World rushes to rescue of fragile post-Garang Sudan

NEW SITE, Sudan, Aug 2 (AFP) — Mourners paid tribute to Sudan’s John Garang, as his successor vowed to pursue the rebel-turned-statesman’s peace drive and urged restraint as riots flared again in the capital Khartoum.

Hundreds of Sudanese and foreigners gather in Khartoum,Tuesday Aug. 2, 2005 to offer their condolences for the death of John Garang. (AP) .

Foreign diplomats were rushing to Sudan to shore up the fragile peace agreement signed in January between Khartoum and the former southern rebel leader who died in a helicopter crash on Saturday.

In Khartoum, angry southern rioters convinced that the crash that killed their leader was not an accident continued to clash with security forces and northerners the day after at least 42 people were killed in riots.

The UN Security Council appealed for calm.

“The Security Council calls on all Sudanese to honour his memory by restoring peace and calm throughout Sudan,” said a statement.

“This is a time for the world community to come together to support Dr Garang’s vision of a united and peaceful Sudan,” it added.

“The Council reiterates its determination to assist the Sudanese people in their efforts to promote national reconciliation, resolve the conflicts in Darfur and restore peace and stability throughout the country, and to build a prosperous and united Sudan.”

In New Site, deep in the south Sudanese bush near the site of the helicopter crash, mourners filed by a simple table where Garang’s body lay in a coffin beneath the flag of his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

His death came barely three weeks after Garang became Sudan’s first vice president following the deal that ended 21 years of civil war in Africa’s largest country.

Garang’s colleagues said he would be buried Saturday in Juba, which he chose as the capital of an autonomous southern Sudan.

“We came to New Site to bring deep condolences to the (SPLM/A) leadership… for the tragic death,” said Ali Nfea, Sudan’s minister of federal affairs. “We are here to say that we are going to work together with the leadership of the SPLM.”

On Monday, the former rebel movement chose Garang’s deputy Salva Kiir as their new leader. The veteran southern leader is also expected to take over his predecessor’s post as Sudanese first vice president.

Some observers have argued that Kiir’s military background and lack of experience as a statesman have left him ill-prepared to tackle the daunting task of keeping the fledgling north-south peace alive.

The charismatic southern leader spearheaded the southern struggle for three decades and had recently come to personify new-found peace in Sudan.

“There cannot be any development when there is no peace,” Kiir said, expressing dismay at reports that Garang’s death had sparked deadly riots between north and south Sudanese in Khartoum and violent protests in parts of the southern Sudan.

“The message is to remain calm and peaceful,” the 54-year-old said in New Site, in his first comments to international journalists since taking over at the helm of the SPLM.

Omdurman Radio, one of the main stations in Sudan, said riots were taking place in Haj Yusef, a Khartoum neighbourhood inhabited mainly by foreigners and where Garang used to live before he returned to the bush in 1983.

Witnesses also reported that some southerners in another Khartoum suburb were being evicted by their northern landlords.

The smouldering violence came a day after violence broke out in the heart of the city, leaving at least 42 dead, according to hospital sources.

On Tuesday, a massive deployment of policemen backed by soldiers and armoured personnel carriers were patrolling the city centre.

International diplomats were dispatched to shore up the north-south peace process in Sudan, which is already torn by conflicts in the western region of Darfur and in the eastern Red Sea state.

Connie Newman, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Roger Winter, special representative for Sudan, were expected in Sudan on Wednesday.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said the pair “will be going to southern Sudan and to Khartoum to confer with the parties and encourage them to maintain momentum on the comprehensive peace agreement and on Darfur.”

The United States has worked hard to nail down the north-south peace pact and try to end what it calls a genocide in the western region of Darfur that has left up to 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million homeless.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the country for talks with Garang and other officials on July 21. Her deputy, Robert Zoellick, has made three trips since April.

President George W. Bush praised Garang as “a visionary leader and peacemaker” and affirmed Monday the US commitment to restoring peace to Sudan.