Salva Kiir sworn in as new Sudanese vice president

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir vowed to work towards the unity of Sudan as he was sworn in as first vice president on Thursday, following the death of his predecessor John Garang in a helicopter crash last week.

Southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir Mayardit, left, takes the oath in front of Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, right and and the Sudanese Chief Justice, second right, as he is sworn in as Sudan’s first vice president in Khartoum, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005. (AP).

The sombre ceremony, half a eulogy to Garang, half a celebration of Kiir’s arrival, took place at the Presidential palace in Khartoum in front of officials from the government and the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Soldiers and military vehicles swarmed the capital, and there was no repeat of the scenes of jubilation that accompanied Garang’s return to take up the same post just over a month ago.

While pictures of Kiir and President Omar Hassan al-Bashir decorated the grounds, pride of place was reserved for a huge photograph of Garang signing the January peace deal with Bashir which led to his joining the government for a mere three weeks before his death.

“Garang is not dead, for he who lives on in the hearts and minds of millions shall never die,” Kiir said.

The January deal ended Africa’s longest civil war and envisages a new coalition government, wealth sharing, democratic transformation and a southern referendum on secession from the north in six years.

Kiir, 54, took his oath and swore allegiance to the nation and to uphold the new constitution.

He admonished “prophets of doom” in the media who had said he preferred secession to unity.

“From its inception the SPLM leaders, of which I remain the only survivor, have fought for unity,” he said. “The comprehensive peace agreement … provides the last chance for Sudan’s unity.”

Bashir welcomed Kiir and said he would be a worthy partner to implement the peace deal, but expressed his sadness at Garang’s death: “This day contains feelings of sorrow and feelings of joy,” he said.

The top U.N. envoy in Sudan, Jan Pronk, said he was highly encouraged by the strong statements made by Kiir. “Salva Kiir was utterly clear — he will not deviate 1 millimetre from what Garang has said,” Pronk added.

TRUSTED SOUTHERN LEADER

Kiir, who led the military wing of the organisation that fought the Islamist northern government for over two decades, was quickly appointed to replace Garang as head of the SPLM.

Many in the north regard Kiir as an unknown, although he is a trusted southern leader.

He now faces the difficult task of forming the new government and ironing out the many creases still left to be negotiated in the peace deal.

“The only way to do justice to Garang’s memory and be worthy of him is to follow his path and abide by the fundamental principles for which the SPLM has been fighting,” Kiir said.

Analysts say the new first vice president may bring a more collegial style to the SPLM leadership, which was long dominated by Garang’s centralised style of decision making.

The southern civil war broadly pitted the Islamist northern government against the mainly Christian, animist south and was complicated by issues of oil, ethnicity and ideology.

The war claimed an estimated 2 million lives, mainly through disease and hunger.

Garang’s death in the helicopter crash gave rise to suspicions of foul play which sparked Khartoum’s worst riots for decades. More than 100 people died in the violence between the capital’s northern and southern communities.

Garang’s supporters said the crash was probably an accident but Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who owned the helicopter, said he could not rule out the possibility his death was not accidental.

Kiir scolded the media for publishing rumours speculating about the cause of the accident, saying they should wait for the report due in a month from a joint SPLM-government commission of inquiry.