Southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir vowed to work towards the unity of Sudan as he was sworn in as first vice-president yesterday, following the death of his predecessor John Garang in a helicopter crash last week.
The new chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), Salva Kiir, was sworn in as first vice-president. |
Soldiers and military vehicles swarmed the capital, and there was no repeat of the scenes of jubilation that accompanied Garang's return to take up the same post just over a month ago.
While pictures of Kiir and President Omar Hassan Al Bashir decorated the grounds, pride of place was reserved for a huge photograph of Garang signing the January peace deal with Al Bashir which led to his joining the government for a mere three weeks before his death.
"Garang is not dead, for he who lives on in the hearts and minds of millions shall never die," Kiir said.
| AP Salva Kiir (left) takes the oath in front of Sudan's President Omar Al Bashir (right) and the Sudanese Chief Justice in Khartoum. |
The January deal ended Africa's longest civil war and envisages a new coalition government, wealth sharing, democratic transformation and a southern referendum on secession from the north in six years.
Kiir, 54, took his oath and swore allegiance to the nation and to uphold the new constitution.
He admonished people who said he preferred secession to unity.
"From its inception the SPLM leaders, of which I remain the only survivor, have fought for unity," he said. "The comprehensive peace agreement ... provides the last chance for Sudan's unity."
Al Bashir welcomed Kiir and said he would be a worthy partner to implement the peace deal, but expressed his sadness at Garang's death: "This day contains feelings of sorrow and feelings of joy," he said.
Jan Pronk, top UN envoy in Sudan, said he was highly encouraged by the strong statements made by Kiir. "Salva Kiir was utterly clear he will not deviate 1 millimetre from what Garang has said," Pronk said.
Kiir, who led the military wing of the organisation that fought the Islamist northern government for over two decades, was quickly appointed to replace Garang as head of the SPLM.
Many in the north regard Kiir as an unknown, although he is a trusted southern leader.
He now faces the difficult task of forming the new government and ironing out the many creases still left to be negotiated in the peace deal.
"The only way to do justice to Garang's memory and be worthy of him is to follow his path and abide by the fundamental principles for which the SPLM has been fighting," Kiir said.
Analysts say the new first vice-president may bring a more collegial style to the SPLM leadership, which was long dominated by Garang's centralised style of decision-making.
The southern civil war broadly pitted the Islamist northern government against the mainly Christian, animist south and was complicated by issues of oil, ethnicity and ideology.
Profile
The new chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), Salva Kiir, was sworn in as first vice-president yesterday.
Here are some key facts about Kiir:
- Kiir, Garang's deputy, will become the president of southern Sudan as well as the national first vice-president. His arrival in Khartoum on Wednesday was his first visit in two decades to the capital.
- Kiir, 54, played a major role in negotiating the early stages of the peace deal which this year ended 21 years of north-south civil war. The deal, signed in January, grants the south a referendum on self-determination after six years.
- Analysts say Kiir's stature within the SPLA/M has grown in recent years. Kiir never directly challenged Garang's leadership of the movement, saying he was a soldier not a politician. But he is one of a few SPLA/M leaders who voiced dissent in recent months over Garang's control over decision making.
- Observers say Kiir's humble and quiet character could lead to reconciliation with other southern leaders.
- He was appointed SPLA chief of staff in 1999 and had been deputy chairman of the SPLA/M high command since 1997.
