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Text|sugar gourd
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In 2011, some Chinese engineers working in Africa suddenly received a strange "deportation order." The deportation order requires all Chinese engineers to withdraw to their home countries within a time limit.
But many Chinese engineers found that the signatory document was an organization that they felt very unfamiliar: the South Sudanese government.
The Chinese engineers were stunned. Because just a few months ago, the land they were on was under the jurisdiction of the Government of the Sudan. How did a new government emerge in such a short period of time?
When people today look back at this confusing past, they may be able to give an instant answer: because Sudan, as the largest country in Africa, was artificially "dismembered" by the Americans into two countries, Sudan and South Sudan.
Most of those Chinese engineers have worked in the oil fields of southern Sudan. After South Sudan's formal independence, the fine new government will, of course, bring these Chinese engineers out and cede all the oil benefits to the Americans.
However, even today's people look back at history and are shocked. Under the manipulation of the Americans, this once prestigious regional power in Africa has gradually become one of the least developed countries in the world.
So, how exactly did the United States dismember Sudan step by step? Why did Africa's largest country end up where it is today? Behind the reality that Sudan is divided, what kind of competition will China and the United States compete around Sudan's oil interests?
(Chinese oil fields in Sudan)
Next, let's go slowly.
Only then did I get out of the tiger's den and into the wolf's den
Seeing the miserable Sudanese people today, perhaps few people can remember that the country in this land was once also an extremely powerful empire.
The Sultan was historically part of the Nubian Empire. Nubia means gold in Egyptian. In other words, the area where Sudan is now located has gold mines thousands of years ago.
Moreover, Sudan is located on the coast of the Red Sea, and there is an alluvial plain formed by the Nile River in its territory. Whether it is the development of trade or the development of agriculture, there is much to be done.
(Map of Sudan today)
If nothing else, Sudan can definitely become one of the top powers in Africa by virtue of its superior geographical location and rich mineral resources.
However, since countries such as Britain and France opened the door to the Industrial Revolution, Sudan, like most African countries, has been forced to become a colony of European powers, and began to provide incomparably cheap raw materials in European factories.
In the 70s of the 19th century, countless British troops began to launch wars of aggression against Sudan from their colonial strongholds in Egypt. Under the powerful offensive of the British, despite the heroic resistance of various religious leaders in Sudan, Sudan was finally conquered by the British.
After conquering Sudan, the British immediately turned Sudan into a "co-state" between Britain and Egypt. But at that time, Farouk in Egypt was already a puppet regime of the British. Therefore, this nominal "condominium" was directly administered by the British colonists.
After starting to administer Sudan, the British turned Sudan into a huge cotton plantation. Because in the eyes of the British, Sudan's greatest strategic value to Britain is to help Britain get rid of its dependence on North American cotton.
So, after the British took de facto control of Sudan, they only developed several larger cotton plantations in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and in northern Sudan. The vast area of Southern Sudan remains undeveloped, and the lives of the people are even more destitute.
(Cotton Plantation)
On January 1, 1956, Sudan finally became independent from British colonial rule with the tacit consent of the United States and the Soviet Union and formed a new state.
Although Sudan had achieved independence at this time, Sudan's economic development was still extremely unbalanced.
After independence, Sudan's central government continued to invest most of its development resources in and around the capital, Khartoum. The Sudanese central Government is largely unconcerned about the backwardness and poverty in the south.
Moreover, the Sudan has been influenced by neighbouring Libya and Chad, and there has been military interference. Soon, the military kicked the civilian government out of the way and established a completely dictatorial military junta. Thus began the nightmare of the Sudanese people.
(People on the streets of Sudan)
During the Cold War, the United States spared no effort to squeeze the power of the Soviet Union in various regions of the world to find dictators around the world willing to cooperate with them. Most of these dictators were military men and tended to suppress progressive movements by force.
Under such a set of screening criteria, the CIA quickly targeted Sudan's military junta. The United States Government has pledged $350 million a year in assistance to the Government of the Sudan. At the same time, the Sudanese government must ensure that U.S. troops are stationed on its territory and that diplomacy never falls in favor of the Soviet Union.
The Government of the Sudan acceded to these demands almost without thinking. For a government, which was riddled with corruption and lawlessness under military rule, defecting to the Soviet Union meant self-destruction.
(Comics depicting the "Cold War")
In 1989, Sudan's political strongman Bashir came to power through civil war. Bashir quickly dissolved parliament and abolished all secular laws, and the entire country followed the most primitive Islamic law.
But while embracing Shariah, al-Bashir himself became the richest man in Sudan. According to many Western media investigations, al-Bashir himself once controlled the largest gold mine in Sudan.
All of Sudan's gold trade with the international community was effectively handled by Basil alone. Ordinary Sudanese could hardly get any benefit from these mineral resources, and all the benefits were shared by Bashir and his family.
("Coup forces" on the streets of Sudan)
But the Americans turned a blind eye to Bashir's brutal rule. Because Bashir was able to protect the interests of Americans in Sudan, that was enough for US President George H.W. Bush.
Although the political situation in Sudan has been very turbulent in modern times, for ordinary Sudanese people, although they have become independent from British colonial rule, their lives have not changed in the slightest.
The Sudanese people have long been insensitive to years of war and famine. Moreover, countries such as Chad and Ethiopia, which are neighboring Sudan, have experienced widespread civil wars. The people of Sudan just want to flee and have nowhere to go, so they can only stay helplessly in the country.
(Sudan's "former president" al-Bashir)
However, Sudan's dictator al-Bashir may never have dreamed that he had worked closely with the Americans for many years, only to end up being the target of sanctions.
Moreover, the reasons why the Americans sanctioned al-Bashir's government sound absurd. According to the accusation documents given by the US government, Bashir committed a number of crimes such as embezzlement and murder, and the Gil government was directly involved in supporting international terrorist organizations.
So why did the Americans suddenly impose sanctions on Bashir and his Sudanese government? Are these sanctions excuses given by the Americans really tenable?
(People on the streets of Sudan)
Piff is not guilty, he is guilty
In this world, the vast majority of conflicts between countries can be simply attributed to issues of interest. Sudanese President Bashir was sanctioned by the United States for no reason precisely because the Sudanese government violated the interests of the Americans.
In 1976, a huge natural gas field was first discovered in southern Sudan. In 1983, another oil field with huge reserves was discovered in southern Sudan.
Originally, the Americans, like the British, believed that Sudan was a purely agricultural country. Today, however, oil and gas have been discovered in Sudan. These resources instantly raised Americans' interest in Sudanese politics.
(Southern Sudan Oilfield)
However, after Bashir came to power, he and his family also owned most of the profits from oil and gas fields. This is absolutely unforgivable in the eyes of American capitalists.
Therefore, since the Clinton administration, the United States has imposed various sanctions on Sudan, directly driving Sudan's economic development momentum into the abyss.
The Sudanese people do not care about such a situation. Because their lives are already bad. No matter how bad it is, they won't care. On the contrary, Bashir and his family began to lose ground after the United States imposed sanctions.
(Former U.S. President Bill A. Clinton)
Bashir has repeatedly spoken strongly to the United States in diplomatic occasions, asking them to lift economic sanctions against Sudan as soon as possible. But how could the Americans bow to an African country like Sudan?
After thinking about it, Bashir decided to extend an olive branch of trade to China far east. At that time, Chinese oil companies were technically inferior to European and American oil companies. But doing business with Chinese can make more profits.
Anyway, oil and gas fields will need to expand production capacity sooner or later, and Bashir wants to leave this task to a team of Chinese engineers. In this way, Chinese oil companies entered southern Sudan by mistake.
(Chinese engineer working in Sudan)
Upon arrival in southern Sudan, the Chinese engineering team was immediately shocked by the backwardness of the city. Because apart from the roads around the oil fields, there is hardly a complete road in the area.
Moreover, many local people have difficulty maintaining even basic food and clothing. Chinese business managers immediately decided that while Chinese companies were helping the Sudanese government expand oil field capacity, they would also help local people create jobs.
Because Chinese do business will not only focus on "one-hammer trading". As long as good relations can be established with the local people, then this kind of friendship between the two sides will definitely produce more value in the future.
(Chinese workers in the oil fields of southern Sudan)
A few years after Chinese companies set foot in the oil fields, visible changes have taken place in some towns in southern Sudan. The locals not only met their own food and clothing needs, but also built shops and schools, which would have been unimaginable in the past.
For these tangible help provided by Chinese sports enterprises, the Sudanese government also sees it. The relationship between the two countries has been strengthened by these cooperations. However, the Sudanese government's performance has made American politicians nervous.
Since the Sudanese government allowed Chinese oil companies to enter its oil fields, the U.S. government has secretly installed a group of rebels in southern Sudan. Under the banner of "defending human rights and opposing dictatorship", these militants began to launch attacks on uniformed personnel of the Sudanese government.
(Local workers in oil fields in southern Sudan)
Because in the past, when the British colonized Sudan, the colonial authorities have always pursued a policy of "heavy agriculture, suppressing industry". As a result, the Sudanese government has not invested energy in the southern region to maintain its rule.
Soon, the rebels who were attacking had the upper hand. The uniformed personnel under the command of the Government of the Sudan were forced to hide in several major cities.
At this time, the US government also openly stood in front of the stage and included Sudan in the list of "state sponsors of terrorism". Once a country is included in this list by the Americans, it means that the United States will maintain a completely hostile policy towards them.
(China builds oil fields in southern Sudan)
During his eight years at the helm, Clinton increased his support for the rebels in southern Sudan. From initial financial support to later military aid, the United States has made little secret of its contempt for the Sudanese government.
Under the siege of the rebels for days, several important oil fields in southern Sudan soon fell into their hands. But in order to sustain the huge costs of the war, Sudan's rebels allowed Chinese companies stationed in the oil fields to continue production.
But in the war-torn years, even Chinese companies trying to maintain production near these fields were a luxury.
(Former President Bill of the United States. Clinton)
Because every time the Sudanese rebels pass through a village, they loot the entire village. Most of the villagers were massacred by rebel forces, many of whom were local employees of Chinese companies. As a result, Chinese oil companies are struggling to sustain production by relying on their own employees.
Because Sudan's government forces are really unable to suppress the powerful anti-government forces. Sudan's president, Al-Bashir, has repeatedly privately told the U.S. government that he is willing to compromise and cede some of his family's profits in Sudan's gold and oil and gas fields.
But when Americans saw the weakness of the Sudanese government, their appetite grew. The Americans felt that in the face of such a weak government, they had to swallow all the oil and gas interests in Sudan. Otherwise, years of U.S. support for Sudanese rebels would be a "loss-making deal."
(Protesters on the streets of Sudan)
In order to better seize the benefits generated by the oil and gas fields in southern Sudan, the Americans began to instigate those rebels in southern Sudan to directly establish an independent state, and expelled all Chinese technicians working in southern Sudan, and transferred all the business of those oil and gas fields to American companies.
At the same time, then-US President Barack Obama also offered Sudan's President Bashir a condition for lifting sanctions: if the United States wants to lift sanctions against Sudan, Bashir's government must recognize the "independence referendum result" in the south. In return, the United States will also provide some economic and agricultural assistance to Sudan.
This condition put forward by the Obama administration is tantamount to a naked betrayal of the national interest by the al-Bashir administration. But by this time, Bashir had been overwhelmed by the sanctions tactics of the Americans for many years. In the face of American power, neither Bashir nor the Sudanese people have a choice.
(Khartoum, capital of Sudan)
In 2011, South Sudan held a "referendum" without suspense. In the end, the majority of those who participated in the referendum agreed to the region's direct separation from the Sudanese government and the creation of a new "South Sudanese state".
For the Americans, removing South Sudan from the control of Bashir's government is an unprecedented victory. Next, they will target Chinese oil and gas companies in South Sudan.
Africa's "tragic song of fate"
A few months after South Sudan declared independence, Chinese engineers working there received notifications from the South Sudanese government.
According to the circular, all Chinese technicians working in South Sudan must leave South Sudan and return to China within a limited period. and hand over all the technology and equipment at their disposal and that of their units to the takeover personnel sent by the South Sudanese government.
The managers of mainland enterprises have ignored this hegemonic and unreasonable behavior of the South Sudanese government. Our men withdrew, but also the vast majority of the technical equipment. Only the infrastructure built for the people of South Sudan remains intact.
("Map" of South Sudan)
Subsequently, a number of U.S. oil companies, under the protection of the South Sudanese government, began to aggressively enter the fields previously developed and operated by Chinese companies. This is by no means good news for the people of South Sudan.
Compared with previous developments by Chinese companies, the series of actions carried out by American companies in the oil and gas fields in southern Sudan can be called "plundering".
They have no regard for the ecological environment and natural conditions. As long as they can dig up a steady stream of oil, the big machines of these American companies will operate day and night. Even if the entire oil underground in South Sudan is exploited, they will not hesitate.
(South Sudanese after independence)
In addition, these companies from the United States can arbitrarily occupy the local basic energy source. In order to provide power to American technicians in the oil fields, the South Sudanese government will even directly shut down the electricity network of nearby residents.
While ordinary people in South Sudan are starving, American technicians are enjoying luxuries in their offices, blowing air conditioners. It was as if everything outside the house had nothing to do with them.
However, South Sudanese government officials will never care about the plight of their own people. Because as long as the oil fields are completely handed over to the Americans, they can get dividends from the Americans according to percentage points every year without doing anything.
(Southern Sudan Oilfield)
It is no exaggeration to say that South Sudan is an "unjust country" built on corruption, embezzlement and betrayal. It exists only to help the Americans legitimately plunder oil in Sudan.
If Sudan's oil is exhausted one day, the Americans will instantly become "fighters for justice" and not hesitate to stand up and accuse South Sudanese officials of corruption and dictatorship.
After all, whether it is American politicians or capitalists, there is no friendship and morality in their eyes, only full of calculations and interests. There is no need for a country that cannot bring them any benefits.
("Wall Street" in the United States)
However, since the establishment of South Sudan's independence, the al-Bashir government in the north has occasionally broken out armed conflicts with South Sudan.
Although such conflicts cannot be completely won and do not gain international attention. But this is the last act of resistance that Sudan's al-Bashir government can make.
On April 11, 2019, a group of military officers in Sudan, backed by foreign forces, staged a "military coup." They then imprisoned Sudanese President Bashir and announced a formal takeover of the country.
(Bashir in diplomacy)
After the coup, al-Bashir was forced to announce his resignation and accept the outcome of the coup. Many believe that there are many shadows of the US "CIA" behind this coup. It seems that after many years, Americans still cannot forget this old enemy.
After the fall of Al-Bashir, several large-scale democratic elections were held in the Sudan. But Sudan never again had a stable government.
Even if some political groups are able to form loose ruling coalitions, they will fall apart within months of coming to power because of conflicts of interest, and Sudan will be plunged back into civil war. In the end, it is the ordinary people of Sudan who are most miserable.
(The streets of the Sudanese capital after the military coup)
For Chinese companies, losing the right to develop oil fields in southern Sudan is only a loss of profits. But for the Wubai people in southern Sudan, after the withdrawal of Chinese companies, they will return to the dark life.
It is not difficult to see from the history of the Sudan that what the Sudan lacked was never fertile land and abundant resources. What they lack is a Government that is dedicated to the people and a friend who is willing to help the people of the Sudan.
However, only the Sudanese people themselves can really save the Sudanese State. Chinese people have already given the answer to oppressed people around the world with practical actions: the road to independence is bound to be full of hardships, but only by relying on the spirit of hard struggle and the struggle of desperate life can this most magnificent goal of mankind be achieved.
Bibliography:
Ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir held at army hospital ALJAZEERA
Sudans ex-leader Omar al-Bashir being held in military hospital, says army The Guardian
Mystery of Ex-Dictators Whereabouts Adds to Crisis in Sudan The New York Times
Omar al-Bashir: Sudan's ousted president BBC News
Sudan to hand ex-President Omar al-Bashir to ICC CNN News