[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2172-H2174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE LATE DR. JOHN GARANG DE 
                                 MABIOR

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 98) honoring the life and achievements of the 
late Dr. John Garang de Mabior and reaffirming the continued commitment 
of the House of Representatives to a just and lasting peace in the 
Republic of the Sudan, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H. Res. 98

       Whereas Dr. John Garang de Mabior, founder and leader of 
     the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), was 
     born on June 23, 1945, in Bor, Sudan;
       Whereas Dr. Garang joined the Anya-Nya Movement in 1970, a 
     liberation movement in Southern Sudan, and after the 1972 
     Addis Ababa Peace Agreement, he became a member of the 
     Sudanese Armed Forces;
       Whereas as Deputy Director of the Military Research Branch 
     of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Dr. Garang demonstrated his 
     leadership abilities in the early stages of his military 
     career;
       Whereas Dr. Garang studied economics at Grinnell College 
     and received his master of arts and doctorate degrees from 
     Iowa State University;
       Whereas Dr. Garang skillfully managed to consolidate his 
     base after the devastating split in the SPLM/A in 1991;
       Whereas as the undisputed leader of the SPLM/A, Dr. Garang 
     demonstrated remarkable political and military leadership for 
     over two decades;
       Whereas Dr. Garang was a soldier, a scholar, a statesman, 
     and a father, who had a clear vision and unwavering love for 
     his people and country;
       Whereas Dr. Garang fought for 22 years to achieve a just 
     peace for his people, but only served 21 days as First Vice 
     President of Sudan;
       Whereas Dr. Garang fought not only for the people in 
     Southern Sudan, but also for the forgotten and long 
     marginalized people of the Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue 
     Nile, Darfur, and other regions of the country;
       Whereas Dr. Garang worked tirelessly to help build 
     international support for a new Sudan that would be multi-
     ethnic, multi-religious, democratic, and united;
       Whereas the new Sudan envisioned by Dr. Garang, if fully 
     realized, would be a country in which all Sudanese would live 
     in peace without discrimination and hatred, with equality, 
     pride, and dignity;
       Whereas Dr. Garang creatively and painstakingly managed the 
     often conflicting aspirations of his people for an 
     independent Southern Sudan and his vision for a new Sudan;
       Whereas the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed 
     by the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A on January 9, 2005, 
     provides Southern Sudan the right to self determination 
     through a referendum after six years and also offers the 
     northern establishment in Sudan the opportunity to make unity 
     attractive during the interim period;
       Whereas on July 8, 2005, millions of people throughout 
     Sudan came to show their support in Khartoum when Dr. Garang 
     was sworn in as First Vice President of Sudan; and
       Whereas on July 30, 2005, Dr. John Garang died in a 
     helicopter crash returning to Southern Sudan from Uganda: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) honors the life and achievements of Dr. John Garang de 
     Mabior;
       (2) reaffirms its commitment to a just and lasting peace in 
     the Republic of the Sudan;
       (3) calls for full implementation of the Comprehensive 
     Peace Agreement without any delay;
       (4) strongly urges the people of Southern Sudan and its 
     leaders to continue to support Dr. Garang's vision for a new 
     Sudan;
       (5) strongly urges the full commitment of the United 
     States, the United Nations, the European Union, the African 
     Union, and the League of Arab States to support Dr. Garang's 
     vision for a new Sudan by endorsing democratic elections 
     throughout Sudan in 2009, as provided by the Comprehensive 
     Peace Agreement;
       (6) strongly supports the creation of a Dr. John Garang de 
     Mabior Institute for Agriculture, Peace, and Economic 
     Development in Southern Sudan; and
       (7) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to 
     transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the Secretary 
     of State with a request that the Secretary transmit it to Dr. 
     Garang's widow, Rebecca Garang, and to the Government of 
     Southern Sudan, through the Office of the Sudan People's 
     Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the District of Columbia.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Payne) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in strong support of House Resolution 98.
  Let me begin by thanking Chairman Lantos for his leadership in the 
Foreign Affairs Committee, which allowed our resolution to come through 
the committee, and our ranking member. And I would like to also give 
special acknowledgment to Congressman Frank Wolf, who for many, many 
years, even preceding my entrance to Congress, was working on issues 
dealing with the problem in Sudan. And he worked very closely with the 
late Dr. John Garang de Mabior to help bring about peace in southern 
Sudan.
  Madam Speaker, H. Res. 98 honors the life and achievements of Dr. 
John Garang de Mabior and reaffirms the continued commitment of the 
House of Representatives to a just and lasting peace in Sudan. The 
resolution honors the life and achievements of Dr. Garang; reaffirms 
its commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Republic of Sudan; 
calls for the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
without delay; strongly urges the people of southern Sudan and its 
leaders to continue to support Dr. Garang's vision for a new Sudan; and 
strongly supports the creation of a Dr. John Garang de Mabior Institute 
for Agriculture, Peace, and Economic Development in southern Sudan.
  Dr. Garang had a vision for a new Sudan, a Sudan which is 
multicultural, multi-ethnic, and peaceful. He fought for 21 years as 
the leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army to achieve 
a just peace for his people but only served 21 days as the first Vice 
President of Sudan before being killed in a tragic and mysterious 
helicopter crash on July 30, 2005, in his region of south Sudan where 
he was to be sworn in as President.
  Dr. John, as he was affectionately called, was a powerful human being 
and a symbol of a people's freedom from oppression. Dr. John was born 
into a poor family of the Dinka ethnic group in the Upper Nile region 
of Sudan. He was orphaned by the age of 10 but supported by his family 
members. When the first civil war started in 1962, he was too young to 
fight and was sent away to school in Tanzania and later came to the 
U.S. to get his degree and studied at the University of California 
Berkeley but decided to go back.

[[Page H2173]]

                              {time}  1230

  The fact is that Dr. Garang was a person that we honor and respected 
so much, and he will live on in that country. But there was this tragic 
and mysterious crash on July 30, 2005, which took his life. At the time 
I was traveling the region in hopes of seeing Dr. Garang in Southern 
Sudan to discuss the status of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It 
was a terribly saddening situation when I received the news of his 
crash.
  Besides leaving behind a wife and five children, he also was mourned 
by the people of all of Sudan, from east, west, the center, to the 
north as well as the south. They all saw him as their hope for future 
peace and justice in Sudan.
  Thankfully, the number two member of the SPLM, Dr. Salva Kiir, was 
installed as the new first vice president of the government of Sudan 
and President of the government of South Sudan, and we are working to 
help professionalize the government of Southern Sudan and the SPLA. 
This is a critical time for real and lasting peace in Sudan.
  We must support the government of Southern Sudan in development 
efforts and arrange for elections in 2 years. We also must ensure that 
the people of Southern Sudan get the right to self-determination 
through a referendum in 2011, as provided for in the Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement.
  I have followed the crisis in Sudan for most of the last 21 years as 
the Islamic government in Khartoum waged war against the Sudanese 
People's Liberation Army/Movement and the people of the south. More 
than 4 million people were displaced from Southern Sudan, and over 2 
million people were killed over the course of this 21 year war.
  During that time, the National Islamist Front Government, led by Omar 
el Bashir, committed innumerable brutalities of unimaginable scope 
against the people of the South and the marginalized areas of Southern 
Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains. It was the longest running war in Africa 
until January 9, 2005, when the parties signed the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement.
  I was in Nairobi for the signing of the CPA and was cautiously 
hopeful that the long awaited peace in Sudan would work. However, once 
the north-south conflict reached a point where an agreement was 
imminent, the government began its attack on the innocent civilians in 
Darfur. With the help of the Janjaweed, the National Congress Party, 
formerly the National Islamic Front, had destroyed villages and 
communities, and maimed, raped, killed and terrorized the people of 
Darfur.
  In the annual Country Report on Human Rights released today, the 
State Department called Darfur ``the most sobering reality in 2006.'' 
Over 400,000 are dead; more than 2.5 million displaced.
  The people of Sudan have suffered tremendously under the hands of 
this government which, by the way, came to power in a bloody coup in 
1989. This same government harbored Osama bin Laden for 5 years between 
1991 and 1996. He plotted several terrorist attacks from there.
  However, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement so many people have worked 
for has not been implemented fully, and the genocide in Darfur is not 
abating. We must be firm with Khartoum. Khartoum must comply with the 
CPA. Khartoum must stop the killings in Darfur.
  I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this resolution.
  I also want to take the opportunity on the floor of the House of 
Representatives to congratulate Ghana on 50 years of independence from 
Britain. Today, people from all over Ghana and all over the world and 
many heads of state are celebrating the first Sub-Saharan country to 
gain its independence 50 years ago. So the correlation between the new 
Southern Sudan and what happened 50 years ago in Ghana is very 
important.
  Let us remember that Ghana's first leader, Kwame Nkrumah, had a broad 
vision of African unity. President Nkrumah did not make a distinction 
between north and south. He called it one continent. His belief is in 
one Africa, one of the underpinnings for African unity.
  So Africa certainly has a long way to go, but the continent as a 
whole is more stable today than it was many years ago, and with better 
governance and use of resources, as well as fairer trade policies by 
the U.S. and other Western countries, African countries can grow and 
develop into one of the most important areas in the world.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Payne for his words. I am also 
pleased to support House Resolution 98, highlighting the life and 
achievements of the late John Garang and reaffirming the commitment of 
the House to a just and lasting peace in Sudan.
  While much attention is currently focused on the crisis in Darfur and 
that region of western Sudan, it is critical that we do not allow 
ourselves to become complacent in the south. After all, it was in the 
south that over 20 years of war between the government in Khartoum and 
the Sudan People's Liberation Army left over 2 million people dead and 
4 million others displaced. It was in the south that the government of 
Sudan honed its craft in genocide, manipulating ethnic tensions, arming 
proxy militias, conducting aerial bombardments of civilians and 
engaging in forced displacement, mass murder, looting, torture and 
rape. It was also in the south that a generation of boys was lost, 
having been forcibly conscripted to serve as child soldiers for the 
Armed Forces of Sudan, associated militias and the Sudan People's 
Liberation Army.
  Any analyst will tell you that war is a terrible business, and the 
war in Southern Sudan was no exception. There were no saints. That 
said, it is clear that without the leadership of Dr. Garang, it is 
likely that the oppressors would have succeeded and that the 
opportunity for peace presented by the conclusion of the Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement for Sudan in 2005 would have been lost.
  Dr. Garang envisioned a united democratic Sudan, a country in which 
all citizens enjoyed the freedom to live, to worship and to prosper 
without the fear of discrimination or persecution. If realized, this 
dream would proffer untold benefits, not only for the people of the 
south, but also for those fighting inequality in eastern Sudan and 
Darfur. He fought fiercely toward this end and succeeded in overcoming 
seemingly insurmountable challenges so that the south could negotiate 
with one voice.
  After years of negotiations and countless failed attempts, it 
appeared that Dr. Garang's efforts would finally pay off in January of 
2005 as the historic peace agreement which would end Africa's longest 
running civil war was signed in Nairobi, Kenya. His tragic death on 
July 30, 2005 proved to be the first major test of the Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement for Sudan. Unfortunately, it would not be the last.
  It is critical that the United States Government not lose sight of 
the challenges that remain in implementation. Too many innocents have 
died. It is time for all Sudanese to pursue the path toward peace and 
it is incumbent upon us to help them on their way.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of H. Res. 98. I rise to honor the life and achievements of the 
late Dr. John Garang de Mabior. I rise to reaffirm the continued 
commitment of the House of Representatives to a just and lasting peace 
in the Republic of the Sudan.
  Let me express my thanks to Mr. Payne and Mr. Wolf, the chair and 
ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health of the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, respectively. I also wish to express my 
appreciation to the many other co-sponsors of this resolution who have 
worked long and hard to help bring about a just and lasting peace in 
Southern Sudan.
  Madam Speaker, the life of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, ``Dr. John,'' 
as he was affectionately called, is testimony to mankind's innate 
capacity to do good and a powerful symbol of a peoples' struggle for 
freedom. In honoring Dr. John today, we also keep alive the dreams of 
his people. One day peace and justice will flow like milk and honey for 
all people throughout Southern Sudan.
  Dr. John was born into a poor family of the Dinka ethnic group, in 
the Upper Nile Region of Sudan. He was orphaned by the age of 10 but 
was supported by his family members. It truly took a village to raise a 
child and what a child he was!

[[Page H2174]]

  When the civil war broke out in 1962, Dr. John was too young to fight 
and was sent away to high school in Tanzania. In 1969, he earned a 
scholarship attend Grinnell College in Iowa. After graduation he could 
have attended graduate school at the University of California at 
Berkeley but turned it down, choosing instead, to return to Tanzania to 
study agricultural economics where he could be closer to his people.
  In 1972, Dr. John joined the Sudanese military and became a career 
soldier. He eventually took a leave and earned his doctorate in 
agricultural economics from the University of Iowa. But a life of 
academic repose was not for Dr. John for he was a man of action and 
passion. And the actions and passions of his time called him to a life 
of struggle on behalf of the oppressed people of his country.
  In 1983, Dr. John left the military and joined the newly created 
Sudanese Peoples' Liberation Army, a movement opposed to the imposition 
of Sharia law. Thus began his long career as the political and military 
leader of the people of Southern Sudan.
  Throughout this struggle, Dr. John developed a strong political and 
personal relationship with many Members of the House of 
Representatives.
  The struggle for justice in Sudan was not a partisan issue for 
Members of Congress. Strong bonds of collegiality and friendship were 
formed through our efforts to shape U.S. foreign policy toward Sudan.
  In that sense, Dr. John's life and struggle, and the struggle of the 
Southern Sudanese people served to unite Democrats and Republicans in a 
common cause for freedom.
  When I first met with Dr. John in my congressional office, I recall 
he did not waste words. In his soft-spoken way, he laid out very 
clearly his vision for Southern Sudan. And, in his highly dignified 
way, this powerfully charismatic man of deep conviction and strong 
moral character asked for my support and the support of the United 
States Congress on behalf of his people. It was clear to me then, as it 
is now, that Dr. John lived a purposeful life of singular devotion to 
the liberation and well-being of his people.
  Dr. John's tragic death in the mountains of Uganda shocked the world. 
It seems enormously unjust for this man, who brought his people through 
a long and devastating civil war, who became Vice President of Sudan, 
and who later became head of Southern Sudan, to die in 2005 in a 
helicopter crash.
  Madam Speaker, out of this historic tragedy, the people of Southern 
Sudan have been called to carry on. As Dr. John said after being 
inaugurated: ``I congratulate the Sudanese people. This is not my peace 
or the peace of al-Bashir; it is the peace of the Sudanese people.''
  Madam Speaker, the recognition this House today gives Dr. John Garang 
de Mabior should also remind us of the importance of redoubling our 
resolve to end the genocide in Darfur. There is wide-spread and broad- 
based consensus in America and between Democrats and Republicans that 
the ongoing genocide in Darfur is intolerable and must be ended. Thus, 
this is an area in which there is ample opportunity for the Congress 
and the Bush administration to find common ground to alleviate the 
overwhelming suffering in Darfur.
  Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a 
systematic campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, mass murder, and 
terror as we are witnessing in Darfur for the last 3 years. At least 
400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians 
have been forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons 
camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad; and more than 
3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on 
international aid for survival. Unless the world stirs from its slumber 
and takes concerted and decisive action to relieve this suffering, the 
ongoing genocide in Darfur will stand as one of the blackest marks on 
humankind for centuries to come. The people of Darfur cannot wait. The 
time has come for decisive leadership from the United States.
  It has been more than 2 years since I and my colleagues in the 
Congressional Black Caucus Darfur Task Force met with Secretary Colin 
Powell to press successfully for the administration to declare that the 
campaign of ethnic cleansing and atrocities carried out against 
civilians primarily by the Government of Sudan and its allied Janjaweed 
militias is genocide.
  It has been more than a year since I flew to Chad and walked across 
the border to Sudan and met with African Union troops who pleaded for 
more peacekeeping authority and the resources to protect the refugees 
from violence, rather than merely monitor it. After returning from that 
Congressional delegation, I worked with other Members of Congress to 
secure increased funding to aid the thousands of Sudanese displaced to 
refugee camps in Chad and to provide additional funding to assist Chad 
in responding to the humanitarian crisis.
  It has been almost 2 years since the UN Security Council adopted 
Resolution 1556 demanding that the government of Sudan disarm the 
Janjaweed. This demand was later followed by Resolution 1706, which 
authorizes a 20,000 strong U.N. peacekeeping force.
  It has been 6 months since the Darfur Peace Agreement was brokered in 
May 2006 between the Government of Sudan and one faction of Darfur 
rebels.
  But still the violence continues; indeed, the violence is escalating. 
This violence is making it even more dangerous, if not impossible, for 
most of the millions of displaced persons to return to their homes and 
for humanitarian relief agencies to bring food and medical aid. 
According to Jan Egeland, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official, the 
situation in Darfur is ``going from real bad to catastrophic.''
  We have come full circle. Violence is increasing, peace treaties are 
falling apart, and again as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus 
Darfur Taskforce and a ranking member on the House Judiciary 
immigration subcommittee, I have been meeting with Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice seeking an increase in the number of refugee visas for 
Darfur students to come to the United States to study. I will continue 
my ongoing, unceasing efforts to end the suffering in Darfur and bring 
peace to Sudan. These efforts include intensifying my discussions with 
Secretary Rice, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, 
representatives of the Arab League, and humanitarian groups such as 
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and various African public 
policy groups to discuss ways and means of bringing peace to that 
troubled land.
  It is also not too early to begin the hard thinking and hard work 
needed to transform the Darfur region from killing field to 
economically, politically, and socially viable and peaceful community. 
This work will, of course, require the active and purposeful engagement 
of the United States and other key stakeholders, such as China, and the 
Arab League. In this connection, I have been engaged in an on-going 
dialogue with government representatives of Egypt, a dialogue that has 
already yielded significant dividends. For example, Egypt has 
implemented several fast track projects in southern Sudan in different 
sectors involving health, agriculture, electricity, irrigation, 
infrastructure, and education in order to make unity an even more 
attractive option to the people of south Sudan.

  It must be noted that no just and lasting peace in Sudan can be 
achieved without the responsible intervention of China. For too long 
China, which is Sudan's biggest oil customer, has also served as 
Khartoum's enabler and protector by preventing the U.N. Security 
Council from imposing more serious sanctions on Sudan in response to 
the genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. As former 
Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick stated in a major policy 
speech on China a year ago: ``China should take more than oil from 
Sudan--it should take some responsibility for resolving Sudan's human 
crisis.'' Based on my meetings with Zhou Wenzhong, China's ambassador 
to the United States, I am hopeful that China can be persuaded to 
provide the type of constructive leadership in Sudan befitting a great 
power.
  There is much work to be done and not much time, Madam Speaker. And I 
have no doubt that our response will be worthy of our responsibility as 
a world leader. But today, it is right and good and just to pause, 
reflect, and honor the remarkable life of a remarkable human being--Dr. 
John Garang de Mabior, which we will do by adopting H. Res. 98.
  I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting the resolution.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAYNE. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 98, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________