| Thu, Aug 11, 2005 00:52 UT |
Sudanese govt concerned by Musevenis statement
KHARTOUM, Aug 5, 2005 (SUNA) The acting Foreign Minister, Mustafa Osman Ismail, said that up to now neither the Sudanese government nor Sudan Liberation Movement (SPLM) have accused any circle of involvement in the recent crash of the plane which was carrying the former First Vice - President, John Garang from Uganda to south Sudan.
| Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni (L) views the body of the late First Vice-President of Sudan John Garang in Yei, south Sudan, Friday 5, 2005. (AFP) . . |
Responding to recent statements of the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, Ismail said that the presidential plane, which was carrying Garang, was considered lost since 05:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 30, but Uganda informed Sudan government about the planes loss at 09:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The minister said that immediately after declaration of Garangs death in the planes crash, the government and the SPLM leadership agreed on formation of a joint committee to investigate in the incident, with the assistance experts.
Ismail said that Garang was on a visit to Uganda, while the crashed plane and all its crew were Ugandans, adding that Sudan government looks forward for close cooperation between the investigation committee and the Ugandan authorities toward identifying the facts.
He said that undoubtedly the demise of John Garang was a big loss not only for Sudan, but also for Africa and the peace-lovers.
Meanwhile, the acting Foreign Minister said that he attended and addressed on Thursday in Addis Ababa, the emergency African Summit, which was invited by the Nigerian President, Olsegen Obasanjo, on the developments after the death of John Garang
| Thu, Aug 11, 2005 00:58 UT |
Museveni threatens newspapers over Garang conspiracy theories
KAMPALA, Aug 10 (AFP) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday threatened to close several local newspapers if they persist in publishing conspiracy theories about the death of Sudanese vice president John Garang.
| Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni oints to Salva Kiir, new leader of SPLA/M, during a mourning for former rebel leader John Garang in Yei village in Southern Sudan August 5, 2005. (Reuters). |
At a memorial ceremony for the seven Ugandan crew who died with Garang in the July 30 crash of a Ugandan presidential helicopter, Museveni said such reports were a threat to regional security and that he would not tolerate them.
"I will no longer tolerate a newspaper which is like a vulture," he said, naming three papers, two privately owned dailies and a weekly, that had stoked his ire. "Any newspaper that plays around with regional security, I will not tolerate it.
"I will close it, simple," Museveni said. "They must stop or we shall stop them. There are security people mandated to comment about security matters in Uganda and they should consult those."
The newspapers in question have printed a variety of speculative stories about Garangs death in recent days with one quoting unnamed intelligence sources as saying the ex-rebel leaders body was found riddled with bullets when it was recovered from the wreckage of Musevenis chopper.
Others have suggested Ugandas arch-rival Rwanda may have tried to bring down the helicopter in the mistaken belief that Museveni was on board.
Ironically, it was Museveni himself who opened the floodgates of speculation over the facts behind the crash by saying last week it may not have been an accident and could have been the result of an unspecified "external factor."
Those comments were the first from any official to suggest that the crash was anything other than an accident as Sudan, Garangs Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM), the United Nations and others have insisted.
Sudanese officials have castigated Museveni for those remarks while others have simply said a combination of poor weather, darkness, terrain and possible pilot error appear to have been the cause of the crash.
But Museveni has not backed down, insisting the Russian-made Mi-172 chopper was safe and equipped with the latest navigational devices, although he has reserved judgement until the completion of an international investigation.
Indeed on Wednesday, he said that if the probe finds that the crash was the result of foul play the perpetrators "will have to pay."
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| Thu, Aug 11, 2005 01:03 UT |
Uganda fears Garangs death may prolong brutal war with LRA rebels
KAMPALA, Aug 2 (AFP) As Sudan ponders the future of its landmark north-south peace deal in the wake of the weekend death of ex-rebel leader John Garang, neighboring Uganda voiced fears Tuesday that his demise may prolong its own long-running war with the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).
| Ugandan army soldiers display weapons captured from the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Kipwayi hills, some 50 miles inside Sudan near the border with Uganda on April 7, 2005. (AFP) . |
To many here, Garang was not only a powerful symbol of southern Sudanese aspirations but also a potent counterbalance to the notoriously brutal LRA, which operates in northern Uganda and has numerous bases over the border in south Sudan.
"To me, this is a blow to our peace process," northern Ugandan lawmaker Reagan Okumu said of Garangs death on Saturday when the Ugandan helicopter in which he was returning to Sudan crashed in poor weather.
"Garang had personal attachment with the people in northern Uganda and it was hoped that if he took firm control over southern Sudan, this LRA menace will cease," he told AFP.
In fact, Garangs last public comments, made here before his ill-fated flight, were a vow to flush the LRA and its elusive leader Joseph Kony out of southern Sudan from where they have launched savage raids into northern Uganda for 19 years.
"Joseph Kony wont be hiding there for long," the 60-year-old leader of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army and newly appointed first vice president of Sudan told Ugandas state-run New Vision newspaper on Friday.
"We need to provide peace, security and stability," he said ahead of talks on security in the region with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, in whose helicopter he would perish 24 hours later.
Such remarks endeared him to the Ugandan military and the civilian population of rural northern Uganda which has been systematically terrorized by the LRAs mass killings, rapes, mutilations and abductions of children for nearly a generation.
"He was committed to joining hands with us to stop this rural terrorism," said Ugandan army spokesman Shaban Bantariza. "But all this is lost now, we only hope that others will continue from where he ended."
While acknowleging an impact on the LRA rebellion, which has claimed the lives of tens of thousands and displaced more than 1.6 million people, Bantariza insisted Garangs death would not make it easier for the guerrillas to fight.
"The unfortunate incident in Sudan does not favor them at all," he told AFP.
Others are not so certain, however, noting reports that LRA fighters had been heard rejoicing and celebrating at the news of Garangs death in intercepted radio transmissions from northern Uganda and southern Sudan.
"Some pressure on them is erased by the death of Garang for some time," said an analyst for an internationally respected think tank who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of his work in the region.
"A peace process is multi-faceted," the analyst said. "The SPLA and Garang in this case were part of the dynamics that were shaping it in Uganda."
Of most concern to him and to church and community leaders in northern Uganda most affected by the LRAs reign of terror is the potential for Garangs death to derail the January 9 north-south Sudan peace deal.
They said the pact that ended Africas longest-running civil war is critical to restoring stability in southern Sudan and, in the process, dealing with LRA who have camped there for years with the backing of the Sudanese government.
Damage to the Sudan agreement from Garangs absence could have "dire consequences" for attempts to resolve the conflict in northern Uganda, the analyst said, a sentiment echoed in the region.
"If his death disrupts peace in southern Sudan, this may affect us negatively," said Father Carlos Rodriguez, a Catholic priest in Gulu district which has been the epicenter of the LRA war.
"A peaceful southern Sudan is a guarantee for peace for us in northern Uganda," he told AFP by phone from Gulu town.
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