THE SUDAN AND EGYPT
Sue—Those of us who have spent many of our best years in the service of the Sudan wili agree in principle with much of Abdullah Bey Khalil's article in your November 22nd issue, and will rejoice that his main com- plaint had been already met by solemn undertakings on the part of the Prime Minister and Mr. Bevin. Before any decision is taken on the future of the Sudan there is to be full consultation with those elements in the population who, thanks to British guidance and leadership, are now capable of taking their part in the administration and of representing their less sophisticated fellow-countrymen; and full consideration is to be given to their wishes. But it must be remembered that in the Equatorial Provinces of the South there are vast areas where the population is still incapable of understanding or expressing political and national aspirations.
It is, however, to be regretted that Abdullah Bey has weakened his case by citing the successful rising of the Dervishes and their domination of the country under the Mandi and the Khalifa as an era of national
independence. It is true that the Egyptians were driven out, and to that extent the argument is relevant. It is equally true that the result was not freedom and independence, but a blood-stained tyranny. The mal- administration of the Mandi followed by the unintelligent brutality of the Khalifa led, after internecine warfare and the extermination of dissi- dent tribes, to famine, which was inevitably followed by pestilence. It is enough to say that the estimated population fell from to,000,000 to 2,000,000 in seventeen years of untold misery. No responsible govern- ment and no friend of the Sudan could possibly risk a recurrence of such a domination and such an appalling catastrophe. Fortunately, we can feel assured that Sudan independence will be developed on very different lines, and accordingly, while we may deplore Abdullah Bey's arguments from history, we can heartily endorse his aspirations.—I am, Sir, yours
The Athenaeum, S.W. r.
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