US President George W Bush has announced sanctions against Sudan while Khartoum remains unperturbed, writes Gamal Nkrumah It is a question of David taking on Goliath. Khartoum plays David and Washington plays Goliath: When Washington announced this week that it intends to freeze the assets of 31 government- affiliated Sudanese companies, most of them associated with the country's burgeoning oil sector, it was as if Goliath had decided to take on David, with Khartoum playing David and Washington Goliath. Washington purports to uphold the moral upper hand. For altruistic purposes it intends to intervene on the behalf of the hapless people of Darfur. More cynical observers, though, believe the move is simply part of America's strategy to lay its hands on Sudanese oil. The imposition of American sanctions against Sudan should be viewed in the context of the increasingly fierce competition between the US and China for control of Africa's oil wealth. "I promise this to the people of Darfur. The United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world," US President George W Bush announced this week. "For too long the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder and rape of innocent civilians." Sudan produces more than 500,000 barrels of oil a day, most of which are bought by China. Indeed, the China National Petroleum Company is among the biggest investors in Sudan. China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, is determined to block any attempt by the US to impose international sanctions on Khartoum. "These American measures come at a time when Sudan is actively discussing peace in Darfur and working on the hybrid force," says Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadig. "We invite the international community to ignore and condemn these sanctions," he added Khartoum understands all too well that Washington is simply cutting off its nose to spite its face. American companies will be the biggest losers if unilateral sanctions are imposed. The US has also imposed a travel ban and froze the assets of three leading Sudanese politicians: Awad Ibn Ouf, Sudan's head of military intelligence and security chief, Minister of Humanitarian affairs Ahmed Haroun, who was in charge of Darfur between 2002 and 2004 and is accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and humanitarian relief agencies of arming, aiding and abetting nomadic Arab tribes in their attacks against Darfur's indigenous, non- Arab population, and Khalil Ibrahim, the head of the Darfur armed opposition group the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Ibrahim is known to be close to his ideological mentor, the leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party Sheikh Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudan's chief Islamist ideologue and influential former parliament speaker. "I don't understand why the Americans have embargoed Khalil Ibrahim. I do not understand why he was blacklisted. I thought that the Americans wanted all the Darfur opposition groups to work together, to get to the negotiating table with the Sudanese government," Turabi told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I am convinced that the CIA and the Sudanese government work hand in hand. This is all a charade. They both claim that Khalil Ibrahim and JEM are an offshoot of Al-Qaeda, that they have links to Osama bin Laden. All that is rubbish, false accusations. JEM was with us and the current regime in the now defunct National Islamic Front. We were all in it together. We parted ways with the Sudanese government because they have no understanding of democracy and human rights. They cannot understand the concept of a viable opposition. They cannot shed their militaristic roots." Turabi was in Darfur last week for the PCP's national congress. "We met in the south Darfur capital Nyala and the tensions are palpable. There is genuine hatred for the oppressive Sudanese government in Darfur. Tempers are running high. People are fed-up with the status quo and the tragic humanitarian conditions," explained Turabi. He expressed concern that Arab governments and people are not doing enough to support the people of Darfur. "There is growing resentment against Arabs in general. People in Darfur see Westerners, young people who dedicate their lives to the cause of the desperate Darfur refugees. I have yet to see a single Arab volunteer," he lamented. "Arabs feel strongly about the Palestinian cause, but they have no sympathy for the suffering of the people of Darfur. Is it because they are black? Don't black lives count? I suspect racism is at work." He had harsh words, too, for the Americans. "They have no experience of dealing with colonised peoples. The Americans are the neo-colonialists, but unlike the British they have no bitter colonial experience in other parts of the world, in Africa and India. The Americans have no idea how to cope in foreign lands. They imagine everywhere functions like in America," he said. "The Chinese, on the other hand, are newcomers, but they do not interfere in other people's business. In Sudan they come to trade and do business. They don't bother about domestic politics. This is why they are acceptable. American officials are nosy and they assume that they are morally superior to us. That is myopic and immature. What do they know about the problems of Darfur?" It is a view that has become prevalent in Sudan, not just in official circles but among the opposition. "The Americans are only interested in Darfur's oil" is how Turabi sums it up.
