08/02/2005
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John Garang, the Sudanese Vice President, and for years leader of the Southern
Christian rebels, died on Saturday while returning from Uganda by helicopter,
where he had been on a State visit with President Yoweri Moseweni. According to
a communication issued by President Omar el Bashir, “His aircraft crashed into
a ravine in the Amatonji mountains after having lost altitude as a result of a
sand storm.” Along with Garang 12 other people died. Having left Kampala at 15.30hrs,
it was due to arrive at 19.00hrs on Saturday evening, local time in Sudan. The
leader of the rebel “SPLM” was going to the southern airport of “New Site” where
his ex-residence was. His body was then taken there. This morning in the capital
Khartoum, after the death of Garang was confirmed, a number of clashes occurred
caused by people from the southern regions of Sudan. An official communiqué from
the Southern Independent Movement has called for, “all Sudanese to remain calm”,
reiterating over and over that the death of Garang was due to an accident. According
to one peace negotiator in Abuja, the Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, “there
is no doubt that whoever assumes the role of leader of the SPLM, will automatically
become Vice President as well, therefore, guaranteeing the peace process in the
Southern regions.” Assuming the command of the party, that for 21 years has represented
the political demands of the Southern Christians, has gone, at the moment, to
the deputy of Garang, Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Stone throwing in the centre. On the telephone to Khartoum PeaceReporter reached an Italian aid worker, who for reasons of security prefers to remain
anonymous. This is what they said. “This morning the news confirmed that the helicopter
of John Garang was found, people started to spread the news, because in the refugee
camps there aren’t many radios, therefore, there were people from the South that
still didn’t know what had happened. As the word spread people started to gather
in various points of the city, in the centre, in the area where you find all the
government buildings, and then in the areas with a higher density of population
of people that come from the south. Groups made up of people started to throw
stones at cars passing by on the main streets and then they moved into the side
streets. We have an office in Namura, which is in one of these areas, an area
normally very quiet, but it’s an area surrounded by places where Southern Sudanese
live. At the suggestion of our staff we decided to leave because there’s the probability
that there will be problems tonight. In Khartoum there are lots of places where
they sell alcohol, so when demonstrators start to drink they feel that they have
the right to do anything they like. After we had decided to leave this area, we
thought to go to “Riad” area, which is much more peaceful, yet in order to get
there we had to pass by this curtain of people that were throwing stones; our
car was also hit. The demonstrators are people that don’t have a political end,
they are simply people that only have the will to improve their own living conditions
by holding others to ransom…they go around with shovels, with the desire to destroy
whatever is in their way….”
Purely and simply a repressed hate. ”What we can observe is this that it is purely and simply resentment, that comes
from inside, that gives them the desire to destroy things and just that; for example
when they attack cars they don’t do it in a way that stops them to get the people
out: they aren’t thinking to kill someone, they only want to destroy, destroy
and steal. Up until twenty minutes ago there were columns of smoke coming from
cars that were burning, but now, (around 1pm Italian time), you don’t see anything;
they say that in Riad area, where we are, it’s a little more calm than in the
centre. At the moment you can still see black smoke coming from the area north
of the airport, for sure they are still people throwing stones around the city,
yet at the same time the Government has ordered the police to go out for the first
time. I saw some police squads waiting with bayonets, and one can be sure that
they will go into the crowd, but there is also the need to do it with a lot of
calmness so as not to have a revolt, also one needs to consider that there are
almost a million Sudanese that come from the southern camps, therefore, if they
organise themselves and they all get together it could become a real problem to
manage.
From the army to being a rebel. John Garang was born in 1945 in a Dinka ethnic village into a well off Christian
family. After studying at senior school in Tanzania, he moved to study economics
in an American university, Grinnell College, in the State of Iowa. Having got
a PhD in “Agricultural Economy” he completed his military training in Fort Benning’s
Academy in the State of Georgia. In 1962, for the first time, he was invited by
the Khartoum Government to appease a rebellion by the Southern tribe AnyaAnya.
After 10 years there was peace with these people, but in 1978 the discovery of
oil brought with it a general revolt by Southern tribes, Animists and Christians,
that called for more autonomy from the Muslim north. In 1983 Garang was again
asked to calm the rebellion. He would not ever return to Khartoum, only to sign
the armistice as head of the rebels. As soon as he arrived in the insurgent’s
territory, he got the various rebel squadrons together and took them to Ethiopia,
where he founded the SPLA, (Sudan’s Peoples Liberation Army), and it’s political
wing SPLM, (Sudan’s Peoples Liberation Movement). His army had 12,500 soldiers
in 1986, more than 20 thousand in ’89 and between 50 and 60 thousand by 1991.
Last December in Nigeria the first peace accords arrived, after an armistice,
which started at the beginning of 2004, on the 9th of July John Garang became the Sudanese Vice President. After a short time he
broke up the Legislative Assembly, the executive and the political leadership
of the SPLM and substituted it with ten governors that would administer the rebel
province ad interim. According to the peace accord, the South had to enjoy full
autonomy for six years, and then a decision would be taken with a referendum on
how the South would get full independence from Khartoum
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After the death of Garang, the capital of Sudan has fallen prey to looters
Written for PeaceReporter
By Gianluca Ursini
By Gianluca Ursini
John Garang, the Sudanese Vice President, and for years leader of the Southern
Christian rebels, died on Saturday while returning from Uganda by helicopter,
where he had been on a State visit with President Yoweri Moseweni. According to
a communication issued by President Omar el Bashir, “His aircraft crashed into
a ravine in the Amatonji mountains after having lost altitude as a result of a
sand storm.” Along with Garang 12 other people died. Having left Kampala at 15.30hrs,
it was due to arrive at 19.00hrs on Saturday evening, local time in Sudan. The
leader of the rebel “SPLM” was going to the southern airport of “New Site” where
his ex-residence was. His body was then taken there. This morning in the capital
Khartoum, after the death of Garang was confirmed, a number of clashes occurred
caused by people from the southern regions of Sudan. An official communiqué from
the Southern Independent Movement has called for, “all Sudanese to remain calm”,
reiterating over and over that the death of Garang was due to an accident. According
to one peace negotiator in Abuja, the Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, “there
is no doubt that whoever assumes the role of leader of the SPLM, will automatically
become Vice President as well, therefore, guaranteeing the peace process in the
Southern regions.” Assuming the command of the party, that for 21 years has represented
the political demands of the Southern Christians, has gone, at the moment, to
the deputy of Garang, Salva Kiir Mayardit.Stone throwing in the centre. On the telephone to Khartoum PeaceReporter reached an Italian aid worker, who for reasons of security prefers to remain
anonymous. This is what they said. “This morning the news confirmed that the helicopter
of John Garang was found, people started to spread the news, because in the refugee
camps there aren’t many radios, therefore, there were people from the South that
still didn’t know what had happened. As the word spread people started to gather
in various points of the city, in the centre, in the area where you find all the
government buildings, and then in the areas with a higher density of population
of people that come from the south. Groups made up of people started to throw
stones at cars passing by on the main streets and then they moved into the side
streets. We have an office in Namura, which is in one of these areas, an area
normally very quiet, but it’s an area surrounded by places where Southern Sudanese
live. At the suggestion of our staff we decided to leave because there’s the probability
that there will be problems tonight. In Khartoum there are lots of places where
they sell alcohol, so when demonstrators start to drink they feel that they have
the right to do anything they like. After we had decided to leave this area, we
thought to go to “Riad” area, which is much more peaceful, yet in order to get
there we had to pass by this curtain of people that were throwing stones; our
car was also hit. The demonstrators are people that don’t have a political end,
they are simply people that only have the will to improve their own living conditions
by holding others to ransom…they go around with shovels, with the desire to destroy
whatever is in their way….”Purely and simply a repressed hate. ”What we can observe is this that it is purely and simply resentment, that comes
from inside, that gives them the desire to destroy things and just that; for example
when they attack cars they don’t do it in a way that stops them to get the people
out: they aren’t thinking to kill someone, they only want to destroy, destroy
and steal. Up until twenty minutes ago there were columns of smoke coming from
cars that were burning, but now, (around 1pm Italian time), you don’t see anything;
they say that in Riad area, where we are, it’s a little more calm than in the
centre. At the moment you can still see black smoke coming from the area north
of the airport, for sure they are still people throwing stones around the city,
yet at the same time the Government has ordered the police to go out for the first
time. I saw some police squads waiting with bayonets, and one can be sure that
they will go into the crowd, but there is also the need to do it with a lot of
calmness so as not to have a revolt, also one needs to consider that there are
almost a million Sudanese that come from the southern camps, therefore, if they
organise themselves and they all get together it could become a real problem to
manage.Now all transport has totally stopped, it’s not moving, therefore, people can
only get around by foot and in order to get to the city from the camps it’s around
15kms. Everyone that lives in the city has the same problem, to get home or to
go to some place in the city it’s by foot: there’s no public transport at all,
and by this I also mean taxis: everything’s stopped because they don’t want to
run the risk of being stoned. So you find yourself in a city that’s at a total
standstill. Tonight we’ll all be in this house, from what they tell us it’s not
advisable to go to the area where our house is. Behind it is an area where there
is a huge open space, there are no buildings just the shacks where refugees live,
it’s also where they make alcohol. It already happened, the day that John Garang
came to our house about 15 people came in blind drunk they had pushed the guards
away and got into the complex. They started to dance, without being aggressive,
but they started to make a scene and started to ask for money so they could buy
more alcohol. We told them no, at which point the women became ferocious, but
fortunately the men decided, by themselves, to take them outside. This morning
one came past with a couple of sticks saying that today that he would set fire
to the city and that we should move to somewhere more peaceful…”
From the army to being a rebel. John Garang was born in 1945 in a Dinka ethnic village into a well off Christian
family. After studying at senior school in Tanzania, he moved to study economics
in an American university, Grinnell College, in the State of Iowa. Having got
a PhD in “Agricultural Economy” he completed his military training in Fort Benning’s
Academy in the State of Georgia. In 1962, for the first time, he was invited by
the Khartoum Government to appease a rebellion by the Southern tribe AnyaAnya.
After 10 years there was peace with these people, but in 1978 the discovery of
oil brought with it a general revolt by Southern tribes, Animists and Christians,
that called for more autonomy from the Muslim north. In 1983 Garang was again
asked to calm the rebellion. He would not ever return to Khartoum, only to sign
the armistice as head of the rebels. As soon as he arrived in the insurgent’s
territory, he got the various rebel squadrons together and took them to Ethiopia,
where he founded the SPLA, (Sudan’s Peoples Liberation Army), and it’s political
wing SPLM, (Sudan’s Peoples Liberation Movement). His army had 12,500 soldiers
in 1986, more than 20 thousand in ’89 and between 50 and 60 thousand by 1991.
Last December in Nigeria the first peace accords arrived, after an armistice,
which started at the beginning of 2004, on the 9th of July John Garang became the Sudanese Vice President. After a short time he
broke up the Legislative Assembly, the executive and the political leadership
of the SPLM and substituted it with ten governors that would administer the rebel
province ad interim. According to the peace accord, the South had to enjoy full
autonomy for six years, and then a decision would be taken with a referendum on
how the South would get full independence from Khartoum 
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