John Garang, August 2004

Dr. John Garang de Mabior (June 23, 1945 – July 30, 2005) was the vice president of Sudan and former leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army. A member of the Dinka ethnic group, he was born into a poor family in Wagkulei village, near Bor in the upper Nile region of Sudan. Image File history File links John Garang, August 2004 (reference page) (image source) image cropped; full photo includes Garang with Bill Frist File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... June 23 is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 191 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) is a rebel group that was formed in 1983 by John Garang de Mabior, Salva Kiir Mayardit, William Nyuon Bany and Kerubino Kuanyin Bol. ... The Dinka is one of the tribes of south Sudan, inhabiting the swamplands of the Bahr el Ghazal region of the Nile basin, Jonglei and parts southern Kordufan and uppernile regions . ... Bor in real sense is a city in southern Sudan. ... There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The...

Early years

An orphan by the age of ten, Garang had his fees for school paid by a relative, going to schools in Wau and then Rumbek. In 1962 he joined the first Sudanese civil war, but because he was so young, the leaders encouraged him and others his age to seek an education. Because of the ongoing fighting, Garang was forced to attend his secondary education in Tanzania. After winning a scholarship, he went on to earn a B.A. in economics in 1969 from Grinnell College. He was known there for his bookishness. He was offered another scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley, but chose to return to Tanzania and study East African agricultural economics as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow at the University of Dar es Salaam. As a member of the University Students' African Revolutionary Front, a student group at the university, he made the acquaintance of Yoweri Museveni, who would go on to become president of Uganda and a close ally. However, Garang soon decided to return to Sudan and join the rebels. Rumbek is the capital of the state of Lakes (also known as Buhayrat) in southern Sudan. ... The First Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1955 to 1972 between the northern part of Sudan and a south that demanded more regional autonomy. ... Secondary education is a period of education which, in most contemporary educational systems of the world, follows directly after primary education, and which may be followed by tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... U.S. Economic Calendar Economics at the Open Directory Project Economics textbooks on Wikibooks The Economists Economics A-Z Daily analysis of economics in the news (UK focus) Institutions and organizations Bureau of Labor Statistics - from the American Labor Department Center for Economic and Policy Research (USA) National Bureau... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... Grinnell College Grinnell College is a highly selective, four-year undergraduate liberal arts college located in Grinnell, Iowa. ... The University of California, Berkeley (also known as Cal, UC Berkeley, UCB, or simply Berkeley) is a prestigious, public, coeducational university situated in the foothills of Berkeley, California to the east of San Francisco Bay, overlooking the Golden Gate and its bridge. ... East Africa is a region generally considered to include: Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Somalia Tanzania Uganda Burundi, Rwanda, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Sudan are sometimes considered a part of East Africa. ... Agricultural economics applies the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock. ... The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a grant that enables graduating seniors to pursue a year of independent study outside the United States. ... The University of Dar es Salaam is a university in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. ... Former USARF members Yoweri Museveni (left) and John Garang (right) would go on to lead their countries. ... Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became President of Uganda on January 29, 1986. ...

The civil war ended with the Addis Ababa agreement of 1972 and Garang, like many rebels, was absorbed into the Sudanese military. For eleven years, he was a career soldier and rose from the rank of captain to colonel after taking the Infantry Officers' Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. During this period he took four years academic leave and received a master's degree in agricultural economics and a Ph.D. in economics at Iowa State University, after writing a thesis on the agricultural development of Southern Sudan. The Addis Ababa Accords were a series of compromises in 1972, aimed at appeasing the non-muslim leaders of the insurgency in southern Sudan after the first Sudanese Civil War proved costly to the muslim Sudanese government. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... Captain is both a nautical term and a military rank. ... It has been suggested that polkovnik be merged into this article or section. ... Fort Benning is a military base facility of the United States military southwest of Columbus, Georgia. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... Agricultural economics applies the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock. ... Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph. ... Iowa State University (ISU) is a public land-grant university and space-grant university located in Ames, Iowa. ... A thesis (literally: position from the Greek θέσις) is an intellectual proposition. ... Southern Sudan is a region of Sudan. ...

The rebel leader

In 1983, Dr. Garang was sent to crush a mutiny in Bor by 500 southern government soldiers who were resisting being rotated to posts in the north. Instead, he started a rebel movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which was opposed to military rule and Islamic dominance of the country, and encouraged other army garrisons to mutiny against the Islamic law imposed on the country by the government. This mutiny marked the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War, which resulted in one and half million deaths over twenty years of conflict. Although Garang was Christian and most of southern Sudan is non-Muslim (mostly animist), he did not initially focus on the religious aspects of the war. 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) is a rebel group that was formed in 1983 by John Garang de Mabior, Salva Kiir Mayardit, William Nyuon Bany and Kerubino Kuanyin Bol. ... Islām is described as a dīn, meaning way of life and/or guidance. Six articles of belief There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims: 1. ... Sharia (Arabic: ; also Sharīah, Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is the Arabic word for Islamic law, also known as the Law of Allah. ... The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it is most accurately a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. ... As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

The SPLA gained the backing of Libya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Garang and his army controlled a large part of the southern regions of the country, named New Sudan. He claimed his troops' courage comes from "the conviction that we are fighting a just cause. That is something North Sudan and its people don't have." Critics suggested financial motivations to his rebellion, noting that much of Sudan's oil wealth lies in the south of the country. Oil is a generic term for organic liquids that are not miscible with water. ...

Garang refused to participate in the 1985 interim government or 1986 elections, remaining a rebel leader. However, the SPLA and government signed a peace agreement in January 2005. On July 9, 2005, he was sworn in as vice-president, the second most powerful person in the country, following a ceremony in which he and President Omar al-Bashir signed a power-sharing constitution. He also became the administrative head of a southern Sudan with limited autonomy for the six years before a scheduled referendum of possible secession. No Christian or southerner had ever held such a high government post. Commenting after the ceremony, Garang stated, "I congratulate the Sudanese people, this is not my peace or the peace of al-Bashir, it is the peace of the Sudanese people." This article is about the year. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Omar al-Bashir Lieutenant General Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir (born January 1, 1944) is the president of Sudan. ...

The United States State Department argued that Garang's presence in the government would have helped solve the Darfur conflict in western Sudan, but others consider these claims " excessively optimistic".[1] The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... The country of Sudan The Darfur conflict is an ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan, mainly between the Janjaweed, a government-supported militia recruited from local Arab tribes, and the non-Arab peoples of the region. ...

Death

In late July 2005, Garang died after the Ugandan presidential Mi-172 helicopter he was riding crashed. He had been returning from a meeting in Rwakitura with long-time ally President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Sudanese state television initially reported that Garang's craft had landed safely, but Abdel Basset Sabdarat, the country's Information Minister, went on TV hours later to deny the report. Soon afterwards, a statement released by the office of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir confirmed that a Ugandan presidential helicopter, crashed into "a mountain range in southern Sudan because of poor visibility and this resulted in the death of Dr. John Garang DeMabior, six of his colleagues and seven Ugandan crew members." [2] His body was flown to New Site, a southern Sudanese settlement near the scene of the crash, where former rebel fighters and civilian supporters have gathered to pay their respects to Garang. Garang's funeral took place on August 3 in Juba [3]. The Mil Mi-17 (Also known as the Mi-8MT, NATO reporting name Hip-H) was a Soviet cargo helicopter. ... Rwakitura Rwakitura is the personal country home of the president of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. ... Yoweri Kaguta Museveni became President of Uganda on January 29, 1986. ... Omar al-Bashir Field Marshal Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir (Arabic: عمر حسن احمد البشير ; born 1 January 1944) is the president of the Sudan. ... New Site is a village in South Sudan near the border with Kenya. ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... Juba in the state of Bahr al-Jabal Juba is the capital of the state of Bahr al Jabal in southern Sudan. ...

Questions around Death

The Sudanese government and the head of the SPLA both blamed the weather for the accident, there are however doubts, especially among the basis of the SPLA, as to the truth of this. Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan president claims that the possibility of "external factors" having played a role could not be eliminated.

Effect upon Peace

Considered instrumental in ending the civil war, the effect of Garang's death upon the peace deal is uncertain. The government declared three days of national mourning, which did not stop large scale rioting in Khartoum which killed at least 24 as youth from south Sudan attacked Arabs and clashed with security forces. After three days of violence, the death toll had risen to 84[4]. Unrest was also reported in other parts of the country. Leading members of the SPLM, including Garang's successor Salva Kiir Mayardit, stated that the peace process would continue. Analysts suggested that the death could result in anything from a new democratic openness in the SPLA, which some have criticized for being overly dominated by Garang, to an outbreak of open warfare between the various southern factions that Garang had brought together. A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. ... Riots in Newark, New Jersey Riots occur when crowds of people have gathered and are committing crimes or acts of violence. ... Map of Sudan with Khartoum Map of Khartoum with Ohmdurman and Bahri Khartoum (Arabic الخرطوم al-Ḫarṭūm elephant trunk) is the capital of Sudan, as well as the capital of the state of Khartoum. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are a large ethnic group widespread in the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... Salva Kiir Mayardit is the president of autonomous Southern Sudan and the successor to the post of Vice President of Sudan, following the death of John Garang in a crash on 30 July 2005. ... Democracy in its ideal sense is the notion that the people should have control of the government ruling over them. ...

References

Aufstand in der Dreistadt by Thomas Schimidinger in Jungle World Nr.32: August 10 2005; ISSN 1613-0766

External links

• NPR Weekend Edition: John Garang: A Conversation on Sudan
• Official website of the Sudan People's Liberation Army
• A State Department archive of information from before January 2001
• Sudan ex-rebel joins government, BBC, 9 July 2005
• Obituary, BBC
• Deadly riots erupt in Sudan after Garang death, Reuters, 1 August 2005
• The return of a Sudanese survivor, opinion piece in The Daily Star, Lebanon, 19 July 2005 - some info on early life
• Uganda Joins Sudan in Investigating Garang's Death, William Eagle, Voice of America, 9 August 2005