RUMBEK, Sudan, 1 October 2003 — Thousands of southern Sudanese yesterday turned out in the war-scarred town of Rumbek to hear rebel leader John Garang describe the latest advances in efforts to end 20 years of devastating civil war.
More than 10 bulls were slaughtered to welcome Garang in the town’s Freedom Square, 900 kilometers south of the capital Khartoum, where some people sang, others cried and a few fainted from the intense heat. “The war has been long and people have been fatigued — the government’s side and even me — but I shall not surrender you,” Garang told the rally on a bumpy football pitch.
The rebel leader, accompanied by top commanders from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, was in Rumbek to update people on peace talks being held in Kenya which aim to halt Africa’s longest conflict, in which at least 1.5 million people have been killed.
In Kenya last week, Garang and Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha signed an agreement on crucial security arrangements for the south over a six-year interim period which is to begin after a widely-expected comprehensive peace deal. “In Naivasha (the Kenyan town where peace talks were held), we negotiated with Vice President Taha for 21 days, each day representing one of the 21 years that we have been fighting for our freedom,” Garang said.
While thousands listened in the dusty town, which was taken over by the SPLA in May 1997, rebel soldiers stood guard nearby, armed with heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks, while others brandishing Kalashnikovs patrolled the neighborhood.
The ranks of the crowd were filled with anxious adults and scantly-dressed children with visible signs of malnourishment.
The listeners on the whole welcomed the security deal with guarded optimism because it paves the way for government troops to leave most of their southern positions.
Garang told the rally that he had decided to sign the agreement because it treated southern rebel forces as equals with government troops.
