The Sudanese National Party (SNP), founded in 1985, is made up of members of the Nuba tribe. The party was led by a former Anglican priest, Philip Abbas Ghaboush, who had been a member of Parliament before and during the Nemery regime. [
ENDNOTES:
Alan J. Day, ed., Political Parties of the World, Third Edition, (Chicago: St. James Press, 1988), p.522.]1 After a May 1985 meeting with the Chairman of the Transitional Military Council (TMC), Philip Abbas Ghaboush reported that the Nuba Mountains General Union had been "disbanded by the establishment of the Sudanese National Party". [ BBC Summary of World Broadcasts from Sudan News Agency, 24 May 1985.]

On 13 September 1985, in speaking of the SNP, Philip Abbas Ghaboush reportedly stated that the party shares ideas and principles with the SPLA and that both groups were "fighters in one bunker against dictatorships and oppression in the beloved country, Sudan". [ BBC Summary of World broadcasts, 17 September 1985.] It was shortly after that he was detained from September 1985 to January 1986 for allegedly being involved in the coup attempt against the Transitional Military Council (TMC). The attached BBC Summary of World Broadcasts and United Press International detail further information regarding the arrests.

The new Cabinet formed to lead a broad-based government prior to the ouster of Prime Minister Sadeq Mahdi in March 1989 included a member of the Sudan National Party. [ The Associated Press from Sudan, 23 March 1989.] The attached Associated Press new release details further information regarding the controversy over the Sharia Laws.

When reviewing the attached excerpts from the following documents, please take note that the Nubians are mainly Muslims while the Nubans are predominantly Christian. The adjective for the proper noun "Nuba" is Nuban, not Nubian. [ As stated by Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush in a telephone conversation with the IRBDC on 2 April 1990. Mohamed I. Shoush is a scholar of Sudanese affairs currently residing in Calgary.]

Please find attached the following:
-BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 5 September 1985, 11 September 1985, 17 September 1985, 5 January 1989, 31 May 1989 and 5 September 1989.
-The United Press International, 29 September 1985.
-The Daily Telegraph, 23 March 1989.
-The Associated Press, 23 March 1989 and 25 March 1989.
-The New York Times, 26 March 1989.