Case Study 1 - Civil War in the Sudan
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"The Canadian government just sent a task force to the Sudan to look into the causes of the country's 46-year-old civil war. I was a member of that team, and I'll tell you a few of the things that we included in our report. The situation in the Sudan is terrible. The war definitely started long before anyone was thinking about oil, but oil development has complicated things. The oil fields are in the South, and many people there don't support the government, which is based in the North. Oil generates enormous revenues for the government, which was always very poor until it started getting money for oil. But instead of spending the money on things the country desperately needs, like schools and health centers, the government is using it to buy military hardware to fight the rebels in the South. Those who suffer the most are the innocent civilians who live in the southern part of the country. The UN estimates that 2 million Sudanese have died since 1983 because of the civil war. And many more have lost their homes."
What happened
In April 1999, the UN gave out food to 32,000 people in the Ruweng County-which is a region in the South. Then government troops began a new offensive in that area which lasted two months. When people describe this attack, they talk about bomber planes, and low-flying helicopters that killed people as they passed by. These planes took off from Heglig airstrip, which was under the control of Talisman Energy. When another UN food drop came to the region six months later, less than 10,000 people were there to receive it. After two months of bombardment, 20,000 people had left the area. Ruweng County has never been free of conflict, but oil is making it worse, causing death and displacement.
What some people had to say
"Well, Talisman finally got out of Sudan. They sold their interests to India's state company for 1.2 billion. I hope the activists are happy now. But they should know that Talisman's withdrawal from Sudan won't end the war-far from it. Talisman encouraged human rights and corporate responsibility-the Indian company that bought them out hasn't even said that it considers these things important. I'd say that this is a sad day for Sudan. In two years, Talisman built five medical clinics and three schools in the South; it also repaired many village wells. How can anyone say that Talisman's presence wasn't positive? There has been in-fighting in the region for fifty years-is that Talisman's fault? The whole thing is too bad. Sudan is an oil-rich country; Talisman could have made lots of money if the project continued. But, like Talisman's CEO said,  shareholders were tired of continually having to monitor and analyze events relating to Sudan. Talisman's reputation has suffered because of bad press about Sudan, and that's not good for stocks. It's a smart move for the company, and it takes a blemish off Canada's international reputation. But I don't think anything is going to change for the better in Sudan."
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"Well some people are celebrating, but I for one am not happy with how things have turned out. We wanted Talisman to halt production until there was peace in the region. Instead, they just handed the operation over to someone else. That's not going to do any good. These companies that operate in poor countries have power. Governments depend on them for large amounts of income. Why couldn't Talisman have suspended its operations until a just peace was agreed to? That would have been REAL corporate responsibility - better than building a few medical centers and schools. What was the point of building a few schools when the military used the oil money to bomb entire villages? Now Talisman is gone, and the Indian company that bought them out hasn't said anything about peace or human rights-it looks like they just want to pump the oil out as fast as possible."
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