Sudan after Garang
By Mohammed A. R. Galadari, The Khaleej Times
11 August 2005 — Sudan has managed to guard its fragile peace at a critical time. The swearing in of another ex-rebel as the country’s vice president today, in place of deceased leader Garang, is indication that the peace process initiated in January, as also the current setting up of the Government of Unity, will proceed to their logical conclusions.
Dear readers, Sudan had witnessed the world’s deadliest civil war in history lasting two decades, but it is now in a different mood. The Garang funeral in the sensitive south didn’t turn out to be an occasion for a fresh bout of violence, as many had feared. The message that it has sent out to the world was that the newfound spirit of unity will prevail. This is also the impression that the two US envoys who visited Sudan in the aftermath of the Garang death have got from their interactions in Khartoum. The nation stood as one to pay homage to the former rebel leader who chose in the final days of his life to join the national mainstream and be part of the government.
Salva Kiir, the man who would take the place of Garang in the Bashir dispensation as the country’s vice president will also be the president of the autonomous south from now on. He might not have been as eager as Garang to make unity a reality, but he is a man who works by consensus. He and President Bashir will have to work hand in hand to make the peace efforts succeed all over Sudan. Air of suspicions among different groups need be dispelled. How a helicopter crashed during its flight from Uganda to Sudan’s south is a matter of debate and subject of a detailed probe.
The Ugandan president Museveni, for one, had added to the air of confusion surrounding Garang’s death by giving only qualified support to the “mishap” theory, but he has not been able to give any hint about any foul play. Both the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLA) that Garang led have taken the stand that the helicopter crash was an accident. Nonetheless, the government is holding a detailed probe into the crash. That’s what a government can do in normal course.
What is more important to note is that the Sudanese have seen reason and quickly controlled the violence that had erupted in the aftermath of the Garang death, killing over 130 people. The fact that the country has settled down to calm and peace after the funeral shows the newfound spirit of unity will prevail. This unity is built on a strong foundation: it is the result of the abandonment of violence by the Southern rebels through a peace agreement signed in January. The decision helps in the formation of a Government of Unity that gets all sides together with a common aim, namely faster development of their country. The new dispensation’s strength will lie in the fact that it will have proper representation for ex-rebels, regional heavyweights and opposition groups.
While Sudan is set to open a new and promising chapter in its often-troubled history, the disquiet in the west, Darfur, has not been settled. Efforts in that direction will need to gain momentum. Reports of mass rapes and other acts of violence are still coming in from the region. Without peace in the west, how will the new government be able to push its development agenda?
The swearing in Salva Kiir as vice president is proof that, despite the odds, the south is firmly behind Khartoum. And, in spite of the January agreement’s provision for a six-year interim period to make a final decision in respect of unity, the southerners appear to be looking forward positively to the sharing of the oil wealth and eventual progress for their region.
Dear readers, Khartoum should now intensify its peace offensive in the west with continued help from the African Union peace forces. The situation also demands that the Bashir dispensation works earnestly for the liberalization of the national polity, providing more freedom and sense of involvement to the people and the media, which should be part of the overall reform process there.