Canadian Alliance MP Dr. Keith Martin and former United Church of Canada moderator The Very Reverend Bill Phipps recently returned from trips to Sudan. As Calgary's Talisman Energy holds its annual meeting this week amid protests of human-rights activists over the company's operations in the African country, Martin and Phipps offer their eyewitness opinions.
The conflict in Sudan rages on with no end in sight. Since 1983, two million people have been killed and four million displaced, making this the longest running and bloodiest civil conflict in the world.
The government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) agreed on a peace process more than 18 months ago, yet it has been ignored and both sides show more interest in waging war than peace.
Currently, one million people are poised to die from famine in the south. Women are raped, civilians slaughtered and child soldiers are forced to commit heinous atrocities.
In spite of these ongoing horrors the debate in Canada has focused mainly on the issue of whether Talisman, a Canadian oil company which owns 25 per cent of the Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company (GNPOC), should continue to extract oil in Sudan.
Other companies from Sweden, China and Malaysia are also involved in oil production in Sudan.
Unfortunately, oil revenue provides the government with the cash to fuel its war effort. The war has been bloody and ruthless. The government arms the Nuer and Dinka (the largest tribes in the south) to fight against other Nuer and Dinka – who fight the government forces under the banner of the SPLA. Uganda, and Christian groups in the West, who perceive this as simply a religious war, fund the rebels.
Actually, the conflict has less to do with the central government trying to improve the Islamic faith and Sharia law in the country, and more to do with control of the valuable oil, gold, water and timber resources in the south.
Some groups in Canada who have spoken out on the debate on whether Talisman should continue to extract oil in Sudan feel that Talisman should go — even though they now invest $2 million per year for fresh water access and health care for the people in the south. Some say that no investment in social programs could offset the carnage inflicted by a government that uses their oil revenue to wage war.
In my opinion, this does not reflect the realpolitik on the ground. If Talisman were to pull out, another country such as China – which cares nothing for social development – could purchase Talisman’s shares in the concession and the people on the ground would be left with nothing.
Many secular, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the south support the position that Talisman is making the best of a bad situation and should stay. However, I feel it is unfortunate that the debate in Canada appears to have focused on Talisman rather than the larger issue of putting pressure on the government of Sudan and the SPLA to end the war.
At present, neither side has been honest in its pursuit of peace because each group feels its can improve its strategic position on the ground. However, there are levers of influence. Sudan deeply yearns for development and international recognition so it can shed its pariah image. Canada and the international community should grant this only if the government of Sudan:
* Implements an immediate ceasefire. Stops arming tribes and gain control over their proxy militias;
* Allows relief shipments and NGOs unrestricted access;
* Stops all bombing;
* Implements the Declaration of Principles outlined and agreed to by the government and the SPLA;
* Proposes an oil revenue-sharing agreement with the south;
* Allows a referendum on autonomy in the south. Twice in the history of Sudan the south has enjoyed autonomy, during which there was long-lasting peace — once between 1972 and 1983 and prior to colonization for 500 years;
* Starts an intertribal dialogue in the south that focuses on peace and development.
Other actions must also be taken. NGOs and governments should stop financially supporting the SPLA and demand it engages in a ceasefire, implement the Declaration of Principles agreed to by both sides, and allow NGOs free access to the south.
The SPLA must terminate charging fees to groups bringing in aid. Talisman should stay only if it engages in a transparent investment in social development programs. A report of this must be made public on an annual basis.
Also, there should be no further expansion of Talisman’s drilling operations until the peace process is well under way.
There must also be an urgent mobilization of food to diffuse the imminent famine in the south. International pressure must be applied to the Chinese and Malaysian governments demanding that their companies, CNPC and Petronas respectively, invest in social development projects.
International pressure must also be applied to the Ugandan government to stop arming the SPLA, and the government of Sudan to stop supporting the Lord’s Resistance Army. This is essential to halt the savage war in northern Uganda.
If Canada and the international community can convince the government of Sudan and the SPLA to adhere to the aforementioned peace plan, then the conflict will stop. The time is right.
So, for the sake of the Sudanese people who have suffered far two much, we must act now.
(Martin is the Canadian Alliance MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca in B.C. He travelled to Sudan in March, meeting with various officials in the Sudanese government, representatives of Talisman Oil, NGOs, human-rights workers and child soldiers.)
