News Analysis: Sudan remains in crisis despite six-decade independence

January 1 marks the 60th anniversary of Sudan's Independence from the British colonialism, but the political leaders have failed to find solutions to the country's political, economic and social crisis, according to Sudanese politicians.

The politicians are calling for drafting a roadmap to establish a democratic state and resolve the country's crises.

"The independence cannot be achieved unless the officials and the citizens adopt the lofty values of independence, unite their will, and work to develop their country by themselves," Rabie Abul-Atti, a leading member of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP), told Xinhua Friday.

He called for efforts to achieve consensus and reconciliation to realize peace, exploiting the country's potentialities and investing its capabilities to face challenges and achieve the aspirations of the people.

Kamal Omer, the political secretary of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP), acknowledged the Sudanese political elites' failure to find solutions to the country's continued problems, but he held the British colonialism responsible for some of those problems.

"It is known that there are institutional issues that face any country that rids itself from the grip of colonialism. In Sudan's case, the political elites could not institute for a smooth shift because colonialism has succeeded in dividing the political forces which were active during the colonial era," he told Xinhua.

He went on saying "we are a nation that has been divided since the independence, to the extent that, during 60 years of independence, we have failed to agree on a permanent constitution that preserves the rights and duties."

He believed that the solution lies in reaching a comprehensive consensus that involves all the Sudanese people, regarding the ongoing national dialogue conference in Khartoum as an "opportunity" to reach such a consensus if the conference managed to come out with recommendations and if the recommendations are implemented.

In the meantime, Abdul-Rahim Al-Sunni, a Sudanese political analyst, reiterated the importance of reaching a comprehensive national reconciliation based on the national values prior to reaching political consensus on the major issues.

"Until now we have not agreed on how to rule Sudan or on items of a constitution that assimilates all the Sudanese diversity. We have not reached consensus on the essential issues of our nation. The political elites are responsible of this failure," Al-Sunni told Xinhua.

Sudan gained its independence on January 1, 1956 from the British-Egyptian rule to become and independent republic and a member of the Arab League, the United Nations and the African Union.

For 60 years, Sudan has suffered political instability where it experienced around 13 military coup attempts, three of them succeeded in 1964, 1985 and 1989.

Since the independence, Sudan's political history has seen three transitional governments, four elected governments and two popular uprisings that overthrew military governments in 1964 and 1985.

Sudan lies in northeast Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Egypt to the north and Libya to the north-west. To the west, it is bordered by Chad and to the south-west by the Central African Republic. To the south, it is bordered by South Sudan which officially separated from Sudan in 2011.

Following South Sudan separation, Sudan lost 25 percent of its area to become the third largest country in Africa after it was the first.

According to official statistics, Sudan's population is estimated at about 30 million people. It is composed of 17 states governed by elected governors.

Sudan government reiterates that over 96 percent of the population are Muslims, 3 percent Christians and 0.3 percent of other religions in Blue Nile and South Kordofan States.

The official language in Sudan is Arabic. There are local dialects at some regions such as the Nubian dialect and others besides English.

Sudan lost around 75 percent of its oil revenues following the separation of South Sudan, causing the economy to face great difficulties. Endit