The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) has announced the launch of a new flag and anthem, stressing that the move reflects its political project and long struggle to establish a state based on equal citizenship, and does not constitute a call for self-determination or secession.
Mohammed Abdelrahman Al-Nayir, head of the movement’s media sector and its official spokesperson, told Radio Dabanga that the movement has a “revolutionary anthem” stipulated in its internal bylaws, adopted in 2014 and amended in 2021.
Al-Nayir said recent claims that the movement is banning what are described as the national flag and anthem amount to “fishing in troubled waters.” He added that the issue is not new, but that the parties promoting it in recent days have “known agendas,” stressing that the movement is aware of the aims of these campaigns and those behind them.
He explained that the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army is a revolutionary movement with its own flag and revolutionary anthem, which express its long struggle and political vision. He emphasized that the movement does not adopt any separatist agenda and does not call for self-determination for Darfur or any other region of Sudan.
Al-Nayir further argued that what is referred to as the national flag and anthem do not, in his view, represent the Sudanese people, but rather reflect a political elite and a single ideological current that imposed them. He said Sudanese communities have never collectively agreed on a national flag or anthem.
He added that the movement is working with the rest of the Sudanese people to build a state based on equal citizenship, where the people freely determine their future. He described Sudan as a country that “has not yet been founded,” saying that once such a state is established, it will be the exclusive right of Sudanese citizens to decide on their national flag and anthem.
“We do not recognize the flag and anthem”
Al-Nayir stressed that the movement does not recognize the current national flag or anthem, noting that it has its own revolutionary anthem and flag, which are raised in all areas under the control of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.
He reiterated his accusation that certain parties are attempting to portray the movement as embracing a separatist project, describing such claims as unfounded and incorrect. He said the movement has concealed nothing, and that since its emergence as an armed revolutionary movement, it has had its own well-known flag and anthem, which represent it.
