WAELE AFRICA Foundation Wishes to congratulate the government and people of South Sudan on the occasion of her 8th independence. We wish your country and all its people happiness, continued success and prosperity.
One of the world’s youngest nations, South Sudan celebrates its Independence Day on July 9. On this day in 2011, the country gained independence from Sudan.
South Sudan was first inhabited by the Nilotic peoples from
the Nile Valley sometime before the 10th century. A number of non-Nilotic
tribes came to the region and settled here between the 15th and the 19th
centuries. They included the Azande people, who are now one of the largest nationalities
in South Sudan.
In the early 19th century, the region was conquered by the
Turko-Egyptian forces, but they couldn’t exert any real authority and were
forced to open the region to European missionaries and merchants. Egyptian rule
in Sudan was restored in 1899 by an Anglo-Egyptian agreement. The region was
jointly administered by Egypt and the United Kingdom as a condominium.
Following Egypt’s independence from Britain in 1922, there
was uncertainty over the fate of Sudan. Eventually all Egyptian public
employees, civil servants, and troops had to withdraw from the region following
Britain’s orders, but the region remained a condominium. British authorities
treated the southern part of Sudan as a separate region, detaching it from the
rest of Sudan for practical purposes. They forbade northern Sudanese to enter
and work in the south and severed the economic ties between the south and the
north.
In 1953, Britain and Egypt agreed to grant Sudan
self-government after three years of transition. Following the outbreak of the
First Sudanese Civil War between the south and the north, the Sudanese
parliament declared independence on December 19, 1955, and Britain and Egypt
recognized it on January 1, 1956.
The war lasted until 1972 and was followed by the Second
Sudanese Civil War that lasted for 22 years, from 1983 and 2005. The
Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of Sudan and the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement of the south was signed on January 9, 2005. South
Sudan was granted autonomy for six years, followed by an independence
referendum.
From January 9 to 15, 2011, an independence referendum took
place in South Sudan to determine whether the region should declare its
independence from Sudan or remain a part of it. The overwhelming majority of
voters voted in favor of independence. The Republic of South Sudan officially
declared its independence on July 9, 2011, becoming the world’s youngest
independent nation.
Independence Day is the national holiday of South Sudan. It
used to be celebrated across the country with rallies and other events, with
the biggest celebration taking place in the capital city of Juba. However,
independence didn’t put an end to conflict in South Sudan, and the country has
been torn apart by civil war since 2013.
For several years in a row, Independence Day celebrations
were canceled due to the shortage of funds and the possibility of violence.
Some people were disappointed at this decision, arguing that Independence Day
celebrations would have been a bright spot in the middle of the conflict.
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