Peace At Risk

John Garang was relaxed and laughing when he flew off for a meeting with his longtime friend and ally, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, last Friday. But 24 hours later Southern Sudan's rebel leader was dead, killed when the Ugandan military helicopter in which he was traveling crashed less than 10 miles from its return destination of Kamuto, in the south of the country. "I hope it was just an accident," said Albanus Muli, a charter plane operator who recalled Garang's cheerful demeanor when he buckled him into his seat for the first leg of his journey. "We want peace here. We need peace."

Garang's helicopter crashed in bad weather. While a multilateral investigation that includes Ugandan and Sudanese authorities are still investigating its cause, initial indications do not suggest foul play. However, Garang's death could hardly have come at a worse time for a country taking tentative steps to peace after more than two decades of war. Just 23 days ago, Garang--the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)--was sworn in as his nation's vice president, becoming second in command to his onetime enemy, President Omar al-Bashir. When the news about Garang became known, angry supporters promptly accused the government of being behind the crash. By Tuesday, clashes between southerners and northerners in Khartoum had left at least 46 dead, according to police.

While the capital smoldered, crowds of mourners gathered in Kamuto, also known as New Site, a dusty village that was a refuge for Garang while his rebel group of Christians and animists fought its guerrilla war against the Muslim-dominated Khartoum government. Armed soldiers guarded the building in which his body lay as both children and adults went in to pay their final respects. Women wailed in a sign of grief; Catholic Bishop Paride Taban led crowds chanting the Lord's Prayer around the flag-draped coffin.

Some 50 yards away, the political and military leaders of southern Sudan met in a small one-roomed building to discuss the future. In a symbolic and decisive move, the SPLM unanimously appointed longtime deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit, 54, as the movement's new leader and nominee for vice president of what is soon to become known as the Government of National Unity (GNU). The hope is that Kiir will be sworn in to his new post in the next two weeks and that the government will be finalized soon after.

Kiir's appointment was welcomed by members of the Khartoum government who also arrived at New Site on Tuesday. "We want to affirm that we respect the leadership of the SPLM and we will continue to work together to implement all of the steps to peace," said an official from the National Congress Party.

Garang's widow, Rebecca Garang, also moved swiftly to try to contain the violence prompted by her husband's death. Mourning in New Site with three of the couple's six children, she insisted that the helicopter crash was an accident. "It was God's plan. He has come to collect him. God, no one else," she said. Mrs. Garang added that she had originally planned to travel with her husband to Uganda, but changed her plans at the last minute. "God wanted me to be here with my children and the people of Sudan." Her new role: to carry on with her husband's work: "His vision was our life," she said.

International leaders took their own steps to try to bolster Sudan's fragile peace agreement. Several governments dispatched diplomats to the country and the United Nation's Security Council issued a statement appealing for calm. "The Council reiterates its determination to assist the Sudanese people in their efforts to promote national reconciliation, resolve the conflicts in Darfur and restore peace and stability throughout the country," it said.

Kiir, too, called for an end to violence. "There cannot be any development when there is no peace," he said at New Site. In spite of the united front, the new leader clearly has his work cut out for him. Unlike the charismatic Garang, Kiir has little experience as a statesman. Some analysts believe that this has left him poorly prepared for the challenges ahead. Others, though, believe that Kiir's background will win him respect on both sides. The last living member of the seven founders of Garang's rebel movement, Kiir fought side by side with the former leader for more than 20 years. A professional soldier, he had already served in the Sudanese army before leaving for political reasons. His friends and colleagues say that this military background will help, rather than hinder him. "The north is more military than us. That is a language they will understand," says Dau Aleer Abit, an officer and longtime party SPLM member. "We will have to wait and see if he is truly accepted."