic conditions have deteriorated. On May 23, 1969, the ruling parties published a statement declaring an agreement that the Constitution was Islamic and the Republican presidential election, provided that the presidential elections occurred in early 1970.
Nabil Najm indicates in his book “The story of yesterday” that the coup d’etat of Nimeiri took place in cooperation with national officers of the Sudanese army, including the Communists, who were part of the revolutionary command council. However, Al -Numairi quickly disagreed with them, removed them from their positions, referred some of them to retirement and the Sudanese Communist Party was prosecuted, and the party secretary was arrested by Abdel -Khaleq Mahjoub.
The reign of Al-Numairi lasted 16 years and witnessed the longest truce between the rebels and the central government of Khartoum, which lasted 11 years. His reign also witnessed the emergence of the popular movement and its military wing, the spla, and the civil war intensified during its reign. Al -Numairi was subjected to more than one attempted coup, including the “Hashem Al -atta coup” on July 19, 1971, which he managed to thwart, and another attempt led by officer Hassan Hussein in September 1975, who did not succeed.
The “Sharia” approved by Al -Numayri at the end of its reign in 1983 is one of the most important reasons for the deterioration that killed its diet. After a treatment trip to Washington in March 1985, people went to the street led by unions, federations and parties, which exhausted the security system. The Minister of Defense of the then regime, Lieutenant -General Abdul Rahman Swar Al -Dahab, announced the bias of the armed forces of the people. When Al -Numayri was in the air back in Khartoum to thwart the popular uprising, his assistants advised him to change his destination in Cairo because “the game ended”. Al -Numayri used politics to Egypt, where he stayed until his return to Sudan on May 22, 1999.
Sudanese mayonnaise, with its coup, its promises, its challenges and its end, remains an integral part of the modern history of Sudan and a lesson in complexity of power and politics in the region.
