It is indeed interested to ponder on how the International Community would have dealt with Sudan if he were still alive.
Would the West be able to turn its back on him, the darling of the NGO’s and both the US Evangelical Right and the Pro-Israeli Left?
I think he was assassinated precisely so that he wouldn’t be able to achieve something for the ‘united Sudan’ he dreamt of.
But I don’t trust him.
He had no economic platform.
He was a populist and his rhetoric was at many times naive.
He wrote his PhD thesis on the merits of the Jonglei Canal in the development of the south and then had it bombed when it was 3/4 finished.
He provided aid to the Sudan Liberation Movement during the Naivasha peace talks as a pressure tactic against the government.
I guess that gamble didn’t pay off.
Dr Garang was a rebel through and through and not made for nation building.
Regardless of my views on him, his death was undoubtedly a loss for Sudan.
I am sure things wouldn’t have gone this bad if he were still alive. But a “united Sudan” seems like a far fetched dream, and the government refuses to divide the North and South because of all the riches in the South that caused the civil war to begin with.
I am worried about the future of Sudan- I think we should all be, especially after this arrest warrant.
“But I don’t trust him.
He had no economic platform.
He was a populist and his rhetoric was at many times naive.”
Well I can say all that about Al-Bashir and much much more….
Garang rebellious nature might have been the factor needed to ward off international intervention.
Plus, I’d rather have Garang around, with his own agenda rather than Al-Bashir who started out as Al-Turabi’s puppet and ended up leading the country to total Chaos.
Nobody knows what Sudan would have been like if Garang was still alive, but I can safely assume it couldn’t have been worse than it is now…
To a worm in horseradish, the whole world is horseradish.
Who am I?
I am a Sudanese optimist and a business major with a passion for philanthropy. Yes, you guessed correctly, I love paradoxes. This blog is a literary melting pot of all the diverse ideas that I can cognitively recall and write down-- I promise I will not be biased against any of those ideas, even when they sound like Sarah Palin's verbal diarrhea, circa 2008 elections. In this blog, no topic is off limits.It must be noted that I fancy sarcasm, irony, and controversy. Buckle down and enjoy the ride to controversy town!
4 Comments
March 4, 2009 at 7:07 am
Dr Garang is not the Messiah.
It is indeed interested to ponder on how the International Community would have dealt with Sudan if he were still alive.
Would the West be able to turn its back on him, the darling of the NGO’s and both the US Evangelical Right and the Pro-Israeli Left?
I think he was assassinated precisely so that he wouldn’t be able to achieve something for the ‘united Sudan’ he dreamt of.
But I don’t trust him.
He had no economic platform.
He was a populist and his rhetoric was at many times naive.
He wrote his PhD thesis on the merits of the Jonglei Canal in the development of the south and then had it bombed when it was 3/4 finished.
He provided aid to the Sudan Liberation Movement during the Naivasha peace talks as a pressure tactic against the government.
I guess that gamble didn’t pay off.
Dr Garang was a rebel through and through and not made for nation building.
Regardless of my views on him, his death was undoubtedly a loss for Sudan.
March 4, 2009 at 11:42 pm
[...] Sudanese Optimist simply says, “I wonder…why did John Garang have to die?” [...]
March 5, 2009 at 5:50 am
I am sure things wouldn’t have gone this bad if he were still alive. But a “united Sudan” seems like a far fetched dream, and the government refuses to divide the North and South because of all the riches in the South that caused the civil war to begin with.
I am worried about the future of Sudan- I think we should all be, especially after this arrest warrant.
March 5, 2009 at 9:48 pm
“But I don’t trust him.
He had no economic platform.
He was a populist and his rhetoric was at many times naive.”
Well I can say all that about Al-Bashir and much much more….
Garang rebellious nature might have been the factor needed to ward off international intervention.
Plus, I’d rather have Garang around, with his own agenda rather than Al-Bashir who started out as Al-Turabi’s puppet and ended up leading the country to total Chaos.
Nobody knows what Sudan would have been like if Garang was still alive, but I can safely assume it couldn’t have been worse than it is now…