[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E529]
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

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 6, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of 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 ensuring peace in the Sudan.
  Born in 1945 to a poor family in Wagkulei village in Sudan, Dr. 
Garang was orphaned by the age of ten. Described as charismatic and a 
natural leader, he joined the first Sudanese civil war in 1962 but, 
because of his youth, was encouraged to pursue his education. After 
obtaining a B.A. in economics in 1969 from Grinnell College, an M.A. 
and Ph.D. from Iowa State University and studying East African 
agricultural economics as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow at the University 
of Dar es Salaam he returned home to join the Sudanese rebels.
  A professional military man, Dr. Garang quickly rose through the 
ranks of the Sudanese military, which he joined following the Addis 
Ababa agreement of 1972. Peter Moszynski, a writer and aid worker who 
covered the Sudanese war, describes Dr. Garang as ``an expert in 
survival: someone who knew how to bend with the wind yet maintain his 
political objectives, someone who knew how to seem all things to all 
men.'' This description not only captures the enigmatic nature of a man 
who remained at the center of guerrilla warfare for more than 20 years, 
but also explains how Dr. Garang became the undisputed leader of the 
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Committed to 
obtaining a just peace for his people he worked tirelessly and 
diligently to build support for a new Sudan, one that would be multi-
ethnic, multi-religious, democratic and above all, united.
  Dr. Garang was instrumental in the passage of the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement, signed by the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A in 2005, 
which gave southern Sudan the right to self determination and pushed 
for unity between the North and South. This Peace Agreement is 
representative of Dr. Garang's vision for a united Sudan, a Sudan 
committed to equity, democracy and peace.
  As we continue to work toward ending the genocide throughout the 
region it is imperative that we remember the work and life of Dr. 
Garang. A man of true conviction and unfaltering courage; a man who 
believed, as I do, that unity, peace and democracy are achievable in 
the Sudan.

                          ____________________