After twenty years of civil war, a ceasefire which was agreed between the North (Muslim majority) and the South (Christian majority) in Sudan in 2003 did not unfortunately include Darfur region. From 2003 up until recently when the South got its independence, over 350,000 people have been killed, over 2 million people have been displaced, and countless atrocities on women were committed in Darfur region.
It has now become evident from the criminal charges filed by International Criminal Court that the crimes were indeed Genocide under the international law and that the ethnic cleansing by the ruthless Janjaweed militia was undertaken with the full support and cooperation of Omar Al-Bashir’s government – a State sponsored act of Genocide.
It is also evident that even though states around the world could have intervened militarily, none of them cared enough to undertake a military operation against Khartoum’s regime. Even though it took several months for United States to officially confirm that the acts were indeed Genocide, there was absolutely no military operation ever considered by the Bush Administration. Europe and Russia turned a complete blind eye to the Darfur crisis. What about India and China – the much talked about nations these days and upcoming economic powers of Asia? What you are about to read is going to shock you.
China helped the Sudanese government build oil pipelines and has been involved in oil production in that country so it could quench the 1.2 billion people’s thirst for oil. China not only provided support to Sudan with infrastructure to produce oil, it even was one of the largest customers and investors in Sudanese oil industry. China also supplied the Sudanese government with weapons and continues to do so. India on the other hand wanted to catch up with China in its ever-growing quest for global significance. In July 2002, the Indian government approved a proposal so the Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India could buy into Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company, a Sudanese state-owned oil company. What did the Petroleum Minister in India at the time had to say about this? He said that “The Chinese are there, the Malaysians are there, and we have good relations with Sudan”. I suppose economic interests trump any other issues including mass murder of human beings. I wonder what Mahatma Gandhi would say and do if he were alive today and learnt of Indian investment in Sudan.
One could argue that back in 2002, little did the world know about the Genocide in Sudan so China and India and Malaysia were unknowingly tying their respective economic interests with Sudan. But, even as of today, the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company www.GNPOC.com continues to be owned by China (40%), Malaysia (30%), India (25%), and Sudan (5%). Despite knowing what we know today, why are these nations still in Sudan? Why have they been in Sudan the past 10 years investing in a criminal regime they know has been funneling the oil money into acts of Genocide in Darfur and other regions? Isn’t it time that they pulled out of Sudan, sever ties with Sudan, and slap sanctions on Bashir’s brutal regime. Did you know that he has an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21143-2004Dec22.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2051604.stm
