Could a recent Ugandan helicopter crash in Sudan last weekend have dramatic parallels to an American jetliner crash in New York nine years ago? Technical details from the crash site are not yet available, but unrest is already brewing in a country that has a decades-long history of violence. The handling of the crash investigation could become the key to preventing, or starting, another African genocide.

As MND noted recently, the helicopter that crashed contained Sudan’s First Vice President, Dr. John Garang, and his entourage. In that column, without having read the news reports now coming from Africa, I speculated that the timing of the crash seemed suspicious. But, speculation is now coming from an official source: the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni. And, his speculation carries special weight, because Vice President Garang was flying in President Museveni’s helicopter when it crashed.

This presents a unique situation. As I reported in my recent column about Sudan, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team of crash investigators to the crash site in Sudan. And, the Government of Sudan (GoS) has specified that all information about the crash will be reported only to and by the GoS. But, because the helicopter belonged to Uganda, it seems reasonable that Ugandan officials would want to be more open about the results of the crash investigation.

President Museveni, by his remarks, appeared to be signaling that Uganda would indeed be open about crash details. As reported by AFP and others, President Museveni’s remarks were a “bombshell” to those attending memorial services for Vice President Garang. “The (helicopter) was very well equipped, this was my (helicopter) the one I am flying all the time, I am not ruling anything out,” Museveni said. In another news report, President Museveni specified that Uganda’s transport minister would launch a separate inquiry into the facts of the crash, and enlist the aid of another country.

President Museveni’s remarks were not the only bombshell. Three days before Vice President Garang was killed, the State of New Jersey passed Bill Number A3482: the Sudan Divestment Bill. The bill makes New Jersey the second of the United States to pull investment money out of Sudan in response to the religious and ethnic violence being perpetrated by the government of that country against its own citizens. (Illinois passed a similar bill in late June, just before Garang took office in early July.) Over ten years prior, New Jersey was the first state to pull its investment funds out of South Africa. That move inspired other states, colleges, and companies to do likewise. The result of those economic sanctions was the end of the apartheid government there. Could it be that the sudden divestiture of four billion dollars from the Sudanese economy had a ripple effect that caused the deaths of Vice President Garang and his entourage?

Despite the lack of hard facts at this early point, it is this writer’s opinion that Uganda would not have any responsibility for the crash. Why? Because assassinating Dr. Garang would work against Uganda’s interests. Tens of thousands of South Sudanese refugees have fled into neighboring countries, including Uganda. If Garang’s peace process takes hold in Sudan, those refugees could return home. But, it might be in the interest of the GoS to blame Ugandan aircraft maintenance workers, regardless of the true cause of the crash. Why? Because assassinating Garang would, in the short term, appear to work in the interests of the Government of Sudan. Certain factions within the GoS view Garang as a symbol of resistance to their Islamofascist rule. The best way for the GoS to rule out speculation that Garang was assassinated is total openness about all details surrounding the crash of Vice President Garang’s helicopter.

But, if some faction within the GoS is responsible for the Garang helicopter crash, then it is likely that the true cause of the crash would be covered up. The politically motivated cover-up of a catastrophic event, such as an aircraft crash, is called a Sham-800 — after the cover-up of the crash of TWA Flight 800.

Keep reading MensNewsDaily.com for details on whether Sudan will have its own Sham-800.

Tom Kovach