Colonel Dr John Garang, rebel chief in southern Sudan
1986 - Rebels hamper election in Southern Sudan: Since last Tuesday an experiment in democracy is going on in the Sudan. For the first time in 18 years the Sudanese people can choose their preferred candidates for parliament among different parties. But democracy in the Sudan isn't yet perfect. In the black African southern Sudan voting will be restricted to few areas which are still under the control of government troops. Virtually all of the swamp and grassland and some of the southern towns are left over to rebel-chief Colonel Dr. John Garang (picture taken in southern Sudan, near Malakal) and his Sudanese People's Liberation Front (SPLA). Garang gained his doctoral thesis in economics in the US. The rebels who are fighting since 1983 against the arab-islamic dominated central government in Khartoum refuse to participate in the elections. The main reason for the revolt of the black population in the south was the introduction of the Sharia, the islamic law in all parts of the country, even in the Christian south
