WASHINGTON (ABP) — Observers of the bloody Sudanese civil war are concerned that the apparently accidental death of a central figure in the nation's new power-sharing government could derail a months-old peace agreement.
Sudanese officials confirmed Aug. 1 that Vice President John Garang died when a helicopter ferrying him from a meeting in Uganda to his home in southern Sudan crashed late on July 30. Several of his bodyguards and aides also died with him, according to press reports.
Despite appeals for calm on nationwide radio broadcasts from his widow, Rebecca Garang, mobs of southern Sudanese rioted throughout the nation as news of Garang's death spread across the country. Rioters in Khartoum and other cities reportedly targeted the nation's ruling Arab majority.
According to the New York Times, southern Sudanese demonstrators in Khartoum shouted, “Murderers!” at Arabs. The Reuters news agency reported police officials saying 46 people had been killed as a result of the riots by Aug. 2.
The riots came despite assurances from Sudanese and Ugandan officials and Rebecca Garang that no foul play was suspected in the helicopter crash, which took place during poor weather conditions.
The demonstrations in Khartoum were a marked contrast to the scene just a few weeks before. On July 9, Garang was sworn in as the second in command to his one-time rival, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. According to press reports, Southern Sudanese turned out in massive numbers to celebrate the occasion.
The act had marked the fruition of a power-sharing deal struck between northern and southern Sudanese leaders Jan. 9. That deal promised to bring to an end a decades-long civil war that has cost an estimated 2 million lives.
Southern Sudan is mainly populated by black Africans who practice Christianity or native animist religions. The north is populated mostly by Arab Muslims. Southern Sudanese had long complained of oppression at the hands of northerners, who control much of the nation's natural resources. The tensions erupted into full-scale war in 1983, when northern officials attempted to impose Islamic law on the nation.
The agreement initiated a six-year transition period to a reunified north-south government. If it works, it could spark redevelopment in the oil-rich nation, much of whose population has been rendered destitute as a result of the conflict.
Garang was a central figure in the peace agreement, as leader of the largest southern rebel group. After his death was announced, Sudanese People's Liberation Army officials announced that a Garang deputy, Salva Kiir, would replace him as SPLM head.
“John Garang was a special person, very charismatic and visionary. He was different from Salva Kiir who is calm, composed and calculative,” said Gen. Lazarus Sumbeiywo Kenyan, who moderated the peace deal, according to Reuters.
In an Aug. 1 statement of sympathy, President Bush encouraged Sudanese not to lose hope. “The United States is determined to maintain our commitment to the peace process in Sudan,” he said. “We urge all Sudanese people to refrain from resorting to violence and to continue the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement. John Garang's vision of peace must be embraced by all the people in Sudan so that they can live in a democratic, peaceful and united country.”
Bush also sent two State Department officials to Sudan to assist in the transfer of power from Garang to Kiir.
The accord does nothing to end a separate conflict between black African rebels and government-supported Arab militias in the nation's arid western region, Darfur. That war has led to what international humanitarian agencies and several governments, including the United States, have labeled as “genocide” perpetrated on black African Darfurians. The crisis has led to the destruction of scores of villages, hundreds of farms, and the displacement of thousands of black Darfurians into refugee camps.
However, Garang had been expected to play a major role in pressuring the Khartoum government to ensure a stable peace in Darfur.
The agreement between Sudan's north and south calls for more equitable sharing of oil revenues between both regions, which has been a major source of the conflict. It also calls for Sharia, or Islamic law, only to apply in the north.
The leader of a government panel that monitors religious freedom around the globe called on Bush to pay special attention to the situation.
“No other government or outside agency is better placed than the United States to assist the Sudanese in developing their indigenous capacity to protect and promote human rights [during the implementation of the peace plan], said Michael Cromartie, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in an Aug. 2 statement. “Without such U.S. leadership, Sudan is likely to witness yet more massive human tragedy, to serve as a breeding ground for international terrorism, and to engender regional instability and conflict.”