KHARTOUM, 10 July 2005 — John Garang, the former rebel leader who spent 21 years fighting the Khartoum government, was sworn in as first vice president yesterday, pledging to promote the unity of the country a day after nearly 1 million people welcomed his return to the capital. Garang took the oath just after President Omar Bashir signed an interim constitution that promises broader freedoms for Sudanese and brought an end to the state of emergency that has been in place off and on since 1989.
“Today, July 9, 2005, is Sudan’s day,” Garang said in a speech after his inauguration. He pledged to work hand in hand with Bashir and promised that “Sudan will never be the same again.” The president urged Sudanese to “overcome the bitterness of the past” and move forward, vowing more freedoms and normalization across the country.
“Our people are keen to enter a new era, and to achieve its hopes we have to discard violence and open the windows of tolerance,” Bashir said. “We have to develop our national economy, increase our production and work for eradication of poverty.”
Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, who as vice president was one of the major brokers of the January peace accord that paved the way for yesterday’s ceremonies, was sworn in as vice president. Though Garang will be second to the president and even have veto power, Taha will still play a powerful role as the second-highest ruling party official after Bashir.
Garang, who returned to Khartoum the day before for the first time in 22 years, is the first southerner and Christian to hold such a high position in the largely Islamic government.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called it “a day of great hope for the Sudanese people, who have suffered so long.” But he warned that the unity symbolized by the new government was incomplete and precarious.
“During the six-year interim period that lies ahead, all of you, the Sudanese, and all of us, your friends in the international community, must work together to preserve and nourish this tender plant, so that it grows into a sturdy tree of peace, prosperity and freedom for all the people of Sudan,” Annan told the audience that included several regional heads of state and foreign and Sudanese officials.
Saturday was declared a public holiday because of the ceremonies. Most downtown roads leading to the Republican Palace were blocked off and guarded by soldiers, and the public had been advised the day before not to drive in central Khartoum.
On Friday, Garang received a massive welcome at Green Square in northern Khartoum. Organizers said 1 million people filled the vast square, in what many said was the largest public gathering since Pope John Paul II visited in 1993. Garang stayed only a few minutes, blowing kisses and waving to the cheering, ecstatic people.
