YEI, Sudan: Ugandas
president said yesterday the helicopter crash that
killed Sudanese vice president John Garang may not have
been an accident, dropping a bombshell on thousands
mourning the death of the ex-rebel leader in south
Sudan.
Some people say accident, it may be an
accident, it may be something else, President Yoweri
Museveni said, becoming the first official of any
government to publicly suggest Saturdays crash may have
been the result of foul play.
The (helicopter) was very well
equipped, this was my (helicopter) the one I am flying
all the time, I am not ruling anything out, he said,
noting that an international panel of experts had been
appointed to look into the crash.
Either the pilot panicked... either
there was some side wind or the instruments failed or
there was an external factor, Museveni told mourners in
Yei where Garangs body was brought ahead of his funeral
in Juba today.
His comments were met with stony
silence from the crowd, which had earlier greeted the
arrival of Garangs coffin with wailing, ululation and
prayer.
Garangs successor as chief of the
Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), Salva
Kiir, declined to comment on the specifics of Musevenis
remarks but said the group was eager to hear the results
of the probe.
All options are open and cannot be
ruled out, Kiir told reporters after calling on
mourners to reject the violence that has engulfed parts
of Sudan since Garangs death and urging them to hold to
their ex-leaders vision for peace.
Let us follow the footsteps of our
leader, he told the crowd.
This is not the time for rioting,
Kiir said, blaming unspecified opponents of peace for
wanting to provoke a situation that would lead us back
to war.
In Khartoum and Juba, senior SPLM/A
officials cautioned against making any assumptions about
the cause of the crash as did a diplomat in Bor,
Garangs birthplace where his coffin was brought after
Yei.
We dont have anything to suggest it
was caused by sabotage, SPLM/A spokesman Pagan Amun
said in Khartoum.
In Juba, SPLM/A General Pieng Deng told
reporters that the flight data recorder from the
helicopter had been recovered at the crash site.
Up to now we believe it is an accident
but let the investigation end... as leaders, we cannot
say anything until the investigation is concluded.
In Bor, the diplomat said Musevenis
remarks on the eve of the funeral were unfortunate and
noted that the Ugandan leader is under personal
pressure because it was his own helicopter.
Garang and 13 others died when
Musevenis presidential Mi-172 helicopter went down in
the mountains of southern Sudan, sparking days of
violence in Khartoum and the south that saw 130 killed
and hundreds wounded.
However, relative calm returned to the streets of
Khartoum yesterday as shop-owners reopened for business
amid a noticeably lower security presence.
AFP
