Only if Dr. John Garang de Mabior were still alive!
By Panther Alier
May 30, 2008 — The hero had done his part! I would hate to disturb him at his final resting place. He has finally found an eventual rest, after more than twenty years of excruciating experiences of having to worry about what failure to his movement (SPLA) would mean to his dear beloved people of Southern Sudan.
Indeed, the hero delivered the long-awaited freedom by the people of Sudan, more so by the people of Southern Sudan. The evil would take him away three (3) weeks later. We longed for him from the hour he was announced missing and continue to long for him, even more, three (3) years later.
This is not to suggest the Hero did it himself. He did it with other giants, one of whom later on put on John’s shoes. H.E. Salva Kiir never wavered amidst all the downturns and tricks that happened during the 90s. He stood firmed with him and nothing would separate them except death! This is one reason I continue to believe that President Kiir would not surrender the hard fought freedom for the people of Southern Sudan at the time he is especially in the driver’s seat.
However, there are conditions where the absence of Dr. John, as we used to say, at this crucial moment, is so profoundly torturous. I remember vividly him warning those in Khartoum that his final decision to go to Khartoum was not a beginning of an end. Instead, he was ready to go back to fight if the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was not implement in spirit of peace! In other words, the peace was not going to be at anyone’s expense. He said, in front of millions that had gathered to hear and see him that he was a rebel; and what rebels do well is fighting. These are not exactly his words, but some are paraphrase and inferences from his speech.
And this let me supposed: only if Dr. John were alive would I make sense of the total destruction of the Abyei. I would have taken him for his own words: “peace not at anyone’s expense!” “This CPA must be implemented in letter and spirit,” he continued. I do not need to remind anybody that Abyei’s protocol is duly part of the CPA. A totally “inconvenience trust” is that an annihilation of the town of Abyei, which just happened last week, is wholly an obliteration of the CPA. So what is next?
The author is a graduate student at Brandeis University. He can be reached at [email protected]
Kim Deng
Only if Dr. John Garang de Mabior were still alive!
Alier,
You forgot to see what would have happened within the South if your King still alive at the movement, let alone between the South & North.
Rwanda would have been better than South South if the man you keep mourning still alive.
South Sudan Army/SPLA is very ready to confront the arabized Nubian govt (NIF) in warfield than you expected, but there are some elements within the SPLM/A including your King who believe that the so called CPA is a Bible/Q’uran in which they are very wrong in that concept.
Gatwech
Only if Dr. John Garang de Mabior were still alive!
Mr. Alier,
While I respect your right and feeling to mourn late Garang like the rest of us would, however, I would rather caution you not to exaggerate his intellect and capabilities in regards to the CPA and its implementation, particularly on Abyei Protocol.
If you are not aware, the soc-called 1905 Abyei boundaries which late Garang signed as a source of determining where the boundary would be did not and does not exist at all. Garang was just deceived by Ali Osman Taha to commit himself to a false solution to the Abyei boundary. Ali Osman conducted his own research and found that there was no any evidence on the 1905 boundary, but deceived late Garang during the negotiations. When the ABC experts on Abyei tried to find out where the 1905 boundaries of Abyei were, there was no any map or document or any description about the so-called 1905 boundaries. Instead they resorted to 1965 boundaries which result the NCP rejected, arguing that this was not the mandate given to the experts. They want experts to stick to 1905 boundaries, which they knew the experts failed to get and which was actually what late Garang signed. So Garang made that big mistake when he was still alive and well.
Again, the first report of the ABC experts was submitted to the Presidency in Khartoum one week before Garang died. It was rejected by the NCP in front of late Garang. I hope you already knew about this! Garang did nothing miraculous to convince the NCP to accept the ABC report on Abyei. This is my correction to you about what you think Garang could have done differently if he were alive. I don’t want to go to other things that would have befallen the people of Southern Sudan, negative or possitive, if Garang were to be alive. I can just say, leave the man alone in his final rest!
James James
Only if Dr. John Garang de Mabior were still alive!
Mr. Panther:
Better to copy that, if you don’t feed the living cow that give you little milk because you are thinking about the dead cow which had been giving you a lot of milk, I think the living cow will die of hunger and than you will remain with zero till one day one time you will regret about the death of the cow that used to give you little milk.
Dr. Garang is dead, and all of us were in deep sorrow during that time, but I am astonishe by some of the comments made by some you who try to overlook the current leaders that we have, and try to praise the one that is not going to see us or help us in anything. This is actually very ridiculus in some extend.
Who is hundred percent sure that we would have not been in the mess if Garang was still alive? Do one of you know whether Garang was going to agree with Paulino Matip, Ismael Konyi, Tanginya, Gordon Kong or even Salva or Dr Riek? Do you know if Garang was going to try to overthrow Bashir and that might have resulted into another civil war?
Please, let try to praise our leaders who are still with us like Dr. Riek Machar and Gen. Salva Kiir for the little peace that they still maintaint for us today. let remember Garang only in his memorial days as we do to all our past heroes.
God bless.
Peter Malek
Only if Dr. John Garang de Mabior were still alive!
“the Hero did it himself. He did it with other giants”, Alier says.
I don’t see something much negative about Mr. Alier title: Only if Dr.Garang de Mabior were still alive! because we can learn something from the quotation. Mr. Alier has drawn my attention that the Hero was not alone, there were some other giants. It is true because there is no leader if there are no people. The periods of our struggle we are now still on, are the fruits of our grand grand fathers struggles that have been inherited generation to generations and all have contributed to freedom in a way or another.
Our history of struggle convinced me, if Garang were alive, he would have reached reconciliation, say with Paulino or Ismaeil, there would be unity among the southerners as it is today under the leadership of Salva.
What I want to tell Mr. Alier is that do not be faithless since you clearly put ‘the Hero’ was with ‘other giants’. God might have taken Garang to test us and to show us that He can raise another hero, may be you, Gatwech or any one else. Garang was strong because of his people who were very very determined, who devoted their wealth in the countryside to feed the SPLA soldiers and gave up their children to die for their beloved land, God gave us.
We have to learn from mistakes along way of struggle and we should not be confused that differences come to divide us, but indeed, they come to allow us, check our weaknesses and to find common ground to solutions.
CPA came because Southern Sudanese were united and our independent will come in 2011 because we are more united than ever before.
Concerning the case of Abyei. I think Abyei is not forgotten. You must be aware there was confrontation between the SPLA and SAF plus thier allied Militia of Messeriyia.
The war in Abyei needs us to tackle it with strategy and wisdom, because Khartoum does not want Abyei alone. It wants the whole south without its people!