Former rebel chief John Garang took his place in the Sudanese leadership on Saturday, swearing the oath of office as first vice president in a peace government. At a ceremony in the presidential palace, six months after a peace agreement between north and south, Garang became deputy to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who signed an interim constitution and took his own oath of office. Garang and Bashir took their oaths of office under the eyes of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Arab League chief Amr Moussa and African heads of state, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, according to a report of Reuters. Bashir spoke in Arabic, the language of the Arabised north, and Garang in English, the language preferred by many educated southerners, reflecting the diversity of Sudan, which has dozens of languages and ethnicities. Muslim and Christian clerics introduced the ceremony. "For the first time in many years, a lasting peace for all the people of Sudan is now within reach. To secure that peace, no effort must be spared," Kofi Annan told the gathering. "This is a great day. A new Sudan is being created which gives us a lot of hope for the future and for the Sudanese," added Amr Moussa of the Arab League. "This sets the first, very important step in creating a new government of national unity ... that needs to include all marginalized people and ensure that peace becomes comprehensive," said Norwegian Minister for International Development Hilde Johnson.
