With the 2008 Summer Olympics approaching, China's attempt to create a humanitarian, tolerant and democratic image of itself among the potential viewers of the Olympic Games is being blighted by its continued cordial relations and trade with the tyrannical government of Sudan.
The nature of the Sudanese government is quite clearly exemplified by the ongoing "conflict" (as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon {among others} has called it - I personally prefer the term "genocide") in Darfur and its sponsorship of the barbaric janjaweed militiamen who are burning and pillaging the villages and homes of thousands of innocent civilians as well as being responsible for the rape and murder for countless thousands. Evidence for this is plentiful and can be found with ease at any source relating to this issue.
China's trade with Sudan began in 1969 when Sudan had just undergone a revolution instigated by the Free Officers' Movement led by Jaafar an Nimeiri, and purchased arms from China, but when oil reserves were discovered in Sudan, the Communist dictatorship became a whole lot more interested in exploiting the African nation for its own (capitalistic, and therefore hypocritical) ends. According to the book "Petrotyranny" by John C Bacher and David T Suzuki (Dundurn Press, 2000), in 1997 China's state-owned oil company purchased 40% of Sudan's Heglig oil field. Such actions serve to channel wealth away from the impoverished sources of the oil and to perpetuate the extreme indigence which is the lot of the vast majority of the populations of countries such as Sudan.
However, even if the oil wealth were to remain in Sudan, the endemic human rights abuses of the Sudanese government would deny the people of the nation a share of the benefits of "black gold". Indeed, these human rights abuses are so severe that the only countries who attempt to defend Sudan at the United Nations are Libya, Iran and Syria. Even the United States doesn't do this, despite its persistent vetoing of international human rights treaties. On this issue, even the false democracy of the United States is more humane than China's authorities.
This week, Sudan's president, Omar-al Bashir, has been arrested on suspicion of war crimes by the International Criminal Court. America, which curiously (but deliberately) is not a member of the International Criminal Court, praised the decision to press charges. However, things are not so rosy elsewhere. China (and Russia ) called the move "unhelpful" and urged "restraint", according to the website Islam Online.net.
China also recently refused to condemn Zimbabwe's leaders at the G-8 summit, and continues to maintain arms trade with both countries. Hopefully the world can come together and help to solve these problems. More on this issue later and thanks to all the sources used for this article.
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