Garang foes may lose in Salva Kiir's regime

Salva Kiir Mayardit, pictured below, arrives in Khartoum after 22 years of absence to take his place in the national unity government.



Photo: Salva Kiir Mayardit arrives in Khartoum, Wednesday, Aug 10, 2005 after 22 years of absence to take his place in the national unity government, stepping into the vacancy left by the death of his commander and partner in the southern rebel movement that is now committed to peace.

Kiir was named leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement after Garang's July 30 death in a helicopter crash. He will be sworn in as first vice president and president of southern Sudan on Thursday. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)
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Garang foes may lose in Salva Kiir's regime

Interesting piece here by an un-named correspondent at The East African, August 8, 2005, listing some unfamiliar names. Not sure of the accuracy of the information, time will tell. It is good to see Mrs Garang had, and hopefully still has, a role. More women are needed in Sudanese politics and government. Here is the report, entitled "Garang foes may lose in Salva Kiir's regime" copied in full for future reference, incase the link becomes broken:

With the exit of Garang from the scene, the power equations within the Sudan People's Liberation Movement are likely to change in major ways.

In terms of profile and seniority, one would say that the next in the hierarchy after Salva Kiir is Dr Riek Machar.

Yet the truth of the matter is that Machar, like the other warlords, such as Dr Lam Akol and Theophilus Ochieng, who confronted Garang militarily, will be viewed with suspicion by SPLM stalwarts who dismiss them as recent converts.

Salva Kiir will want to avoid the perception that he is bringing closer to the centre of power former defectors who differed with Garang.

In terms of influence, the group whose political stock is likely to soar are Salva Kiir's longstanding military comrades, who have served as his deputies, including Oyay Deng Ajak, Salva Mathok, Riek Machar and field commander Kuol Manyang.

His longstanding military aides like Malong Awan and Commander Jadalla are also likely to be more visible in the new regime.

In determining the direction of relations with the Arab north, the people to watch are Yasir Arman, a Northerner and SPLM spokesman based in Eritrea and Cairo, the chief negotiators of the comprehensive peace agreement; Commnders Nhial Deng and Elijah Malok, and people like secretary general James Wani Iga and Pagan Amum.

Who is going to be who in Kiir's Cabinet? SPLM insiders are reluctant to make predictions.

Weeks before he died, Garang confounded pundits by dispersing key party stalwarts and appointing them as "caretakers" of the separate regions of south Sudan.

For instance, Riek Machar, a Nuer from Bentui, was sent to Bahr el Gazal as the caretaker of the region, while Theophilus Ochieng - an Acholi from Magwi - was appointed caretaker of Western Upper Nile; Pagan Amum - a Shilluk from Malakal - was sent to East Equatoria and James Wani Igga, a Bari from Juba, was posted as caretaker of Central Equatoria.

Initiallly, the postings elicited murmurs, with critics saying that it was a ploy to weaken key figures politically by posting them to the countryside.

But as it emerged later, these were temporary postings effected to avoid a power vacuum following the dissolution of the administrative structures that existed before the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement.

Thus, the most reliable guess about how Garang wanted to structure his Cabinet would appear to be a confidential document that showed how he had nominated key party leaders to a capacity building programme that was to take place in Pretoria, South Africa.

People were nominated for training in specific areas of government, suggesting that they were being groomed to take up posts in those areas.

Salva Kiir and James Wani Iga were to travel to South Africa to be exposed to how a liberation movement can be transformed into a robust mass political party.

Oyang Deng, Abdal Aziz al Hilu, Obuto Mamur Melle, George Athior Deng and Butrus Bol Bol were selected to study South Africa's military.

Gabriel Mathong Rok, speaker of the National Leadership Council, Kuot Deng Kuot and Peter Longole Kuam were nominated to study the South African parliamentary system.

Dr Machar was among the group who were to study the area of transport and comunications and information technology and communications, while Army Commander Paul Malong Awan was nominated for training in the environment, tourism and wildlife resources area.

Elijah Malok Aleng, the designate governor of the central bank, was to train in central banking, while Pagan Amum Okech was nominated for training in the area of public expenditure management and training

Kohl Manyang Juuk, Castello Garang and Stephen Ali Kamanyungu were nominated for training in the areas of railways, transport, and power projects.

Garang's wife, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, was slotted in the area of rehabilitation of wounded heroes and orphans.
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Demining Southern Sudan



Photo: Stafford Molelekoa, a South African demining dog handler, moves across a dirt road with his dog in Juba, southern Sudan, Tuesday Aug. 9, 2005 during an operation to locate possible explosives and clear them. A Sudanese soldier walks at right. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
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Servant's Heart Relief - Sudan Council of Churches USA - Sudan Mercy

Sudansong left a comment at Kendall's blog Titusonenine, thanking him for the link to Sudan Watch. I too am grateful. As mentioned here earlier, there was a spike in traffic here for a few days - lots of extra visitors a day - maybe 400 or more - I lost count - all arriving from Kendall's blog. Here is a copy of Sudansong's comment that provides new links:

"Thank you for this link.

There are also some great resources from those who have worked on Southern Sudan, the Nuba Mountains, and elsewhere – where the genocide started two decades ago, and from Sudanese Christians themselves, now working with the Darfurian refugees in Chad. For instance:

Servant's Heart Relief - Risk management banker turns into Indiana Jones and and helps the Sudanese in Eastern Blue Nile and elsewhere to dig wells, build schools, detect landmines, as well as follow the oil money in Sudan from China to Canada to Malaysia, etc.

Sudan Council of Churches USA and Sudan Mercy: Sudanese Christians reaching out to their former persecutors (standing with the Muslims of Darfur), bringing food aid, clothing, and a message of forgiveness and reconciliation to the refugees in Chad.

That's just a sampling, there are plenty more. Very soon, the first Christian newspaper in Sudan, The New Sudan Christian, created by the Rev. John Daau from Kakuma Refugee Camp, will be online, too.

Please pray for our Sudanese brothers and sisters upon the devastating blow of losing Dr. Garang."

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UN and SPLM say 17 bodies recovered at Garang crash site

The UN said on Wednesday 17 bodies had been recovered from the site of a helicopter crash that killed John Garang, although Uganda has said only 14 were on board its chopper.

The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear, although a member of the southern Sudanese leadership council had earlier also said 17 bodies had been recovered.

A joint commission between the government and Garang's SPLM was formed this week to investigate the causes of the crash and officials have said they welcome any input from the U.N. or other international experts.

The commission, headed by SPLM official and former Vice President Abel Alier, is to offer a preliminary report within four weeks of starting work.
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Photo: Red Cross officials carry the coffins of seven Ugandans who died in the helicopter crash with Sudanese First Vice President John Garang at the Entebbe military base, Uganda, August 9, 2005. Garang was travelling on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's helicopter back to southern Sudan after a meeting with him on July 30, 2005 when it disappeared from radar screens. (Reuters/Stringer)
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First Anniversary of Sudan Watch

This month is the first anniversary of this blog. Sudan Watch has a Site Meter that logs visitor numbers. Recently, new features were introduced enabling users to see country locations of visitors.

It was astonishing to see visitors from almost every country in Africa, including the Sudan. I had no idea there were so many from Africa - or Malaysia, Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Canada, USA and UK ... I have lost track of all the different countries.

Although I can only identify a visitors by country, I can see what brings them to the site, i.e. Google search words used. It is encouraging to see 99% of visitors at this site know exactly what they are looking for and do not arrive by accident. As I can recall, without even looking, most of the material posted here over the past 12 months, it pleases me to know that visitors probably find what they are searching for. Thank you.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Garang John Garang Kiir

UN envoy urges quick decisions on status of oil-rich regions in central Sudan

Aug 8 AFP report via Gulf Times:

UN special envoy for Sudan Jan Pronk said quick decisions were needed on the status of several oil-rich regions in central Sudan claimed by both Khartoum and the SPLM where militia activity continues despite the accord.

"The problem is not in the north or south of Sudan," Pronk told reporters after meeting Salva Kiir, Garang's successor as head of the SPLM. The problem is on the fringes of central Sudan.

"There are groups, armed groups, that have become agitated, people are afraid of each other in Abyei," he said, referring to one of three disputed oil-rich zones that were left out of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in Kenya.

"They need political discussions," Pronk said.

Full Story.
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UPDATE - AP report Aug 7 excerpt - with thanks to Coalition for Darfur and Passion of the Present:

"Pronk pressed the government and SPLM to form commissions to guide and monitor the implementation of key aspects of the peace accord.

"When these institutions are not there, you cannot easily go forward because the SPLM works separately, the government works separately and the United Nations (works separately). So we have to do it together," Pronk said.

He said he urged Kiir on Sunday to resolve differences with pro-government militia in the south which are not part of the SPLM.

"There are groups which have become quite agitated of late," Pronk said. He declined to say more about them, but NGO workers have told The Associated Press that some pro-government militiamen have recently kidnapped women and children, holding them as bargaining chips.

The NGO workers spoke on condition of anonymity as they feared straining their relations with the Sudanese government.

The peace provides for the militiamen to be integrated either into the national army or into a new army of southern Sudan, which will be dominated by their former enemy, the Sudan People's Liberation Army."

See full report at Sudan Tribune
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Click here to see map showing the current concessions of oil exploration and production activities in Sudan.

If any reader here at Sudan Watch has snippets of news relating to what is happening these days with oil companies in Sudan or any conflict in or around Blocks 6 or C, please email for future pieces on oil and Darfur. Thanks.



Photo: The new leader of southern Sudan Salva Kiir (L) greets the UN special envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk in a private residence in the southern town of Juba, a day after former rebel leader John Garang was buried in an emotional ceremony that was attended by tens of thousands. (AFP/Simon Maina) August 7, 2005
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London suspects have ties to East Africa

Aug 8 AP Nairobi report says experts suggest terror strengths may be growing in East Africa. Excerpt:

At least three of the four suspects in the July 21 attempted bombings on the London subway and a bus were born in East Africa, where al-Qaida-linked groups still operate and may be growing in strength, according to a new assessment by counterterrorism experts.

The attackers, at least two of them naturalized British citizens, were born in Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea and there is no evidence they have been back there recently. But East Africa has several indigenous terror groups and has suffered three al-Qaida attacks since 1998.

Note, the report says "Osama bin Laden moved to East Africa in 1991 at the invitation of Hassan al-Turabi, an Islamic fundamentalist once considered the spiritual, if not de facto, leader of Sudan. Bin Laden brought with him Afghan war veterans, millions of dollars and plans to start al-Qaida."
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Hassan al-Turabi



Following on from the above, here is a photo and caption from a previous post at Sudan Watch: July 17, 2005 AP - Hassan Turabi, the Islamist leader recently freed from a year and a half of house arrest for allegedly plotting a coup, told the Associated Press in Khartoum, Sunday, July 17, 2005 that he wants to bring free democracy to Sudan. He criticized the new constitution and said he wants closer relations with the U.S. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)

Click here for Sudan Watch posts on Turabi.

Tags: Sudan Darfur oil Pronk Abyei Garang John Garang Gulf Times rebels Central Sudan

Sudan is made up of two different worlds that will never coexist peacefully

Note this copy of another gem of a post by Captain Marlow July 21, 2005 entitled 'Sudan shame.'

WESTERN DARFUR, Sudan (CNN) -- Sudan's foreign minister has apologized to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after authorities roughed up journalists and staff members traveling with her.

Do we have to take this crap from this failure of a state?

Also rarely mentioned in media coverage is the fact that the two-decades old "civil war" in Sudan* is an effort by the Muslim north (often referred to as "the government") to slaughter the Christian and Animists (often referred to as "rebels") who populate the southern areas of the country. The situation is further complicated by the more recent battles* (more accurately: ethnic cleansing) raging between Arab Muslims (often referred to as "the government") and African Muslims (often referred to as "rebels") - mostly in the Darfur region of western Sudan*. None of this should be confused with the even more recent conflict in eastern Sudan*.

IMHO there is no way that Sudan will or should retain its territorial integrity: it is made up of two different worlds that will never coexist peacefully.

* please click here for links within original post.

[Well said. It would be interesting to know what exactly Marlow means when he says: "there is no way that Sudan will or should retain its territorial integrity."]
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Why Darfur Can't Be Left to Africa

Thanks to a reader here at Sudan Watch for sharing the following report. Sorry not yet had time to read it, or reply to all of the emails and comments received. Apologies and regards to all. Hope to catch up soon.

Why Darfur Can't Be Left to Africa
washingtonpost.com
By Susan E. Rice
Sunday, August 7, 2005

Tags: Sudan Darfur Arabs Islamic Muslims Garang John Garang Christian Animist Washington Post

John Bolton - Machar's Lady MacBeth

Hopefully, John Bolton will give the UN's World Food Programme a shake up to help prevent another disaster like what happened in Darfur and Niger.



AP report and cartoons via Cox & Forkum Aug 1, 2005:

Bush Appoints Bolton, Bypassing Senate

President Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, ending a five-month impasse with Democrats who accused Bolton of abusing subordinates and twisting intelligence to fit his conservative ideology.

"This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform," Bush said. He said Bolton had his complete confidence.


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UPDATE: Copy of Aug 1 post at Captain Marlow blog:

"Bolton ambassador to the UN

President Bush today used a recess appointment to sidestep the U.S. Senate and install John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.

Before anyone starts crying "abuse" and criticizing Bush for exceeding his powers:

Clinton made recess appointments for everything from the judiciary, to a controversial ambassador, to three seats on a library commission and others. The Dems are either lying, or have less than four years of historical memory and no access to the internet. I'll let you decide which. [this refers to the Dems reaction to Pickering's recess appointment, but it will be the same, I bet]"

Captain Marlow says he looks forward to seeing Bolton at the UN. Me too.
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Lady MacBeth in mini skirt is still talk of Sudan - and Hollywood

"[Riek] Machar - long neglected and today little known outside southern Sudan - might well emerge as a national leader of considerable consequence.

But in Khartoum he is best remembered as the husband of the late Emma McCune, an aid worker dubbed by John Garang as 'Lady Macbeth in a mini skirt'.

Full story in The Scotsman Aug 7, 2005.
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Why Museveni Didn't Bury Sudan's Garang

Excerpt re Riek Machar from AllAfrica today:

Salva Kiir Mayardit, the First Vice-President of Sudan and the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), has appointed Riek Machar as his deputy in both the SPLM and Southern Sudan region. The Al-Ittihadi (Democratic Unionist Party) website reported the appointment.

Machar belongs to the Nuer ethnic community, the second largest tribe, in Southern Sudan, after the Dinka tribe, which is the tribe of the late Garang and his successor. Last month before his death, Garang appointed Riek Machar as supervisor of Western Equatoria State.

Machar had disassociated himself from Garang in 1991, and signed a peace agreement with Khartoum in 1997, and was appointed assistant to President Omar al-Bashir. Machar later resigned from his position and rejoined Garang as his deputy. Kiir was expected to be sworn in today.

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At long last, pictures of U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan



Jan Pronk, Special Representative of the United Nations for Sudan, walks with Bangladeshi U.N. troops to lay a wreath at the tomb of the country's Vice President John Garang, who was also president of the autonomous government for southern Sudan, in Juba, Sudan Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005. Southern rebel-leader-turned politician Garang, who died in a helicopter crash on July 30, was buried in Juba on Saturday. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

Sudan bids rebel leader farewell - John Garang Obituary

Tributes have been paid to former rebel leader John Garang at his funeral in southern Sudan, attended by thousands of mourners wailing in grief and shaking green leaves in a traditional symbol of mourning. Leaders from Kenya, Uganda and South Africa attended the funeral.



Photo: The President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, with other foreign dignitaries walk behind the coffin of John Garang, First Vice President of Sudan (AP)

BBC says Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir pledged that Sudan's peace process would be implemented to the letter.



Photo: Sudan's President Omar Hassab al-Bashir (R) and Salva Kiir, successor to the late vice president John Garang, shake hands after a funeral service for Garang in Juba, southern Sudan August 6, 2005. (Reuters/Radu Sigheti)

Mr Kiir will be sworn in Sunday as the new Sudanese First Vice President.

See obituary on John Garang at BBC News online.

And BBC readers' comments on Garang's death.

Tags: Juba Garang John Garang

Evacuation of "Arabs" from Southern Sudan

This photo and caption by Associated Press are confusing because the Islamic regime in Khartoum insists ethnic cleansing could never occur in Darfur as there is no difference between Sudanese Arabs and Sudanese Africans - that they are so interbred there is no such thing as Arab v African conflicts in the Sudan.



AP photo and caption: Arabs from northern Sudan walk in single file to board a Russian-build cargo plane sent by the government to evacuate them from Sudan's southern town of Juba on Friday, Aug. 5, 2005.

Several Arab traders were killed in two days of riots in Juba after officials announced on Monday the death of southern Sudan's political leader and country's Vice President John Garang in a helicopter crash in southern Sudan. Southerners are suspicious the Arab-dominated government had a hand in his death.

More than 130 people were killed in riots in Khartoum, the capital, and Juba and Malakal in the south, according to the Sudanese Red Crescent. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)



AP photo and caption: Arabs from northern Sudan walk to board a Russian-build cargo plane sent by the government to evacuate them from Sudan's southern town of Juba on Friday, Aug. 5, 2005. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
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Read eyewitness account by BBC's Jonah Fisher: Khartoum violence.

And BBC report Police patrol after Sudan clashes.
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Sudan's Yamile Aldama competes in world athletics championships



Photo: Yamile Aldama of Sudan competes in the women's triple jump at the world athletics championships in Helsinki August 6, 2005. (Reuters/Ruben Sprich)

Tags: Sudan Darfur Arabs Islamic athletics Juba Sudanese Red Crescent ethnic cleansing Garang John Garang

Sudan: Artwork - Africa On My Mind

Marc, pictured above, has a great post here and here about this deep and thoughtful piece of art he has created to symbolize Sudan's current situation.



In the post, Marc describes how he came about designing the piece and says he thought up the following quote while in the process of finishing it:

"It's amazing what you can do with little supplies and lots of motivation."

And, explains why he finds this quote to be true:

"This year at my school we raised $2,008 in 12 school days to send to Doctors Without Borders to aid innocent civilians in Sudan. The amazing thing about that is not only the fact that we have less than 750 students at my school, but we are also a fairly poorer school to begin with; so it really goes to show how much you can do when you're motivated.

I began this project on Friday, April 8.
I completed it today, Saturday, April 16.
It took a little over a week to complete.
It's probably my favorite piece out of all the artwork I've ever created.

Funny how I finished it all in one week, too. It usually takes me weeks upon weeks to get everything "correct" in my eyes in my pieces.

THEY REALLY
NEED YOUR HELP.

Peace.

I worked hard on putting this post together so please comment and let me know what you think."

[Note, Comments can be left at Marc's Xanga or Live Journal sites. See Marc's Darfur t-shirt designs]
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Project Unity t-shirts



Some energetic young Americans at Project Sudan are promoting Project Unity t-shirts.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa art Project Sudan

Hope endures for Sudan's fragile peace

Today's BBC Africa report quotes Roger Winter, the US state department's senior Sudan adviser, as saying of the new leadership in South Sudan:

"The level of leadership is something I've not often seen among the rebel movements I've worked with on this continent. They're capable in terms of intellect, and they're capable in terms of vision. I fully recognise how difficult it is to work out of this current situation, but I must say I'm optimistic because the leadership is there."

Also encouragingly, the report says:

Another diplomat closely involved in the peace talks said the death of John Garang may in fact make the surviving commanders more effective.

He said the late chairman often controlled his organisation through the sheer force of his personality.

His successor will have to spend more time building consensus - something that should make them more unified than before.

John Garang's widow, Rebecca, agrees.

She has been receiving visitors in the light, airy tent in a quiet corner of the compound.

Seated on low cushions in the shade, she said her late husband's vision would survive, and that the leaders were committed to it.

"I told them that the death of John Garang was a wake-up call to you people," she said.

"You used to rely on him, now it's time to stand on your own feet, and they are."

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa peace John Garang Garang

Son of John Garang mourns and helps prepare grave in Juba

Excerpt from Aug 5 report at the Conservative Voice [note it reveals John Garang's son, Chol Garang, is/was a fine arts student at the University of Kent here in England]:

Juba was calm Friday. Women cooked red beans, okra and sorghum porridge in large aluminum pots to feed the thousands expected at the funeral.

Mourners from surrounding villages were already gathering Friday. The grounds of Juba's All Saints Cathedral, where Saturday's proceedings will begin with a multi-denominational service, were expected to be filled Friday night in keeping with the tradition of spending the night with the dead before burial. A choir rehearsed in the cathedral Friday.

After his death, John Garang's body was first taken to New Site, a remote camp of his Sudan People's Liberation Movement. The body began a journey Thursday by plane from town to town in southern Sudan, allowing people to pay last respects. The body was to arrive in Juba later Friday.

Chol Garang, a fine arts student at Britain's Kent University and one of six Garang children, broke ground Thursday for his father's grave on a hilltop next to the Provincial Legislative Assembly, predecessor of the legislature for the autonomous southern zone over which Garang was to have been president. Traditional chiefs first blessed the site by sacrificing a white bull, then reading out the names of ancestors.

Carpenters and welders were working around the clock trying to finish the tomb, a one-story structure with a star-shaped chamber over the grave representing the "guiding star" in the SPLM flag. The entrance hall symbolizes all of Sudan and the exit hall the new Sudan John Garang promised would come with peace, said the project's chief engineer, Alikaya Aligo Samson.

The site was chosen because it "is the highest point in Juba ... so that the vision for the new Sudan can start in the south," Samson said.

John Garang's family brought the bed he slept in while a rebel leader to be buried with him, said cathedral provost Frasier Yugu.



Photo: Chol Garang the son of the late southern Sudanese leader John Garang waits Friday Aug. 5, 2005 for the body of his father to arrive in Juba, southern Sudan. Chol Garang, a fine arts student at Britain's Kent University, broke ground Thursday for his father's grave in Juba . (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

Chol Garang was in neighboring Kenya when he heard the news of his father's death, and flew immediately to New Site. Chol Garang said he had been in despair until he joined his mother, Rebecca de Mabior, a leader in his Sudan People's Liberation Movement, at New Site.



Workers prepare the gravesite for former rebel leader John Garang in Juba, Sudan Friday, Aug. 5 2005. Garang will be buried in a red-brick and granite-stone tomb in the town on Saturday in a state funeral, a week after dying in a helicopter crash in southern Sudan.(AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
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African Union Peace and Security Council - 36th meeting

4 Aug 2005, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia - Excerpt from report via ReliefWeb:

Council urged all Sudanese Parties concerned to vigorously pursue their efforts aimed at bringing about lasting peace and reconciliation through the effective implementation of the CPA, which will, no doubt, facilitate the settlement of the other conflicts facing the country, in particular in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

Council reiterated AU's determination to continue to support the efforts of the Sudanese parties in their quest for peace, justice and reconciliation. In this respect, Council appealed to the donor community to fulfill the pledges made during the Oslo Conference.

Council further urged the international community, including the AU Member States, to redouble their efforts in support of the post-conflict reconstruction of the Sudan.
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In the wake of John Garang's death - Peace is still possible

Eric Reeves, in his latest opinion piece Aug 3, says:

SPLM officials should support Salva Kiir as leader, but encourage him to create a leadership council that functions as a collective source of wisdom and guidance in making key political, diplomatic, and military decisions. As the NIF begins testing southern leadership in earnest, the historic peace agreement of January will become only a bitter memory if the legacy of John Garang is not preserved with vigilant, disciplined efforts by all within the SPLM leadership. Yet greater inclusion of southerners in the new governance structures is also imperative. Peace is still possible for Sudan, but it became a great deal more difficult with this tragic death.

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John Prendergast and David Mozersky, in their WSJ opinion piece Aug 5, say:

If calm and stability begins to return to Sudan, then the CPA will still have a strong chance for success. The SPLM can use this opportunity to democratize and strengthen what had largely been Mr. Garang's movement. It will take years for the Sudanese to get over the loss, but nothing would better serve his legacy than a return to peace for a country plagued by a history of civil war.

- Mr. Prendergast is special adviser to the president of the International Crisis Group, where Mr. Mozersky is a senior analyst.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa African Union Chol Garang Garang Ethiopia

UN reform: AU summit setback for German UN seat bid

Excerpt from DPA report via Expatica in Germany on African Union (AU) summit outcome relating to important UN members' meeting September 2005 on Reform at the UN:

Current A.U. chairman and Nigerian President Olusengu Obasanjo insisted on a "synchronizing" of the African stand with that of other regions of the world.

The delegations from Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Ethiopia supported Obasanjo, saying the African Group at the U.N. needed to negotiate with other groups to win support.

Delegations who took the opposite view included those from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Senegal, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, sources said.

Other groups presenting proposals on Security Council enlargement include the Group of Four (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan) and the Consensus Group of 12 states (which include Argentina, Canada, Italy, South Korea and Turkey).

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Uganda president says Garang crash may not be accident

This AFP report, if true, makes Uganda's president appear cowardly and irresponsible - publicly making such speculations (to cover his own hide I guess - it was his helicoper) at such a sensitive time and before the official investigations have reached any conclusions:

Friday 5 August 2005 YEI, Sudan, Aug 5 (AFP) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Friday that the helicopter crash that killed Sudanese vice president and ex-rebel leader John Garang may not have been an accident, contrary to official explanations.

"Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else," Museveni said, suggesting for the first time the July 31 crash of his presidential chopper in which Garang was riding may have been the result of foul play.

"I am looking (at) all options," he told a crowd of thousands of mourning southern Sudanese in the town of Yei where Garang's body was brought as part of a funeral procession before his Saturday burial in the town of Juba.

[Note, The Sudanese government and Garang's rebel movement SPLM say the helicopter crash was an accident but an investigation is planned by all concerned, including the U.N. Some possible reasons for the crash are listed in a report posted here below, yesterday]
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Sudan's SPLM releases names of officers killed with Garang

See details at SudanTribune Aug 5, 2005.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Garang John Garang Musevina Uganda UN reform SPLM

Sudan: UN mission reports calm in Khartoum, south, ahead of Garang's funeral

Thu 4 Aug UN News Centre - The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today reported calm in the capital, Khartoum, and in the south following three days of unrest sparked by the death in helicopter crash last Saturday of first Vice-President and former southern rebel leader John Garang.

See report "Garang begins journey to final resting place."



Photo: Catholic priests and nuns arrive for a religious ceremony for late John Garang in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 2, 2005. (Reuters).
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Sudanese president endorses new SPLM leader

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Thursday issued a decree endorsing the new leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, his partner in the national unity government, paving the way for Salva Kiir Mayardit to take over as first vice-president.

Alex de Waal on John Garang: Death of an Enigma

Please see "Death of an Enigma" in The Wall Street Journal Aug 4, 2005. It is an excellent article by Alex de Waal and explains why the U.S. deserves more credit for the north-south peace agreement.

Note this excerpt from the article that educates readers far more about John Garang than any other news report I have seen circulating at the moment:

Mr. Garang was an enigma. He didn't reflect the aspirations of most Southern Sudanese to separate from Northern Sudan, arguing instead that the South would get a better deal as part of an "African" majority that could control the whole of Sudan. Nor did he build a democratic movement or a civil administration for the areas he controlled. But his dogged resistance won him respect; he ultimately became the pivotal figure in Sudan's politics, and was sworn in as vice president just three weeks before his death. Not just Southerners, but people from Darfur and eastern Sudan, and the downtrodden of Khartoum itself, saw him as proof that things were at long last changing.

The SPLA leader was a reluctant convert to peacemaker. During three years of painstaking negotiations, he kept the military option in reserve. Until the very last hour, his profound distrust of Khartoum, with its history of broken promises and serial atrocity, made him hesitate to sign. The final agreement is defensive: It keeps the SPLA as a separate army, controlling Southern Sudan, for a six-year interim period.

It is a remarkably good deal, and it came about in a remarkable way. The driving force has been exhaustion with an unwinnable war, along with Khartoum's recognition that Mr. Garang was the best chance for unity. But the Bush administration deserves credit. It is an example of what can be achieved by pursuing a simple aim - peace - with persistence and international cooperation. No other African issue has commanded such attention from the administration.

And it has worked, in an unusual way. A Kenyan general, representing a bloc of north-east African countries, led the mediation. The British organized an advisory group of former African guerrillas to help SPLA commanders think through the transition from insurgents to members of a national army, serving alongside former enemies. The Swiss stepped in to help negotiate a truce in the Nuba Mountains, which was then monitored by Norwegians. The World Bank provided technical skills on how to share Sudan's oil revenue. It's ad hoc multilateralism.

The Bush administration has rightly resisted the siren calls for regime change, knowing that the alternatives would likely be no better, and that chaos would be worse. They have been building the ladders, not feeding the snakes. Activists criticize the ethics of dealing with a brutal government. They have kept Sudan in the spotlight. But it is patience and compromise - the needlework of diplomacy - that will deliver peace.

Click here to read the full article courtesy Sudan Tribune.

Mr. de Waal, a fellow at the Global Equity Initiative, at Harvard, is the author, with Julie Flint, of "Darfur: A Short History of a Long War," forthcoming in September from Zed Press.
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John Garang: Charismatic Sudanese Vice-President

Excerpt from an tribute to John Garang by Gill Lusk in the Independent Aug 3, 2005:

"Doctor John" was not always seen as a beacon of democratic or peaceful hopes. He had set up the SPLA in 1983, when he was sent to the south to help to quell discontent among southern troops, who were angry that the then President, Jaafar Nimeiri, was dividing the south into three regions, a move rightly perceived as "dividing to rule". Garang never came back, joining and then taking over the rebellion. He held his position as leader with a capacity for decisiveness that his rivals often lacked. Many southerners died, disappeared or were detained in harsh conditions. Some SPLA commanders visited great suffering on civilians, especially those not from Garang's Dinka people. This has not been forgotten and even the legendary southern gift for reconciliation has not healed all wounds.

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Garang's death - Uganda under fire for failing to follow aviation guidelines

Some possible reasons for the helicopter crash that killed John Garang and fellow passengers are explained in a report excerpt via BBC Monitoring Service and Sudan Tribune:

One, the critics are saying the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) defied the rule that bars the helicopters of that category from flying out of the airport beyond 5.00 p.m. That Garang's helicopter is not supposed to fly at night, but CAA let it go. So that is one of the criticisms.

And then another one is civil aviation - the rule here is that if a VIP of Garang's calibre is supposed to leave the international airport, Entebbe International Airport, the CAA is supposed to carry out a weather study three hours before the flight starts, and this was not done.

And then the third one is this aircraft was serviced recently and this is the longest flight it made and the critics are saying that this aircraft should not have gone on a long distance flight because it has just come out of service and it needed to be tested for quite some time before it take such a long journey.

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Uganda postpones national mourning for Garang

Thu Aug 4 - Local press report in Uganda said on Thursday that the Sudanese government is holding bodies of the seven Ugandans who died in the helicopter crash near the Uganda-Sudan border.

'The Sudanese government has decided that the bodies should not be released until investigations into the cause of the crash are completed,' the report said.
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Norway to send UN force to Sudan as planned

Aug 4 report by Rolleiv Solholm The Norway Post:

The major part of the Norwegian contribution to the newly formed UN force in Sudan is already in place, or about to leave Norway.

Norway's contingent is made up mainly of observers, staff officers and medical personnel.

Communication director Erling Boe at the Joint Operative Headquarters near Stavanger says to Stavanger Aftenblad that the Norwegian contingent at present will number 25 persons.

- The Norwegian medical team, numbering nine, are already in place and working in the field, Boe says.

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Ex-president Clinton calls for US pressure on Sudan

You have to wonder if ex-President Bill Clinton is out of the loop or simply courting publicity for himself by saying on Wednesday that the U.S. should increase diplomatic pressure on Sudan to allow more foreign peacekeeping troops.

A report today by Reuters.co.za says during an appearance at a convention of African-American journalists in Atlanta, Mr Clinton said, "What we should do is try to go to the U.N. and put some more heat on the Sudanese government. We need more troops there."

Excerpt from the report:

Sudan agreed earlier this year to accept about 10,000 peacekeeping troops as part of the peace agreement in South Sudan - most of those troops will come from China, Egypt, Kenya, India, Bangladesh and a handful of other non-Western nations.

Clinton, who recently visited Africa, said additional peacekeeping troops should not come from the United States or other Western nations but from nations "less controversial" to the government in Khartoum.

If you scroll through the archives here at Sudan Watch you will find links to many news reports on the difficulties UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had in getting contributions of peacekeepers for South Sudan. Who is to pay the millions of dollars it would cost to have, as Mr Clinton seems to be suggesting, more than 13,000 troops in the Sudan, and for how long? It took a few years for everyone involved in the north-south peace deal to get to the point of 10,000 peacekeepers being agreed and funded for Southern Sudan. I've yet to see a report that says the UN has managed to get 10,000 peacekeepers. Last I saw, it was nowhere near that number. And the peacekeepers that are in South Sudan now, you don't see much of in the news [I wonder why].

Mr Clinton would have done better to discuss with the journalists why the African Union have been so slow in getting their troops to Darfur (it looks like African politics are winning out or nobody else wants to get involved) and why their mandate in Darfur has not been expanded (again it looks like African politics winning out - Khartoum rejects an expanded mandate saying it would be seen as an occupying force) -- and who is funding and supporting the Darfur rebel groups SLA and JEM - and other rebel groups in the Sudan (none of the rebels seem to be gainfully employed but have plenty of arms, trucks, satellite phones while their leaders travel all over the world); and it would have been useful to know why African governments, such as the one in Niger, are not doing everything they can to feed their starving people and protect them.
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Photo: Sudanese soldiers secure Sudan's capital Khartoum on August 2, 2005, a day after deadly riots broke out in the city. (AFP)
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Peace in Sudan can be consummated without John Garang

Finally, here is the concluding paragraph of Alex de Waal's great report (see above):

"... But Mr. Garang's wisdom in examining every line in the hundreds of pages of detailed agreement is now his greatest legacy. Peace, institutionalized, can be consummated without him. The SPLA has already achieved a seamless leadership transition. The agreement and the new constitution are clear: Salva Kiir is the next vice president, and the Government of National Unity should be formed next week. The mourning period notwithstanding, these steps must proceed. Mr. Kiir should fly to Khartoum, be sworn in, and approve the list of candidates for governorships and ministerial portfolios. Along with condolences, President Bush has sent the right message to Sudan: no change in U.S. policy.

Photo by by SSgt Bradley C. Church

Senior Airman Mike Meares, of the 86th Air Expeditionary Group public affairs office, shows a local child his photo on the back of his digital camera July 28. The group donated soccer balls, soccer nets, candy and toys to the children attending the Nonko Primary School of Kigali-Kanombe, Rwanda. The United States provided transportation for 1,200 Rwandan forces to and back from Sudan in support of AMIS 2, the African Union Mission in Sudan.

Full Story at Hilltop Times "Airmen donate soccer balls, supplies to African children" Thursday August 4, 2005.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Garang John Garang

BBC round-up of African media on Garang

Click here to read the BBC's interesting round-up of what TV and newspapers in Africa and Egypt are saying about the implications of John Garang's death.

Here below are the bits I like the best, except for South Africa's Star (I never really felt that Garang was against the south's right to break away from Sudan in six years time - I got the feeling, and I may be wrong of course, that he aimed to take control of the whole of Sudan through a violent revolution and settled for South Sudan as a start, to appease the West and attract funding and oil deals) - and, the commentary in Uganda's Daily Monitor went right over the top by saying of Garang, "It will be said of him that he did better than Biblical Moses."

[By the way, I find it incredible that Garang is being immortalised as a peacemaker. He was responsible for waging a 20-year long war that cost the lives of two million Sudanese people and unimagineable misery for millions of others. I believe the United States and the Bush administration deserve so much more credit than what Garang is being given. The north-south peace deal would never have happened without the years of hard work by the U.S. Government, not to mention the billions of dollars in aid, humanitarian relief, funding and support paid for from the sweat of the brow of decent, hardworking, law abiding American taxpayers.]

Sudanese TV - Sudan's handling of the death of one of this showcase's key architects will not only be a test for the country but a test for the spirit of optimism in Africa.

Kenya's Nation - We would like to urge the Sudanese people not to let grief over a peacemaker be used as an excuse to re-ignite war in Africa's biggest country ... We are, however, encouraged by the SPLM leadership that has moved swiftly to fill the leadership void created by the death of Col Garang ... We would like to caution the several parties in Sudan against capitalising on the grieving Sudanese to whip up emotions for their own ends.

South Africa's Star - A big threat to Garang's dream of a united Sudan is Kiir Mayardit's insistence on the south's right to secede after the six-year transition.

Egypt's Al-Ahram - There is no other alternative for the Sudanese people other than to join hands and go forward with the peace process to achieve peace and stability and development for Sudan. Sudan is facing great challenges facing... What Garang's wife said on the need to continue with the peace process is the best response to those seeking to incite the situation again. Sudan cannot stand fresh conflicts or tragedies.
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Snippets from bloggers

Snippet from "Death of Sudanese First Vice President Dr. John Garang" at Republican National Convention Blog NYC 2004 blog USA:

"[U.S.] President's Statement on Death of Sudanese First Vice President Dr. John Garang de Mabior:

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Sudanese First Vice President Dr. John Garang de Mabior. He was a visionary leader and peacemaker who helped bring about the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which is a beacon of hope for all Sudanese. The United States is determined to maintain our commitment to the peace process in Sudan. 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. On behalf of the people of the United States, Laura and I extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Garang's wife, Rebecca, his family, and to all the people of Sudan."
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Snippet from "A Spate of Deaths" at Betamax Guillotine blog USA:

"Garang led the SPLA, at one time the preeminent resistance movement in the south, for 21 years avoiding assassination attempts and coup attempts and running the SPLA with an iron hand. Garang was the last of the American-educated and/or trained rebel leaders alive and out of power in Africa. The sole remaining former rebel leader, now President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, was the first leader in contemporary history to actually succeed. The other notable American-backed rebel leader in one of Africa's longest running civil wars, Angola's Jonas Savimbi, was finally cornered and killed by the Angolan army in 2002."
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Snippet from "Garang's death leads to rioting in Khartoum" at Towards a Free World blog:

"The Sudanese government released a statement yesterday, to try to reduce the tension, which announced that Garang was not dead, merely lost during a storm. When earlier today, this was found not to be true the tensions boiled over into anarchy. Southern Sudanese began gathering in groups and rioting throughout Khartoum. They attacked police stations and beat up Arabic Sudanese. Garang's party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, have been calling for calm and promising to find out what has happened and if there was any foul play. This has not so far stopped the rioters, who burned and smashed public and private property, leading to the imposition of a curfew by the Government."
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Snippet from "My two cents on Garang" at ConservaGlobe blog USA:

"I really don't blame them for thinking that al-Bashir had Garang executed, that would have been a distinct possibility if this had happened before the peace agreement. Whether Garang was murdered or not is immaterial, what matters is that he is now seen as a martyr for the cause of Southern Sudan. If anyone wanted to destabilize the fragile peace, they have almost certainly succeeded."

Tags: Sudan Darfur Garang BBC Bush John Garang

Britain warns against travel to Sudan amid unrest

AlertNet by Reuters:

Britain warned its nationals on Wednesday against all but essential travel to Sudan amid continuing violence after the death of former southern rebel leader John Garang.

"We advise against all but essential travel to Sudan until further notice ... the situation in Khartoum and South Sudan is very tense," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Britain also warned that banditry was widespread in the western Darfur region and advised travellers to be very cautious at night and when going outside major population centres.

It also advised against all travel to the Eritrean border.

Tags: Eritrea Sudan Darfur Garang

Juba, Sudan: Arabs flee southern town after riots on Garang's death - 18 killed

Wed Aug 3 Associated Press report says 18 killed in Juba. This excerpt from another report explains what is happening in Juba, a town in South Sudan that is key in the north-south peace agreement:

Heavy police and army patrols circulated in the otherwise empty dirt roads of Juba on Wednesday. Shops and an outdoor market were burned to the ground, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

In Juba, 1,200 kilometers south of the capital, angry southerners attacked Arab-owned shops and homes Monday and Tuesday, chasing northerners through the streets and killing northerners, witnesses said.

Juba, a main front in the long civil war, is a garrison town for the northern Sudanese military. But it appeared the military and police held back from stopping rioters for fear of inflaming tensions with southerners in the town.

Juba is the biggest town in the south with a population of some 350,000, most of them southerners - who are ethnic Africans, mainly Christians and animists. The town is surrounded by SPLM forces and is supplied from the north by air.

But the Arab Muslim minority holds most of the main businesses. Many of them were now fleeing. At Juba's airport, dozens of Arabs - mostly men - were lined up with baggage for flights back to Khartoum. Women and families appeared to have already left.

Juba is key in the north-south peace agreement. The town is due to become the capital of the autonomous southern region. The central government is supposed to reduce its military presence and allow the SPLM's fighters to enter as a force parallel to the military.



Photo: The office of the Sudan People's Liberation mmovement (SPLM) stand destroyed and deserted after a counter-attack by angry northerners at Haj Yousif town in Khartoum, Wed, Aug 3, 2005. following the death of SPLM leader and vice president John Garang who was killed in a weekend helicopter crash in southern Sudan. Clashes erupted Monday in Khartoum, when angry SPLA supporters reacted to the news of Garang's death by smashing and burning vehicles and looting stores. Some blamed the government for Garang's death. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)
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Via ReliefWeb: All Medair national and international staff are currently understood to be safe and accounted for.
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I spy with my little eye a UN peacekeeper or what?



Photo Wed Aug 3: Arab-owned shops and businesses displaying evidence of the violence on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 that broke out in Sudan's southern city of Juba following the death of John Garang. African residents attacked shops and businesses owned by Arabs from the north for two days running in Juba following Monday's announcement that Garang was killed in a helicopter crash near the border with neighboring Uganda. Garang will be buried in Juba on Saturday. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

Tags: Juba Sudan Darfur riot Garang

Sudan: Report From International Committee of the Red Cross

Wed Aug 3 2005 Press Release by the International Committee of the Red Cross. A few snippets:

Violence threatens to spiral

On 3 August, 84 bodies were reportedly lying in the city mortuary next to Khartoum hospital while news of further casualties continued to come in. With rumours fuelling the mounting tension, the local media had little reliable information to provide.

The ICRC is currently supporting the emergency response efforts of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) through the latter's Khartoum branch. The ICRC has so far provided two ambulances with drivers as well as fuel, stretchers and dressing kits for the treatment and evacuation of injured people to hospitals and other medical facilities. On the first day alone, the SRCS evacuated some 40 dead and 200 wounded, while the ICRC medical team based at the Juba Teaching Hospital treated upwards of 30 severely wounded people. The ICRC is now assessing the situation and remains ready to provide further assistance. So far, the violence has not had any major effects in the eastern and western parts of the country.

Sudan remains the ICRC's largest operation worldwide. Currently there are some 2,000 national staff and 200 expatriates working for the ICRC throughout Sudan, roughly half of whom are based in Darfur.

Sudan's reprisal attacks worsen - 800 wounded - 71 killed

Wed Aug 3 report by the BBC World Africa says riots continue in Khartoum, despite a curfew, with Arab and southern Sudanese gangs launching a series of retaliatory attacks.

The report says more than 800 people have been wounded and 71 killed in the violence which erupted after ex-rebel southern leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash on Saturday. Most casualties are southern Sudanese and the large military presence is struggling to contain the violence.
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Salva Kiir meets U.S. envoys, seeks Darfur peace

Wed Aug 3 report from Reuters in New Site, Sudan confirms Salava Kiir, the new leader of southern Sudan, met with top U.S. and South African envoys today (Wed) as part of diplomatic moves to maintain the fragile peace accord in Africa's largest country.
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U.S. envoys by Garang's coffin



Photo Aug 3: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Connie Newman (L) and the U.S. special envoy to Sudan Roger Winter (R) pay their respects in front of the coffin of John Garang in New Site village in southern Sudan August 3, 2005. The new leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Salva Kiir met with top U.S. and South African envoys on Wednesday as part of a diplomatic push to maintain the fragile peace accord in Africa's largest country. REUTERS/Stringer
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People flee central Khartoum, violence reported

Wed Aug 3 report by Reuters says people fled central Khartoum in cars today while troops and riot police headed towards the city centre, where residents reported fresh violence, witnesses and journalists said.

The reported violence followed rumours that a southern Sudanese militia leader had been killed. But the militia itself, the South Sudanese Defence Forces, and a Foreign Ministry official denied the rumours.



Wed Aug 3 - A local resident walks by soldiers manning a machine gun on a pick-up in the street of Khartoum, after riots continued Tuesday to rock the Khartoum neighbourhood where Sudanese First Vice President John Garang used to live. (AFP/Khaled Desouki)



Wed Aug 3 - Sudanese soldiers on foot and in a pick-up are on patrol in the street of Khartoum, after the riots. (AFP/Khaled Deosouki)

Wed Aug 3 AFP report says from his southern Sudanese base of New Site, where mourners were paying their last respects to Garang, the late leader's successor Salva Kiir urged all parties to refrain from resorting to violence.

The violence is "regrettable and we have been openly talking to the media, the Sudanese media especially, trying to calm down the people in Khartoum both southerners and northerners," Kiir said.

"We want to stop it, that's why we are appealing to all the Sudanese people to refrain from any hostility."

[It is interesting to note the riots appear to be taking place in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. John Garang only set foot there for the first time in something like 20 years, just a few weeks or so ago. So, AFP is stretching it a bit to refer to the area where the riots have taken place as his old neighbourhood.

Also, no photos have yet emerged of any UN peacekeepers on the scene anywhere. There are masses of them in South Sudan but, as yet, none have been photographed there either. Rebels do not wear uniforms. Who knows if these riots are being instigated by rebels connected with central or eastern Sudan groups. Any old excuse for a fight. Someone should employ these guys to do a hard day's work for a good day's pay to put food on the table. Too many have too much time on their hands to fight and kill and cause trouble. Who is supporting them? How are they buying arms, ammunition, petrol and other supplies - not to mention mobile phone costs - to keep going for so many months and years?]
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Security council calls for calm in Sudan in the wake of Garang's death

On the riots continuing in Khartoum, Captain Marlow blogs this:

As usual, a very strong statement from the UN will ensure peace:

On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council urged calm.

Heh.
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Sudan announces probe into Garang's death

Wed Aug 3 AFP report says Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir announced Wednesday the launch of a committee to probe the death of John Garang.

Beshir spoke of "the formation of a national commission with the cooperation of the SPLM to investigate and establish the facts about the helicopter crash that cost John Garang his life," in a speech broadcast on public television.

Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), was killed in helicopter crash on Saturday that many of his supporters say was not an accident.



Photo: Former sworn enemies First Vice President John Garang (L) and Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, in Khartoum, 17 July 2005. (AFP)

[It's hard to imagine what they could be laughing about on camera. Their war against each other cost 2 million Sudanese lives and untold misery. I've said this many times before here at Sudan Watch: it is within the gift of the Khartoum regime to peacably bring law, order and prosperity to Sudan or ask for help to secure law and order. It is not up to the West to tell Sudan how to live - or keep feeding it and its neighbours ad infinitum. Peace cannot be enforced externally. Even the late great Mahatma Gandhi said of Africa something along the lines that its problems can only be resolved within, by its own people.]

Tags: BBC Sudan Darfur Salva Kiir John Garang

Sudan: Violence in Darfur still prevalent - MSF

Aug 3 report at IRIN says violence against civilians in Darfur remains a serious problem, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), said on Wednesday. Excerpt:

"Our teams are still witnessing repeated violence against the population," Rowan Gillies, president of MSF-international, said in a statement.

"We are deeply concerned about this and its consequences for our patients and their families," he added.

Without saying who was responsible for the violence, MSF said in the last three weeks alone, it had treated 52 people for violence-related injuries.

From January to May 2005, MSF teams treated more than 500 people for violence-related injuries and 278 women for rape.

On 24 July, in Shangil Tobaya, North Darfur State, MSF said it had witnessed an attack on an internally displaced persons' (IDPs) camp next to the organisation's clinic.

Grenades were used in the attack, and shelters in the camp were burnt down, forcing hundreds of IDPs to once again flee for their lives. MSF said it had treated 14 people - including four children - for bullet and shrapnel wounds.

On 9 June, the agency said it had examined and treated 15 women who had been attacked the previous day in Korma, North Darfur. It found that five of them had been raped, one of whom was aged just 15, while another was three-months pregnant.

"Rape has remained a prevalent problem for the women of Darfur," James Lorenz, MSF communications officer in Nairobi, Kenya, told IRIN.

Between October 2004 and February 2005, MSF reported that it had treated more than 500 rape victims in South and West Darfur states.



Photo: Sudan Liberation Army rebels in the Jebel Marra mountain area, South Darfur State. (c) IRIN

The war in Darfur pits Sudanese government troops and militias - allegedly allied to the government - against rebels, mainly from the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, who are fighting to end what they say is the marginalisation of and discrimination against the region's inhabitants by the state.

The UN estimates that since the start of the conflict in February 2003, over a third of the total population - more than 2.5 million people, including nearly 1.9 million IPDs - have been affected.

Tags: MSF Sudan Darfur Salva Kiir John Garang

Salva Kiir - South Sudan succession prompts White Nile uncertainty

Re the latest on White Nile [a fledgling UK oil company trying to do big oil deals in South Sudan] here is an excerpt from a Dow Jones report by Simeon Kerr and Benoit Faucon Aug 1 via sudaneseonline.com:

Earlier Monday, Kiir [Garang's successor] said in a statement that the former rebel army is committed to the pursuit of the peace process, ordering former members of the SPLM leadership to assemble at an emergency meeting in Garang's personal base near the border with Kenya.

A U.K.-based SPLM member, who declined to be named, agreed that Garang's aspirations for peace in the Sudan "will be carried out."

Garang never made public his opinion about the controversial deal with White Nile, but his senior lieutenants have publicly backed the venture.

Kiir, a senior military commander when the southern rebellion erupted against Khartoum in 1983, is close to White Nile founder Andrew Groves.

"He's 100% behind the deal," Groves told Dow Jones Newswires.

The next two senior officials, Riak Machar and James Wani Igga, have also backed the deal.

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UK news on White Nile

'Business as usual' for White Nile, despite loss of Garang - Guardian Unlimited

Death of rebel leader 'won't put White Nile deal at risk' - Times Online

Sudanese death will not affect oil deal, says White Nile - Telegraph.co.uk
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Oil in Darfur and Sudan's Block C

If any reader here at Sudan Watch has snippets of news relating to what is happening these days with oil companies in Sudan and if there is news of any conflict in or around Block C, please email for future pieces on oil and Darfur.
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Thank You Notes

Firstly, to Bill at Jewels in the Jungle for his great post and kind comment here yesterday - sorry for delay in replying.

And to Kendall at Titusonenine for "Keeping up With and Praying for the Sudan". It created a spike in traffic at Sudan Watch.

Titusonenine sure gets a lot of visitors. Thousands a day. Thanks Kendall.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa

John Garang In Memoriam - Experts say Salva Kiir can unify South Sudan

- AU chief expresses shock over death of Garang
- Ethiopia laments death of Sudan's First Vice President Garang
- Eritrean president mourns death of Garang
- East Africa mourns Garang, fears unravelling peace

Please read "In memoriam John Garang" by Jim Moore at Passion of the Present.



Photo: Refugees from southern Sudan read the Daily Nation newspapers in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to catch up with the lastest news following the 01 August death of ex-Sudanese rebel leader John Garang.

Garang is to be buried Saturday 6 August in Juba, the town he selected as the capital of an autonomous southern Sudan, his Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army said. (AFP/Simon Maina)
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UN offers help over Garang death

Here is an except from News.com.au by correspondents in Cairo Aug 3 - via Reuters:

The United Nations has offered to help investigate the cause of the helicopter crash which killed former southern Sudanese rebel leader and First Vice President John Garang, Sudan's top UN envoy, Jan Pronk, said today.

Jan Pronk said Mr Garang's death, announced yesterday, was a setback to a peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war, but the speedy transition of power was a positive sign that the former rebel group could stay united without Mr Garang.

"There will be an investigation ... we have offered our assistance so that may result in a joint investigation," Mr Pronk said by telephone from Khartoum.

"Uganda, the SPLM, the government, the UN, we need to group all our expertise ... it is necessary in order to take away all suspicion if there are suspicions," he said.

There has been no suggestion of foul play.

News of John Garang's death prompted thousands of southern Sudanese resident in Khartoum to riot, loot and burn in violence not seen in the capital for years. Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 hospitalised yesterday's [Tuesday's] clashes.

Mr Pronk said the violence was an expression of rage and frustration by people whose hopes were raised by Mr Garang's return to Khartoum to join the new power-sharing government after more than two decades in exile.

"They are angry and frustrated and that leads to violence ... it is not political or sectarian, it's a riot," Mr Pronk said.

"It will perhaps take a few days but then it will be over."

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Riots in Sudan after Garang's death



Photo: Police stand next to a burning car in Khartoum, Sudan Monday Aug. 1, 2005. (AP).

Trey Jackson blogs a video and news of the riots - via Instapundit with thanks.



Photo: Sudanese soldiers stand guard in Khartoum, a day after deadly riots broke out in the city, following the announce of the death of John Garang. (AFP/Salah Omar)
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Experts say new SPLM leader can unify south

If I could spend more time on posts today, I would like to have put together some original commentary on the conflicting reports I have been reading re the new SPLM leader, Salva Kiir. Here is an excerpt from a report by William Maclean for Reuters Aug 2 via Sudan Tribune:

Along with many in the SPLM, Kiir privately takes a tougher line than Garang took on southern self-determination, experts say, although publicly he has supported Garang's opinion that it would be preferable for Sudan to remain one country.

Under the peace accords, southerners have the right to vote for secession at the end of a six-year interim period, a concession granted by the Islamist government in response to the rebels' core demand for the right of self-determination.

Experts say anecdotal evidence shows that southerners would vote en masse for secession if the vote were taken today.

"Garang was the best hope for the unity option, so with his death a unity vote is now perhaps less likely," said Horn of Africa expert Alex de Waal.

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Garang to Sack Salva Kiir as Commander-in-Chief

Browsing the Internet today, I came across the following piece published at sudanvisiondaily.com by "admin". Although I cannot be sure of the source, I thought it was worth logging various points of view. Note the piece was published online July 8, 2005:

In a move seen as ending cooperation between SPLM/A leader Dr. John Garang and his deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit, a source close to the SPLM/A leader disclosed that the latter will issue a decision appointing Mujakim Akot as Commander-in-Chief of SPLM/A forces to replace Salva Kiir.

The source said the relationship between Garang his deputy has been strained to the point of the two no longer having confidence in one another. According to the source, the expected decision is believed to arouse a row, referring to SPLM/A's promise to assign the position of Commander-in-Chief to Wyai Deng Ajuk, adding that SPLM/A rejected his appointment because he belongs to Shilluk.

In another development, Darfur rebels have admitted receipt of a craft-load of arms sent by SPLM/A in support of their movement in Jebel Marrah. A member of the Darfur rebels delegation that arrived in Cairo, Tuesday, confirmed to SMC their receipt of that support but added that a number of their political leaders rejected dealing with SPLM/A.

"SPLM is running after passing its own agenda through the Darfur Movement, and that is rejected by some within the ranks of the movement," said that member, describing SPLM/A objectives and political line as flabby, dismissing as irrelevant any future alliance with it.

Meanwhile, SPLM/A has agreed in principle on the Mandela Charity Centre initiative aimed at pushing the momentum of South-South dialogue.

A source on the Coordinating Council for Southern Sudan (CCSS) said the Council proposed an initiative calling for convening the South-South Dialogue Conference, to be attended by southern sectors and parties, at both home and abroad to bring the various viewpoints closer, and to come up with a vision to maintain the forthcoming peace.

The source added that the initiative will be patronized by CCSS Chairman, Riak Gai, and the Minister of Electricity, Ali Tamim Fartak. The source told SMC that the Committee would hold meetings in Nairobi on July 15, that will last for 5 days to discuss the unified agenda that will be submitted to SPLM/A. It is to be noted that a number of southerners will arrive from the USA, Britain, and Cairo, to participate in the meetings organized by the Mandela Charity Centre.

Source: http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1995

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa

Djibouti: U.S. long-term Africa intelligence base

Today I found the following draft post in my folder. I guess it must be from last year, probably around July. As I am not sure if I ever published it here at Sudan Watch, I am posting a copy for future reference:

Thanks to a post at Karmalised, I found the following report from afrol.com. Here is a copy of the report, in full:

Djibouti since June 2002 is hosting 1800 US soldiers that are busy building a permanent military base to coordinate intelligence operations on the Horn and East Africa. Numerous US operations are already interfering with the aims of Muslim societies in the region.

The American military base at Djibouti's ex-French post Camp Lemonier is increasingly present in US media. Here, "the quiet battle" in the war against terrorism is waged by a new US military anti-terrorism taskforce, visiting American journalists conclude. The Djibouti base is turning into the most strategic cell in the US-led war against Muslim terrorists and alleged terrorists.

The US news agency 'Associated Press' (AP) recently sent its journalist Chris Tomlinson to Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, or what he calls "the heart of the Bush administration's quiet battle against Islamist militants operating in six nations in East Africa and in Yemen," from Kenya to Sudan.

The journalist observed great activity at the US base, where soldiers still sleep in tents. Great resources are however spent to upgrade the former French Foreign Legion post and the US troops leave no doubt that they intent to stay for a long time in Djibouti.

We are the gathering point and dissemination point for all information, Commander Cooper told the AP journalist. "We are empowering host nations to retake neighbourhoods that people are trying to take from them," added Brigadier-General Martin Robeson, referring to Muslim groups. Mr Robeson is the commander of the US task force in Djibouti.

The soldiers interviewed confirm that the US troops stationed in Djibouti are active in all the countries of the region, primarily coordinating intelligence work between Washington, military and civilian US representations in the region and the cooperating governments of the Horn. They claim to have disrupted several terrorist plots during their stay in Djibouti.

The US troops in Djibouti however also are directly involved in what normally is considered within the sovereignty of independent states. This includes border security and coastal security for the countries of the Horn.

Fishermen from the Somali southern city of Raas Kambooni this week learned what the US troops in Djibouti mean with coastal security assistance. According to the newspaper 'Houg Ogal', the fishermen had stumbled onto US intelligence cameras and other electronic devices, installed on the depopulated rocky island of Burr Gaabo near the Kenyan borders, but within Somali territorial waters.

In Kenya, the coastal town of Lamu currently again is experiencing a large joint Kenyan-US military exercise. According to the Kenyan Department of Defence, the US troops involved are part of the anti-terrorism task force for the Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti. The Kenyan-US anti-terrorism exercise is the fourth within short time.

Especially in Somalia and Kenya, the US troops believe to find essential links to their main enemy, the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Somalia has been without a central government for 12 years and a group connected with al-Qaeda in the 1990s temporarily established here. Its stronghold was in Raas Kambooni - where local fishermen now find electronic surveillance devices.

Kenya is the African country where most terrorist attacks have taken place. The US troops therefore keep an extra eye on this country, counting on total collaboration from Nairobi authorities. General Robeson in Djibouti claims that "hundreds of new al-Qaeda members have been recruited" in Kenya, "despite stepped-up anti-terrorism efforts."

But this alleged new recruitment of al-Qaeda members in the region has also been termed a failure of the US military taskforce in Djibouti. Analysts interviewed by the Nairobi-based 'East African' say that the US administration has "failed to respond appropriately to the election of a reform-minded president in Kenya."

Washington's rhetoric proved largely hollow, the Kenyan analysts added. While the military cooperation between the US and Kenya is booming, the chance to improve Kenyans' lives under the new government of President Mwai Kibaki, supporting his economic and social reforms, has been largely missed by Washington.

With misery still prevailing in Africa's Horn and Kenya, recruitment for Islamist extremists will not diminish, regional critics hold.

Tags: Djibouti Sudan Darfur Africa

Sudan's SPLM names Salva Kiir as Garang's successor

Salva Kiir got the support of the entire SPLM as Garang's successor.

Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, the man Mr Garang had tried for years to topple, appealed for calm as he declared three days of national mourning. The President described Mr Garang as a "brother" and a great loss to the country. "He is a true peace partner and he has played a big role," he said.

U.S. President George W Bush is saddened by Garang's death and calls for calm in Sudan.

The U.S. dispatched two senior envoys to Sudan today in hopes of keeping the peace process in south Sudan on track.



New leader of SPLM Salva Kiir (L) walks by the coffin of John Garang in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 1, 2005. (Reuters)

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa President Bush SPLM