New oil target in Africa

The Sudan, the largest country in Africa and a potentially 
rich source of oil, has become the latest target of imperialist 
intervention.

Britain was the former colonial power in Sudan and today, 
together with the US and European colonialist countries such as 
France, are looking for an excuse to send troops into the 
country, to impose a compliant government and secure for 
themselves Sudan's oil resources.

Sudan became an oil exporter in 1999. 

On September 18 the UN Security Council by 11 votes threatened 
sanctions on Sudan's vital oil sector unless she complied with 
western demands. China, Russia, Algeria and Pakistan abstained in 
the vote. Britain said she was ready to send a 5000-strong 
military force to be rapidly deployed in Sudan. France has 
already sent a small contingent to the border between Chad and 
Sudan under the pretext of protecting local residents there.

The US, which had strongly criticised Sudan, wants it to join 
Bush's campaign to "fight terrorism". That means accepting the 
establishment of US bases and military occupation.

An excuse has been given to the imperialist powers by the decades 
long conflict between the Islamic north of the country and the 
Christian south. There are also the consequences arising from the 
spread of the Saharan desert and the attempts of northern Arabs 
to seize the land from those in the south of the country.

Tens of thousands of refugees have been created arising from this 
conflict although some reports suggest that the extent of the 
crisis has been exaggerated and that the suffering of the 
refugees is being used as an excuse for the imperialist powers to 
justify their occupation.

The African Union (AU) has been actively involved in the dispute 
in an attempt to avoid the imposition of UN sanctions and the 
threatened military occupation of Sudan by colonialist powers.

The leaders of five African countries met recently in Tripoli, 
Libya, to find a framework appropriate and acceptable to the 
sides in Sudan and within the AU. The countries involved in the 
AU meeting were Sudan, Libya, Chad, Egypt and Nigeria.

End conflict

The Sudanese government has agreed to do its best to end the 
conflict in Darfur that is said to have displaced about 1.5 
million people. Rebel groups accuse the Sudanese government of 
years of negligence and the unfair allocation of resources. 

The AU is leading international attempts to resolve the crisis 
peacefully and is in the process of deploying a 4500-strong force 
from five African countries to Sudan to oversee the agreed peace 
process there.

In a strong statement against imperialist intervention in Sudan 
the Communist Party of Canada said: "There are increasing calls 
from Washington and London, backed by a vocal right-wing 
campaign, for 'humanitarian intervention' in the Darfur region of 
Sudan. However, there are also strong indications that US 
imperialism is deliberately inflating the scale of this tragedy 
in order to send troops into yet another oil-rich territory.

"The loudest demands for intervention in Darfur come from the two 
countries which bear responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of 
thousands of Iraqi civilians over the past decade — the US and 
Britain. George Bush and Tony Blair lied about 'weapons of mass 
destruction', and deserve to be charged as war criminals for 
their illegal pre-emptive invasion of Iraq.

Why should we believe the same corporate media which repeated the 
falsehoods of these two men about Iraq, when the topic is Darfur? 
We warn against exploiting human suffering to expand the 
geopolitical reach of imperialist powers.

"Hostilities between Sudan's northern and southern regions are 
partly a legacy of the British colonial policy of divide and 
conquer. The central government's push to impose fundamentalist 
Islamic law on the country have deepened these tensions.

"Added to these internal factors, dozens of Asian and European 
oil companies are seeking contracts to explore, drill and pump 
Sudan's high-grade, low-sulphur oil. Billions of barrels are 
thought to be available, a tempting target for US and European 
bankers and oil executives.

China biggest consumer

"At present, China is the biggest consumer of Sudanese oil, and 
the biggest investor in Sudanese oil exploration and production. 
The China National Petroleum Corporation helped finance the 
pipeline that delivers crude oil to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. US 
and British imperialism clearly see China as a rival in this 
context.

"The Bush administration has been accused of using the Darfur 
issue to undermine progress towards a peace agreement in Sudan. A 
fragmented Sudan might make it easier for a new client state in 
the south to open the oil fields to US corporate interests.

"In fact, US imperialism and Israel have helped to train and aid 
southern rebels such as John Garang, head of the Sudanese 
People's Liberation Army, which is backed by right-wing, 
Christian fundamentalists in the US", says the Canadian Communist 
Party statement.

Sudan is a member of both the African Union and the Arab League. 
Both organisations are committed to a united Sudan.

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People's Voice