Cries for unity in Sudan

2005-08-06 20:48

Sudan - Huge crowds of grieving Sudanese bade a final farewell on Saturday to late ex-rebel chief John Garang who led southern Sudan through two decades of war before becoming vice president in a landmark peace deal.

As tens of thousands of weeping, wailing black-clad mourners thronged the south's main city for his funeral, leaders from both the Muslim north and mainly Christian and animist south appealed for unity amid fears the deal could collapse and deep suspicion over the cause of the July 30 chopper crash that killed Garang.

In a service laden with symbols to reconciliation, Garang's longtime nemesis, Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir, his widow, Rebecca, and successor as head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), Salva Kiir, urged adherence to the January's historic accord.

Taking Kiir's hand in a gesture of solidarity, Beshir told a massive crowd outside Juba's All Saint's Cathedral that Khartoum would not back away from the peace pact that many fear could unravel with Garang's passing.

"We will be strong and together," Beshir said. "We say to our brother Salva Kiir that we will remain hand-in-hand to apply the peace agreement to the letter."

Kiir, who will soon assume the vice presidency that Garang had been sworn into just three weeks before his death, echoed those sentiments.

"I say it loud and clear that the SPLM is vehicle with no reverse gear," Kiir said. "I reiterate my commitment to the implementation of all the clauses of the (peace deal)," he said.

Rebecca Garang said her husband's legacy would be best honoured by peace and urged mourners not to weep for her as long as they upheld the agreement under which south Sudan will enjoy six years of autonomy before a referendum on secession.

"I will not miss my husband as long the people of Sudan are the watchdogs of the (peace deal)," she said. "If you play around, I will start to cry and mourn my husband."

"Leaders come and go, but what they leave behind is very important," she said. "I want the (agreement) to be implemented as it is, no changes."

In blistering heat under a blazing sun, dozens of distraught women fainted outside the cathedral while thousands of heavily armed Sudanese soldiers patrolled the streets and a UN helicopter buzzed overhead due to security concerns.

- AFP