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By: Chris Stevenson

From 1972 to 1983 Sudan was a peaceful nation, and then oil was discovered. During this period the west's post-colonial powers-the oil industry-began operating in the only way they knew how, dividing Africans. In this case Arab-influenced Brown and Black Sudanese of the north against the indigenous Black Africans of the south. The Muslim Arab, and Black Sudanese have beem split since British colonialist separated them no later than the '50's. The result shows them north gaining economic advantages, while the south became alienated. Chaos naturally developed through a civil war which took attention away from the prime culprit, the various western oil companies.

According to a 1/1/05 New York Times story, on the last day of 2004 the leaders of the two factions Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ah ad al-Bashir; the President of Sudan, and Col. John Garang, the head of the Sudan People's Liberation Army, signed a cease-fire pact that is generally being considered a preliminary to a long-range peace agreement. The question lingers as to how long can the Arab-based Sudanese government and their offensive arm the sadistic Janjaweed resist their violent proclivity and hatred toward the dark-skinned citizens of Sudan, and share basic and developmental goods and services, so that all of Sudan can benefit from it's own resources? In an earliar essay I cited the only solution was an ouster of all those loyal to the interloping Sudanese government and have the Blacks take their land back. Under the new agreement such will not be the case, but instead Col. Garang will become one of Bashir's vice presidents. Whatever it takes to keep the peace I guess.

Garang will still be wise to sleep with one eye open, and have an extra knife ready when dining with Bashir however. While his people are dancing in the streets in celebration of the historical event, bad feelings are not going to go away soon. They shouldn't, much of the Sudan peoples' history was wrecklessly destroyed, and the violence in Darfur that largely began in 2003 saw millions of Black Sudanese murdered, raped, beaten, and driven from their homes. And most recently there was the cease-fire agreement signed in Chad last April that was short-lived. Much of this was due to the raw hatred displayed by the non-Black factions under Bashir's government who were exibiting their true feelings toward the true people of Sudan. The Arab government has no regard for the south except for one slight problem, most of the oil is located in southern Sudan, the recent fighting in Darfur stems from attempts to gain control over oil that has just been discovered there (along the border of Sudan and Chad). They simply want a pipline.

This is a prime reason why oil, though capable of bringing a poor nation into prosperty and development, seldom ever does. In most cases it is taken and regionalized to areas dealing directly with the oil companies, in this case the Arab north. Normaly oil produces military repression and human rights abuses, one need look no further than the firms that extract the oil whom facilitate the abuses, and the array of minor players that are a factor in this dilema; smugglers, corrupt local officials, arms dealers, mercenary companies, resource traders, etc. Make no mistake about it, if one part of the country has drawn up oil out of the ground, and funnelled it hundreds of miles to another part of the country, you know they strongly feel they have a right to it, and laws and rights were violated in order to obtain it.

Much of Sudan's oil was discovered during the '70's, by 1999 Sudanese Nile Blend crude was drawn, and piped form south to north in just such a manner. In a story by the International Herald Tribune, 4 oil companies produce more than 200,000 barrels a day. Most notibly Talisman of Canada (forced to sell to a firm in India), & American Chevron, who got into the act in '78. Money from it's sales have financed the same weapons used against south Sudan, and greatly upgraded the Sudan government's military. Peace agreements are only pieces of paper, unless acted on.

Stevenson is a columnist for the Buffalo Criterion. and www.TheBrownWatch.com , his column Pointblank can be read at www.voiceoffreedom.com ,email comments to Stevenson at pointblankdta@yahoo.com