US state funeral services for Jimmy Carter unfold in his hometown

HOUSTON -- US state funeral services honoring 39th president Jimmy Carter unfolded on Saturday in his hometown Plains, Georgia, where the statesman passed away at 100 on Dec 29.

Hundreds of mourners lined the streets when Carter's motorcade left for Atlanta, some 260 km away from the capital city of his home state. Flowers were laid at the base of the Carter monument in downtown Plains and rangers rang a farm bell 39 times at his Boyhood Farm when the motorcade stopped by.

The mood in the rural town, where Carter spent most of his life, "wasn't one of sorrow or grief. Rather, there was a sense of overwhelming gratitude for all that the peanut farmer-turned-commander in chief accomplished during his century on earth," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"It's amazing what you can cram into a hundred years," grandson Jason Carter, the chair of the Carter Presidential Center's board, said on Saturday afternoon at a ceremony in the non-profit organization, which houses the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, after the motorcade arrived.

"His spirit fills this place," Jason Carter told the audience, including many Carter Center employees, "You continue the vibrant living legacy of what is my grandfather's life work."

During his presidency from 1977 to 1981, Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaties that restores Panama's full jurisdiction over the Panama Canal Zone, starting from 2000, and guarantees its neutrality. He also witnessed the inking of the landmark Camp David Accords, a peace deal between Egypt and Israel in 1978.

In December 1978, China and the United States issued the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America. On Jan 1, 1979, the two countries officially established diplomatic ties.

China deeply mourns the passing of Jimmy Carter, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday, calling Carter a promoter and decision-maker in the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.

After leaving the presidency, Carter and his wife Rosalynn established the non-governmental organization Carter Center, a platform for global humanitarian efforts that helped shape his post-presidential legacy.

"President Carter's leadership contributed significantly to international peace and security," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said upon the former president's death. "His legacy as a peacemaker, human rights champion and humanitarian will endure."

Carter will lie in repose at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta through Tuesday. The funeral journey will then continue toward Washington, D.C., where the former president will lie in state in the US Capitol for a day and a half.

A state funeral is scheduled for Thursday morning at Washington National Cathedral, where President Joe Biden is expected to deliver a eulogy. Afterwards, Carter will be buried in his hometown next to his wife Rosalynn, who died in 2023 after 77 years of their marriage.