International Community Urged by Sudan to Condemn JEM

Sudan has urged the international community to strongly condemn the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel group from Darfur, which it accuses of executing five Chinese oil workers that were kidnapped last week. For VOA, Blake Evans-Pritchard reports from Khartoum.

Chinese UN peacekeepers stand in honour of kidnapped and killed Chinese oil workers as the bodies of slain workers arrive at Khartoum airport for repatriation, 28 Oct. 2008.

A spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs in Khartoum, Ali al-Sadiq, confirmed that five Chinese oil workers had been killed Monday.

He said, "At around 3 pm local time yesterday, the abductors of the Chinese oil workers, without any provocation, have killed five of those nine Chinese workers. Two of them managed to escape with injuries and the remaining two were recaptured by the Justice and Equality Movement. The minister of foreign affairs has issued a statement last night strongly condemning the act and requesting the international community to do the same. The ministry also believes that JEM has committed so many atrocities in the past without being condemned by the international community."

Chinese and Sudanese oil workers carry a coffin of one of their kidnapped and killed colleagues ahead of repatriation in Khartoum airport, 28 Oct. 2008. The nine oil workers, employed by the China National Petroleum Corporation, were seized last week, along with their driver, in South Kordofan State. The Block 4 oil field where they had been working is east of Darfur on the border between North and South Sudan.

Al-Sadiq said the government is working with local tribal chiefs to locate the two missing oil workers.

The Justice and Equality Movement accuses China of supporting Khartoum in the conflict with Darfur, and says that it wants Chinese nationals out of the region. It has also been pushing for fairer distribution of the oil wealth.

But a rebel group spokesman, Ahmed Hussein, denied involvement.

He said: "JEM is not responsible for this attack. It has no question whatsoever with this incident. This is just [an] allegation from the Sudanese government because they know it [JEM] is the only force that is challenging them politically and militarily."

Both Beijing and Khartoum have said the relationship between the two countries will not be affected by the murders of the oil workers.

Ministry of foreign affairs spokesman, Ali al-Sadiq said, "This act is not going to hamper or to affect in any way the strong ties between Sudan and China. The two countries are going to work hard for the prosperity and for the mutual benefit of the two nations."

Analyst Oswald Clint, of the Sandford C. Bernstein investment research and management firm, agreed that the incident will have little impact on China's involvement in Sudan.

He said, "Africa still has significant undeveloped resources and will continue to be attractive despite the on-the-ground risks. The Chinese will continue to seek out those assets in those areas, as they have to secure steady crude flows through China from as many places as possible, just to feed demand."

Clint added, "Those sort of risks you are seeing in Sudan are also happening in other countries as well. The oil companies have been dealing with them for many decades. You do not switch off an investment because of some on-the-ground activity, because of some kidnappings. Look at Nigeria."

During the past year, kidnappings in African oil-producing giant Nigeria have become more and more frequent. But Clint says he does not see this making a great difference to foreign investment in the oil sector there.

Author: Jo Amey