Throw Out Chinese And Malaysian Companies From South Sudan
7 min readAt law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though he or she takes no part in the actual criminal offense. This then automatically handcuffs oil companies that got involved in South Sudan’s oil since the American Chevron discovered it around 1979. Though a number of European countries were involved, I am, in this article, going to deal with China and Malaysia whose companies confederated with successive Khartoum governments and deliberately inflicted untold sufferings on the owners of the oil in their quest to quench economic thirsts.
After the Americans announced the discovery of oil in an area that geographically lies inside the region of Southern Sudan, the then president, Nimeiri created “Unity” State around Bentiu town. As the name suggests, his intention was to declare oil fields as assets of both the South and the North. In real sense, he changed the oil areas in the south into northern properties by changing the boundaries within the country. Heglig is not any exception. See? That was an organized stealing. The SPLA saw it, forcing them to act quickly. They attacked the oil installations and “captured” three Americans on the island base at Rub Kona, who they later killed. I quoted the word “captured” in an attempt to erase the politicized idea that got drummed into the ears of the international community by the media; an idea that criminalizes the SPLA as it paints a picture the three American oil workers were kidnapped. Kidnapped my foot! They were accomplices caught in the act. If the SPLA kidnapped them, why didn’t they demand for ransom? Logically, they were killed for colluding with Nimeiri to suck our oil dry. Weren’t the SPLA’s actions justified? Chevron consequently pulled out of the deal forever, a move that indicates they accept and believe they were mistaken. They later apologized by injecting aid efforts in South Sudan including, the Lost Boys/Girls Project and the CPA which they actively brokered.
Withdrawal of Chevron paved way for the world’s oil-hungriest nation called China. With its mouth wide open and salivating, China National Petroleum Company seized the opportunity. It ganged up with Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian oil companies under the name of Lundin Consortium. SPLA/M was visionary, selfless and clever by then. They made it almost impossible for oil production to take place. Many individual soldiers found it worth dying for, thus, they got killed in crossfire around the oil wells.
As a result of the agreements entered by Lundin Consortium and Khartoum government, the lives of the inhabitants of the oil areas changed for worst. According to the Unpaid Debt report researched by European Commission on Oil, in order for oil workers to operate in a secure and safe environment and to maximize oil production, displacement program of the Nuer and Dinka people was hatched. The Sudan Armed Forces used heavy bombing, including a total of sixteen new attack helicopters. Many innocent people were forced to flee their homes. Small children died of cold on the way, and had to be left on the road. Survivors got ill from sickness such as relapsing fever, malaria, and skin diseases. Some got eaten alive by the mosquitoes, leaving rashes, scabies.
For fear of military gunships that hunted them during the day, some civilians decisively spent daytime in the woods and sneaked home during the night. But when the government learnt of the little resistance, the companies constructed a road, south of Bentiu that eased ground attacks by heavy military convoys. The military successfully burnt down homes, raped and killed the Nuer people of Bul, Leek, Jagei, Western Jikany and Dok. The Lundin-built Bridge at Bentiu also made it possible, for the first time, for the government-armed Baggara horse-backed raiders to attack and kill people in the area of Block 5A. Civilians ran for shelter further south and west, into a marshy area crossed by streams where the horses could not reach. Here, some were forced to feed on corpses of their loved ones.
Khartoum and Lundin Consortium also forged divide-and-rule technique, creating south-south aggressions. Several mutinous groups mushroomed as they received enticements in form of weapons, food and maybe cash. Paulino Matip forces frequently clashed with those of Riek Machar over control of the oil wells.
Based on the evidence and reports of the many leading human rights organizations and other public reports, the damage caused by the 1997–2003 oil war in the oil concession to be: 12,000 people killed or died from hunger, exhaustion and conflict-related diseases and 160,000 people forcibly displaced; often multiple times. Half a million cattle was also lost. The vegetation was also scotched with intent to deprive animals of pastures. See?
The International Commission of Jurists states that companies may be complicit in international crimes when they contribute to the perpetration of the crimes; when they know or should know that their conduct would be likely to do so; and when they have close relations with the principal perpetrator of the abuses or with the victims. Human rights bodies believe that Lundin Consortium, as a matter of international law may have been complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, calls by the rights activists and some sympathetic governments to investigate and hold the companies accountable have been fruitless maybe because the government of South Sudan itself does not care about its citizens that were subjected to inhumane circumstances by the same people it is doing business with today.
ECOS argues that the consortium should create enabling conditions for reconciliation with victims of the oil war, starting with the allocation of their fair share of compensation for the victims, which ECOS estimates at US $300 million. The move is one of the several recommendations meant to promote peace and achieve justice for the victims. Yet South Sudan keeps quiet. Are we too into ourselves to represent our own brothers and sisters?
Lundin Consortium shamelessly denies the act and claims it “contributed to peace and stability in the region and was actively engaged with stakeholders” while their governments brush off the issue.
In my view, given the magnitude of the atrocities committed and the way they were perpetrated, I find it nonsensical, insulting, derisive and thoughtless for South Sudan to do business with the murderers of our relatives. Or have we ceased to care for our own?
Who doesn’t know that China is both a political and economic slut? With its promiscuous behaviors, and after a decade of being in Bashir’s bed whereby she was the main puppeteer who engineered almost all the evil deeds Khartoum did to us, she jumped into Kiir’s, forgetting her underwear behind. The evident is what happened the other day. Juba had to give PetroDar president 72 hours to leave the country, for not cooperating with South Sudan and continuing to receive instructions from the government in Khartoum. When will the government learn to say no? There are a thousand companies from friendly nations that would love to trade with us. Why then do we flirt with those who did us incalculable damage? PetroDar represents the interests of its governments. They don’t give a damn about us, infrastructure. It’s ever strictly business. No development no nothing. Have a look at their structures in Juba. Do you see any permanent ones? And by the way, who knows they might have some hidden agendas. Remember she is a slut, an international one.
Why can’t the government add voice to the international community’s at least to pressure Swedish, Austrian, Malaysian and Chinese governments to interrogate their oil companies that were involved in gross human rights violations? Remember we all believe in life after death. The babies that were held by the leg and crashed against the wall or tree trunk by merciless SAF soldiers are now watching us. The cattle keepers who watched their thousands herd of cattle driven away by the Baggara tribesmen and later died of starvation are now watching us. We are now so sovereign. We can do anything. Isn’t this the right time for us to discipline those who bullied us? Isn’t this the payback time? For how long will others fight for us? When are we going to say something about our losses? Or could the saying: “saying nothing sometimes says the most” be true?
I believe everyone knows China and Malaysia need our oil so bad. Why can’t we hold them by the balls? Just terminate all the oil contracts and many other MoUs signed with them. Suspend everything that involves them in the country. And ensure that they account for the evil acts they performed before resuming work.
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