MISSIONARY’S PERSPECTIVE ON THE DEATH OF SUDANESE V-P JOHN GARANG

The death of Sudanese Vice-President John Garang in a Ugandan helicopter crash has one Jinja, Uganda-based missionary more than a little concerned.

Garang died when the Ugandan presidential helicopter in which he was traveling crashed in bad weather on July 30. Garang’s death was three weeks after he was made Sudan’s first vice- president under a peace deal ending a 21-year civil war between North and South Sudan.

In an e-mail, Calvary Chapel of Jinja (www.calvarychapeljinja.com) Pastor Jesse Rich said Garang’s tragic death impacts Uganda and its people.

Rich said, “Mr. Garang has been the ‘opposition’ in southern Sudan that has stopped the Muslim President (Omar Hasan Ahmad) al-Bashir from killing ALL the Christians and animists in the South” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Hasan_Ahmad_al-Bashir).

In addition, Rich said, “Mr. Garang and his ‘rebels’ are the only group that have been fighting AGAINST Joseph Kony (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army), the madman who kills and mutilates people in Northern Uganda and kidnaps thousands of children every year.

“Because of Kony,” Rich added, “there are tens of thousands of ‘night commuters’ in Northern (Uganda) – children who walk into Gulu and Kitgum towns every night to sleep in the streets and on verandas so that they will not be captured by Kony’s rebels. It is the most incredible tragedy you can imagine – like Darfur and Niger. The Sudanese government has funded Kony for years so that he can cause trouble in the North, and Uganda has funded Garang.”

Rich called the Sudanese peace treaty, signed earlier this year, and a process in which Garang played a major part, “incredible, “ and “more than momentous.”

Rich said, “And now Mr. Garang, the man who represented peace in Sudan and even in Uganda, is dead. This is devastating news for this part of the world. A new vice-president has now been sworn in, but no one believes that he will be the man of power and peace that Garang was … There is an investigation (into the helicopter crash) by a multi-national group including America and Russia, and we will see what the verdict is. It doesn’t mean much to the Western world, but here, this is truly a tragedy.”

Rich asked for prayer that the plans that were being put in place for the future of Sudan and Uganda will still work out.

“The people in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda have been terrorized for 20 years and had lost hope until this peace accord,” Rich said. “Now there is little hope again, but we know that with Christ, all things are possible.”

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

Reuters reported (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10378726.htm) that Museveni has been angered by sensational media reports about the incident.

Although the chopper crashed during a storm, and Reuters reported that Garang’s supporters have said they do not suspect foul play, there has been a flurry of speculation surrounding the incident.

Leading the charge with a slue of claims surrounding Garang’s death has been Uganda’s “Red Pepper” newspaper, described by Reuters as “a popular tabloid that mixes political rumors with lots of female flesh.”

It first made an unsubstantiated claim, Reuters reported, that the chopper was sabotaged in a failed bid to kill Museveni.

Then the newspaper suggested spies from neighboring Rwanda had gotten on board and shot Garang twice in the head before the crash, Reuters reported.

That drew a sharp retort from the government.

“The ‘Red Pepper’s’ extra heads, persons, bullet wounds etc. are simply a figment of their speculative reporting and should be ignored,” Reuters reported Ugandan Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi said this week, as the bodies of the Ugandan crew were flown home.

“No people unknown to the pilots, engineer or security officers sneaked stealthily or otherwise onto the chopper,” Reuters reported he added.

Mbabazi said false reporting could damage regional peace and security efforts, Reuters reported.

But it is not only the “Red Pepper’s” reporting that has drawn government ire.

Reuters reported Uganda’s independent “Daily Monitor” newspaper implied that Museveni had lent his friend a defective helicopter. It quoted sources as saying Museveni had opted not to use his helicopter for a trip to Rwanda in June because it had technical problems.

However, Reuters reported that Museveni’s office said the chopper had been undergoing a $1.4 million refurbishment in Belarus at the time.

“It is criminal for anyone to say that,” Reuters reported Senior Presidential Adviser John Nagenda about the report.

Reuters reported that Museveni ordered his information minister to correct another “Monitor” story that said Sudan was holding the bodies of the Ugandan crew until its investigation was over.

The “Monitor” reported (www.monitor.co.ug/news/news08112.php) that Museveni’s tolerance of newspaper reports about issues matters had worn out.

“I am the President of Uganda. The people elected me. I therefore have the ultimate mandate to run their affairs,” the “Monitor” reported Museveni said. “Now I will no longer tolerate a newspaper which is like a vulture. For them the misery of many is their joy … Any newspaper which plays around with the regional security, I will not tolerate. I will simply close it.”

The “Monitor” reported that Museveni’s comments drew cheers from government and army officers in the pavilion.

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