Johannesburg - As mourners began filing past the flag-draped coffin of former rebel leader John Garang on Tuesday, international mediators were mobilising to ensure that the fragile peace agreement in the Sudan did not die with him.
Newly-elected leader Salva Kiir Mayardit called for calm after rioting followed the announcement of Garang's death in a helicopter crash on Saturday.
The body of the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement was laid out at the group's headquarters in New Site, southern Sudan.
For many, Garang was the embodiment of the SPLA/M. He lead the rebel group through more than two decades of war and, finally, to a peace deal with the government.
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Silva Kiir Mayardit had been Garang's deputy since the start of the organisation in 1983.
Three weeks before his death, Garang was sworn in as first vice-president. His arrival in Khartoum for the first time in 22 years was an occasion witnessed by about six million Sudanese people.
Garang had successfully concluded a peace deal with Khartoum, but the delicate negotiations and the fragile dispensation resulting from it have been left in the balance.
The on-off conflicts in Darfur and in eastern Sudan, where Garang was well-positioned as a mediator and confidante, have also been left in jeopardy.
There are also questions about confidential discussions between Garang and the Khartoum government.
Because only a few people from Garang's inner circle were privy to these discussions, there is a real fear that the talks have suffered a severe setback.
US President George Bush has dispatched two envoys to the Sudan to ensure that the road map for peace continues without any significant hiccups.
Mohamed Guyo, Director of the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, said he expected the national disarmament process to falter because of the uncertainty left by the death of Garang.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Mercury on August 03, 2005
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