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Tears of Blood Oil
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Tears of Blood oil
By: New Sudan Women and Children [NESI-NETWORK
TEARS OF BLOOD OIL Southern Sudanese Women and Children Cry of the Shattered lives 1"When pumping the oil began, the war began…Oil has brought death", said Chief Malony Kolang, Western Upper Nile, south Sudan. "You can not see a single hut. The Government of Sudan (GOS) does not want people anywhere near the oil", said John Wicjil Bayak, a Sudanese official. The most unfortunate part about this burning of homes is that it normally happens when people are inside - it is a fact that human beings are burnt alive by government of Sudan troops with oil revenue money. The war in Sudan is about many causes. It is not that the African and predominately non-Moslem people took arms for the love of war. But it is about hundreds of years of endurance and immense patience by our great grandparents of the northern Sudanese domination and exploitation of our people.
Exploitation of the southern Sudanese people (including south Sudanese, Nuba, Fur and Funj people) started since 1821 - 1881 with the Turkish-Egyptian occupation of Sudan. The Turkish ambitious to expand its empire to this flourishing land of Sudan, full of gold with very strong inhabitants who could be recruited to build a strong army to defend the Empire. Consecutive northern (Arabic) governments took our great grandparents as slaves; they exploited our natural resources such as gold, ivory, animal resources, water and agricultural produce for the sole benefit and development of the north. Our strong children were taken as slaves and others got assimilated into Arabic cultures by force. Many of us today, unfortunately, in the north claim to be northerners (i.e. Arabs) out of brainwashing and assimilative policies. Our land was deliberately kept without any development.
Very few of our people acquired education. By late 50s and early 60s, and whilst the rest of Africa, including Kenya began to enjoy their independence from colonial powers, for us in Sudan, the African people continued to suffer from a new form of 'colonialism'. The northern governments in Sudan continued to discriminate against us on racial, religious and economical etc. grounds. In Sudan, it has always been that once you are black and non-Moslem, you are a lesser person. The war today is about clinging on to our Africanness identity and protecting it, it is about preserving our customs and cultures as a people, and it is about defending our land from further abuses and exploitation. It is about securing our children a real home whereby they will live proud of being true Africans.
We, southern Sudanese women, hereby strongly acknowledge and appreciate the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) as the only reliable forum for diplomatic dialogue towards a just and lasting peace in the Sudan. Its role to strengthen the fragile peace process in the Sudan and bring together its member-states to mediate between the warring parties is highly commendable. It is a widely respected and accepted initiative by the people of Sudan. The ultimate and comprehensive solutions to the conflict in the Sudan are clearly spelt out in the IGAD's Declaration of Principles (DOP). The DOP guarantees the right to self-determination of all the marginalized groups in the Sudan. However, we are deeply dismayed and deplored by the recent news of oil deals between the Kenyan and Sudanese governments. It has been widely reported that Kenya will purchase crude oil from Sudan. This is particularly so when Kenya is the Chair of IGAD's Council of Ministers on Sudan's peace negotiations has now turned round and is purchasing bloodstained oil from our country. This deal will cause more death among our people. More African people will be targeted in Sudan. As southern Sudanese women we have always been appreciative of the hospitality and solidarity shown to us by the Kenyan people and government over the years of our refuge life in Kenya.
There are at least 100,000 Sudanese refugees living in Kenya today. Oil is one of the root causes of the 18 years of war in the country. The GOS has become an oil exporter for the last two years and has been able to earn enough to pay for the 1 million dollar it spends daily on the war in the south killing more people. The natural resources in the south, particularly oil and minerals with the invested interest of the multinational agencies is delaying the attainment of a just and lasting peace in Sudan and is increasing the military capacity of the Khartoum government. Thereby causing destruction of lives and property in southern Sudan. The GOS is claiming that through the oil exploitation they will develop the whole of Sudan.
Contrary to this claim, even when there was peace in the country, there were no attempts by northern governments to contribute towards the development of the south - now that there is war, no development can ever be possible. Southern Sudan is a disputed area; there is a serious conflict with genuine causes from the southerners. There should be no oil exploitation unless the people of southern Sudan are free citizens. It is only the right owners of the land that should decide when to exploit the oil. Despite the fact that many souls have been lost to Sudan's civil war of 18 years and related factors such as famine. The oil exploration about two years ago has given the war a new dimension - the GOS managed to acquire more sophisticated arms and started to build its own weapon industry.
The GOS has thus, been able to escalate its war against southerners, particularly targeting innocent civilians. Since March 1999-date, tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced from their home areas. Those who are 'lucky' enough to have managed to flee elsewhere are now scattered all over the areas of south Sudan with very little food, if any and no shelters, many of them are children. Others who could not run for their lives are killed, raped, their villages are burnt with people inside their simple huts and dwellings - all in the name of exploiting the oil by the Sudan government. Babies and children are screaming everywhere from pain and for help. Terror looms in the hearts of many, our children are not able to sleep peacefully, food and other basic necessities such as health services and education are a luxury. The use of helicopter gunships, heavy bombardment and denial of humanitarian assistance access to civilians, particularly to those living near the oil fields can only be termed as a planned genocide against the African people of Sudan by the GOS. The oil revenue is then used to enrich them with more money in order to buy more arms. The GOS uses roads and airstrips of multinational oil companies engaged in the production of oil in the Sudan for military purposes, carrying out human rights violations and assaults targeting civilians' facilities such as hospitals, schools, churches, markets etc.
The GOS' own admission through its Army Spokesperson, General Mohamed Yassin "Sudan will be capable of producing all the weapons it needs thanks to the growing oil industry". Indeed, it is a shame to see African countries joining hands with such a regime, making it acquire more guns and weapons in order to wipe out innocent people in the south of the Country - history shall never forgive this. Just imagine the pain of a father, Simon Dual, who after hearing GOS' troops attacking his area, he only managed to flee with two of his three children, the following day when he returned, "I found our house burned and the body of my child, Stephen, in the fire". He painfully said. The women of Southern Sudan also strongly condemn all the oil companies for engaging in exploration of the oil and to stop construction of a pipeline to the refinery and terminal construction. Canada, China, Malaysia, and European countries including Austria, Sweden and France are increasingly involved in the Sudanese oil project. Also involved are the suppliers of oil pipeline equipment from Britain and Germany and the oil traders from Netherlands and Japan.
2The companies involved in the bloody oil business are: Lundin/ Oil AB Sweden/Switzerland, OMV Aktiengesellscha Austria, Talisman Energy Inc Canada (Dutch subsidiary) Petronas Malaysia China National Petroleum Co.(CNPC) China TotalElfFina Owns 120,000 km2 concession in South Sudan, Trading in Sudan Nile blend crude BP (British) Investor in PetroChina, ExxonMobil & Royal Dutch/Shell Marketing oil products including aviation fuel. We would like at this juncture to quote the former UN Human Rights Rapporteur who worked in Sudan for years, Dr. Gasper Biro “If oil companies do not know what is going on, they are not looking over the fences of their compoundsâ€Â. We, the Southern Sudanese women and children, hereby strongly condemn all the companies and countries who are deaf and blinded by the oil of Sudan and closing their eyes and minds from seeing the reality outside their fences, from the massive killings and displacement of civilians, psychological and environmental impacts of the oil. These foreign companies and countries are accomplices to the genocide taking place in the Sudan.
The GOS desperately needs the revenue from the oil to improve the economy so that they can improve their fighting strategies and tactics to eliminate and evacuate innocent Southern civilians. The regime spends $1 million a day to continue killing the civilians. We quote that in a rally in Khartoum in April 1999 Turabi, the NIF leader said that the Regime's share of the oil revenue is estimated at –400 million a year and would help to build tanks and missiles which, is fueling the war. We, southern Sudanese women, therefore, hereby, call upon the Kenya Government and people under the Presidency of His Excellency, Daniel Arap Moi to seriously examine itself on this deal. Where is the Kenyan consciousness towards the African people of Sudan? Why is it that we do not matter to our African brothers and sisters? For how long will our children continue to suffer and who will pay the price for this one day? Our children will learn about those who supported us and about those who assisted our murderers kill more of us.
We, the Southern Sudanese women and children, in the strongest manner, hereby, call upon the world's nations to come forward and outlaw the current Islamic fundamentalist Junta that is ruling the country. It is an illegitimate government that rose to power through a military coup. It has continued to rule the country with the power of the gun. In its more than 10 years of dictatorship rule it has been able to commit the most horrible human rights violations ever in the history of Sudan. Let the so-called Sudan government know that one day, it shall stand trial and account for all its human rights atrocities. We urge all of you to stop any business of this bloody oil. We appeal to you to measure the impact of what you are going to gain with the human dignity and price of the innocent citizens of southern Sudan. We are looking forward to your immediate response and action to elleviate the suffering of our people caused by the exploitation of the oil.
SIGNED BY SOUTHERN SUDANESE WOMEN AND CHILDREN JULY 2001
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