Salva Kiir to address SPLM rally in Khartoum

May 19, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The First Vice-President of the Republic and President of the Government of the Southern Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit is expected to address a public rally at the Green Square in Khartoum on 26 May.

The rally which is being organized by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement’s (SPLM) northern sector, to mark the twenty-third anniversary of the foundation of the SPLM, is the first time Kiir will meet SPLM members and supporters from the northern sector of the Sudan.

Head of the celebrations’ higher committee told journalists yesterday that the SPLM celebrations would begin today in a number of states and towns.

He said Kiir would be opening a number of folklore exhibitions, seminars and cultural carnivals as part of the celebrations.

Since the historic gathering in Khartoum between John Garang and an estimated four million supporters, the SPLM has been unable to organize a gathering of the same magnitude in northern towns.

Kiir has not appeared in any public gathering of the same size which indicates that the SPLM’s popularity in northern towns has so far not been tested scientifically particularly since the official responsible for the northern sector, Abdelaziz al-Hilu, has been absent in the US for months.

Rumours claiming that he has resigned were hastily denied by the SPLM.

A number of observers consider the forthcoming SPLM rally in Khartoum a test of its popularity in the north of Sudan after Garang’s death.

(ST)