Presented for the Italian campaign, Sudan: a people without rights
Milan, September 17, 1999
Abstracts

The recent commencement of oil sales from Sudan could lesson the peace hopes. The goal of Khartoum regime is not only making Sudan a model Islamic state, but also of being the vehicle to which their brand of extreme Islam - was to be spread to the whole of Africa. In order to accomplish this, it needs the resources of the South at its disposal, mainly water and oil, as well as the technical assistance and unquestioning complicity of the West. 

Canadian petrol Companies
For over 5 years, oil companies have been working in the Sudan to develop the oil industry there. The first Canadian company to get involved was a little known Calgary based oil company, Arakis Energy Corp. This corporation had been partnering with the Sudanese government, in a business consortium which also includes the state owned oil companies of China and Malaysia ; the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). By Arakis own admission, they were providing over 10.000 barrels of oil per day to the Sudan government refinery in El Obeid, a city in the middle of Sudan which has very few civilian vehicles. El Obeid is, however, a major air force base and center for military operations against the Sudanese people in southern Sudan and the Nuba mountains.

In order to ensure that production went ahead as planned, the area had to be secured against any possible threats from the opposition. In 1994, a campaign of terror spread into northern Bahr El Ghazal, especially around the Heglig and Bentiu oil fields. Local militias, known as Murahaleen, as well as splinter factions under warlords such as Kerubino Kwanyin Bol, and Paulino Matep, were heavily armed by Khartoum, and given the task of creating havoc in the area. These raiders were (and continue to be) very successful in causing widespread displacement of any ethnic groups in the area considered to be a potential opposition to the government. Thousands of internally displaced people began fleeing the oil field sites and areas within a 200 kilometer proximity radius. The militia raids and forced displacement hit an all time high, and was a major factor in precipitating the famine last year, in which an estimated 200.000 people died. Thousands more are living in peril, and are still facing death.

Yet Arakis had little credibility in Western stock markets. The shadowy connections between that company and various Pakistani business associates - some of whom were implicated in the BCCI scandal a few years back, scared away investors. The result being that Arakis was unable to raise the capital to complete the oil development - especially the 1500 kilometer pipeline from the oil fields to Port Sudan. In 1998 Talisman, another Canadian oil company, bought out Arakis. Talisman is the largest Canadian based independent oil and gas producer. Talisman’s main areas of operation are Canada, the North Sea, Indonesia and the Sudan, with smaller ventures in Algeria and Trinidad. This a well respected company; an influential corporation with plenty of capital. The decision to buy out Arakis was made with very little thought given to the impact on the human rights situation in the country. According to Talisman officials, Canadian officials expressed concerns only for the safety of the oil workers in a civil war context. It is unfortunate that at the very time when Talisman was reviewing the decision to link up with the Khartoum government, President Bill Clinton ordered the cruise missile attack on the El Shifa pharmacy; Assuming (incorrectly) that the spurious information which  prompted the attack on El Shifa was typical of all reports critical of the Khartoum regime, Talisman closed the partnership deal. Talisman also argued that the project would go ahead whether they were there or not; If the Canadians weren’t there, the Germans, or Dutch, or Italians, or someone else would be. So Canadian companies may as well cash in on the deal - an argument which could be used to justify the participation of companies in any number of illicit and immoral business activities.

In response to a myriad of letters written by human rights groups and churches across Canada, Dr. Buckee stated categorically that he had « seen nothing to lead him to believed that his company was propping up a malign regime ». Clearly the company, for obvious reasons, is working it hardest to present the Sudan regime in a very positive light. They have even hired a former Canadian career diplomat - the former ambassador to the united Arab Emirates - to be their public relations official.

Talisman officials have never visited the areas of Sudan affected by the humanitarian flight bans, the man-made famines, the slave trade, and acts of genocide. Yet since they are on the ground, many perceive them to be knowledge about the facts. Their presence in Sudan is serving to cloak the regime with a veil of legitimacy. In one fell swoop, the Khartoum regime has been able to regain lost ground from years of human rights advocacy by concerned groups. Those concerns are now minimized since - after all « the Canadians are there - it can’t be all that bad » ?

Consequences

Oil is a strategic weapon. The provision of oil, and oil revenues to the NIF will assist that regime in winning the war against its own people, and facilitate more human rights abuses, regardless of what rhetoric comes from Khartoum and their supporters. Up until recently, conventional wisdom has been that no side could win the civil war. Now, thanks in part to these Canadian Oil Companies, this may no longer be true.

Jim Buckee, Talisman Energy’s CEO acknowledged that approximately 250 million dollars from this initial oil investment would directly benefit the Sudan government. Yet this is only the tip of the iceberg. Add to this credit which Khartoum regime can gain from mortgaging future oil shipments ; and the good name it has already achieved from the IMF and it becomes increasingly apparent that Khartoum is fast acquiring the capital it needs to achieve its military objectives against the south. Talisman argues that the Sudan government has given them assurances that all this oil revenue is going to benefit the south by providing hospitals, roads, and humanitarian assistance. Recently, when asked by an interviewer if they really believe the Khartoum regime, Buckee replied : « I see no reason not to » ! Never mind that the party in power at Khartoum was the force behind Nimeiry’s abrogation of the Addis Ababa peace Agreement of 1972 and behind the Coup in 1989 geared at stopping a peace formula worked out between the SPLA and the elected government of Sadik El Mahdi.

The Sudan government has given their word, and that is all that these Canadian oil companies need to justify their partnership with a regime accused of genocide. Yet it is on these flimsy assurances, with no corresponding action, or even a pretense of a guarantee, which Talisman, the Canadian government, and much of the world are risking the lives and human rights of millions of innocent Sudanese.

It is a case where a Canadian company is in a formal, business partnership with one of the parties to the conflict - the party which has committed the lion’s share of human rights abuses. Talisman, as well as the Canadian government - through corporate taxation - has a pecuniary interest in ensuring that this present regime survives. Neither the oil company, nor the Canadian government, can be said to be neutral. It is disingenuous for a country like Canada to be on the one had talking about the need for peace in the Sudan, pressuring the warring parties to stoop fighting ; when their other hand is dipped in the till of oil revenues - revenues which can only be maintained if one side in the conflict remains in power.

But more importantly, why would a brutal junta, which has violated virtually every human right in the book, make peace with its adversary if it has the resources to be victorious and impose its own final solution ? In March 1999, the Sudanese Vice President, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha addressed a rally in Port Sudan saying « Will the start of the oil exportation, we will score a decisive victory against the rebel forces ».

For years, the Khartoum regime has kept the international community on a « peace process » All the while, it has been waiting for the oil to flow. With the oil revenues, they believe they can achieve « peace » on their terms - and their terms alone. And thanks to a myopic international community, their strategy so far appears to have worked. A just peace for the Sudan remains more elusive than ever.

Recommendations :

To day all people of good must work together. Specifically this means :

- Communicating clearly to our politicians and bureaucrats that there will, in fact, be a very heavy price to pay for allowing the preventable deaths of Africans to occur ; and

- communicating to the oil companies where they are most likely to be paying attention - on the bottom line ! As happened successfully in the cased of the apartheid regime in south Africa, we are calling for a campaign of divestment from any and all companies which provide strategic resources to the Khartoum regime until such time as there is a  just peace in Sudan. Until that time - sell your shares, and tell your friends to do the same ! Its blood money.

V.S. - The unabridged text of the intervention is on our web site.
During the same conference, a SPLM representative stated that petrol production is a strategic aim; his organisation had forewarned concerned petrol companies, he added, that if they came and dig, it would be at their own risks and at the risks of their employees. Mr Rino Serri, representative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that petrol in Sudan was not a strategic aim:  Italian workers had been involved in an attempt there.
The Canadian government recently opened an inquiry on the consequences of Canadian petrol companies activities in the Sudan.
The German Manneheim was the main company in charge of the pipeline. Now the works are over and Manneheim left Sudan.

Tackling Talisman Energy

The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) has launched into a campaign against the Canadian petroleum company Talisman Energy.
The AASG campaign has produced some positive vibes as New 
The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) has launched into a campaign against the Canadian petroleum company Talisman Energy.
The AASG campaign has produced some positive vibes as New ork City pension funds manager Alan Hevesi invited AASG chairman Charles Jacobs to address the city municipal council on October 4, NYC pension funds hold 186,000 Talisman shares and Hevesi has said he wants to get out of the investment, comparing Talisman’s role to that of companies active in the Republic of South Africa during the apartheid era.