Gloomy future of Sudan after John Garang
By Garang Ayang Kuoi*
August 7, 2006 — It is imperative that the future of Sudan is unpredictable after John Garang, the chairman of Sudan people’s movement, commander in chief of Sudan’s people liberation Army ( SPLM/ SPLA), also, the president of the government of South Sudan, and indeed, the First Vice-President of the Republic of Sudan who signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement known as the CPA last year on January 9th 2005 in Kenyan capital Nairobi, the deal that ended more than two decades of African longest civil war between South Sudanese, and their foes in Khartoum.
John Garang was killed by political motivated Ugandan presidential Helicopter crash when he was returning back home from his official visit to his long time friend Ugandan president Museveni shortly after he was sworn in as Sudan’s first vice-president in the national government of Unity ( NGU). Garang death had caused rioting violence across Sudanese cities, a violence that left hundred people dead and more wounded in Khartoum.
After Dr. John’s untimely death, the Sudanese nation leave alone South Sudan became hopeless, their hopes was crash with Garang in the mountain that claimed long time and visionary leader who led’s people from gloomy life of oppression to the mountain of liberty, peace, justice and human dignity, meanwhile, on that very day of Friday morning July 30th, 2005, the day that was unfriendly to African national hero as it claimed his life, and indeed, the day that the oppressed people of Sudan will never forget, John Garang’s long time foes inside Khartoum and outside cried with one eye that was unable to produced no tears, they were beating their drums inside them as they took care of enduring and visionary leader who was intended to transform the old Sudan and its darkest system into a new Democratic Sudan of hope and justice for all. On that day of Friday morning July 30th 2005, the foes and indeed, the enemies of Justice including those who had once triggered their guns and shot the movement of SPLM/A in its back kept close eyes on the movement, hopping that the South Sudanese were going to bluntly and greedily fight over power as it was their planned to destroy the movement and its objectives, however, wisely, the movement leadership of SPLM/A quickly replaced Garang with his long time freedom fighter vice chairperson, Slava Kiir Mayardit without any chaos that the enemies were eager to see.
Despite that untimely death of John Garang, the South Sudanese have been trying to move on to attain the legacy of John Garang, regardless the difficulties of CPA implementation. The CPA has become the most victim of all after Garang was successfully murdered, things that were not supposed to go in the direction that they are now going in a direction that is making the CPA shaky and fragile, and this is because Garang is gone. The fundamental and key issues of the CPA such as the Abyei boundaries and South North borders have not been addressed and implemented yet by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) which is disease and number one killer of liberty and justice in Sudan. The militias are still lingering and looting civilians in upper Nile and Bar El ghazal as they receive logistical support from Khartoum government, something which a clear violation of CPA, and this is happening because the foes had successfully eliminated the man that they used to fear so much, Dr. John Garang de Mabior. The fear that the foes had about Garang was not a fear such as one has a gun in his hand and ready to shoot’s enemy, but a fear in which Garang was full of wisdom, sights freedom for his fellow citizens, he was a bright politician, a philosopher who could think what ‘s foes could never produced, that is why they feared him so much, because John Garang was strong like black coffee. People drink black coffee so that it enable them stay awake, think easier and wiser, be productive in their thoughts, that is why people drink black coffee. And so Dr. John Garang was a man of bright vision for Sudan, something was against epidemic disease of liberty’s will
John Garang had a sense of historical purpose, he was full of wisdom, a wisdom in which he didn’t live longer just to see whether his fellow citizens would benefit from it or not, he didn’t live linger enough to see the outcome of his outstanding service to his nation and its people. He died shortly when he was about to reformed the regime in the North even if the regime is too deformed like he said in early 80s when he was in the bush. He was killed shortly after he was about to expand his enduring voice that captures every body’s dreams and imagination, he was about to start teaching his methodology of his new Sudan, and explain it to his fellow citizens exactly what he meant by new democratic Sudan. He was killed by that helicopter crash on that mountain range because of his civic language that unique, and full of reference points that based on the future and not present. John Garang did not lockup’s precious P.H.D and joined the struggle of fierce fight against the enemy for the sake of small ten States Southern Sudan, he argued that the foes in that small North were inhumane and cruel to all citizens across the entire nation, and so he had an idea of transforming old Sudan system into new democratic Sudan system, something that they hate in the North. He knew that with the new democratic Sudan, all citizens could be equal, regardless of their religions background, ethnicity, cultural background, economic status, nor family political background. Nevertheless, John Garang knew that transformation of old Sudan into new democratic Sudan was a huge task that needed lots of energies and courage in order to overcome the shadowy system of all Sudan, and so he refused not to be a professor in some countries and enjoy his liberty of hard work after he earned his P.H.D, he knew that there was no one assigned to taking arm against the regime, but a citizen with courage and sacrifice like himself. He successfully led his fight against the old Sudan system for twenty one years untill he reached to the shore Nyayio studiom in Nairobi Kenya on Janaury 9th 2005.
Perhaps, the people of Southern Sudan and indeed the entire nation of Sudan acceptation of that plane which claimed Dr. John Garang’s life have missed so badly. And the reason why we missed him is because the mountain of New Cush which the plane crash into is unable to tell us how the hell the plane crash into it, what had happened and did it happened? The Mountain of New Cush is not telling us exactly how Garang died? It is not telling us whether the crash was politically motivated or not. The struggle is extraordinary where we the freedom fighters need extraordinary leader because the things that John Garang was supposed to empathetically talk and dealt with Khartoum about are now dying in vain, the peace implementation is dying and it is because Garang is missing. Right now 50% of South Sudanese population is not sure whether we will remain United or divorce the NIF with its system, and this is because there is no any clear indication of why we will vote for unity or separation since the National congress party NCP has been delaying the implementation of key issues such as the issues I have indicated in earlier paragraphs.
All in all, the essence of this article is about things that I remember about John Garang. I missed him and I hope that everyone out there does as well. It is also an indirect appeal to South Sudan government to strengthen their position, I know that the South Sudan government under the leadership of Salva Kiir is working days and nights to overcome this overwhelming struggle, but yet there are things that need attention too, such as the unity of South Sudan, we can never overcome the enemy unless we are united, Kiir administration must continue persuading those who are still holding themselves back in all means so that they can join the struggle. This struggle is a struggle about pride, dignity, and nationalism, despite the fact that they in the North keep denying it that it is not a war between Arabs and African. That is why it is important for us to unite so that we can bring our soul back from them; they have stolen many things from us, land, freedom, pride, dignity and many more. And the only way to bring these precious human desires back from them will be only our unity.
* Garang Ayang Kuoi is based in the U.S.A. He can be reach at [email protected]