'Heglig' was never a disputed territory

من طرف **Admin** الإثنين مايو 18, 2015 4:23 pm

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Revisiting the 'Heglig' Dispute

In 2012 a border dispute erupted into war between the formerly united two Sudans in the town of 'Heglig'. South Sudan was unanimously condemned by international bodies like the UN, the AU, the Arab League and the EU for engaging in military aggression, but the 'leadership' in South Sudan retorted by saying that they were merely responding to SAF bombardment.

Truth is the first casualty of war and so we may actually never know the true sequence of events that led to war. I'm going to address some of the myths of the Heglig war.

Myth 1 -- 'Heglig' was never a disputed territory.

When the armed forces of South Sudan took 'Heglig', media reports circulated all around the world about how 'Heglig' had never been one of the disputed territories during the Interim Period, and that therefore South Sudan was encroaching upon territory that had always been internationally recognised as unquestionably N Sudanese territory.

Myth 2 -- The Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded 'Heglig' to Sudan in 2009

This is probably the most insidious lie-myth of all, because it so brilliantly expropriated the stamp of an internationally recognised authority. Khartoum successfully presented this canard as fact and the international press picked it up and ran with it without even the pretense of prior research.

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Taseti

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'Heglig' was never a disputed territory 7TVxAAAAOElEQVR42u3BAQ0AAADCoPdPbQ43oAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgDMDhLcAAQ3fRDAAAAAASUVORK5CYII=

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Myth 1 -- 'Heglig' was never a disputed territory.

Quote:

Since the Permanent Court of Arbitration PCA) ruling, Heglig has become the most significant contested border area, owing to the scale of reserves, oil infrastructure, and lack of clarity in the border demarcation process. (More than a Line: Sudan's North-South Border, September 2010)

Quote:

The parties are currently wrangling over the location of the Heglig and Bamboo oil fields, with the GoSS claiming they are in Unity State (Southern Sudan) and the NCP saying they are in South Kordofan (Northern Sudan). (Back to the brink: Armed violence in Southern Sudan, 2010)

Quote:

Heglig is also claimed by both North and South and could cause discrepancies between the ABC report and the North-South boundary commission. In 2004, the NCP tried to shift Heglig from Unity State (in the South) to Keilek locality in Southern Kordofan. Crisis Group obtained a copy of the administrative order, signed by senior NCP official Nafie Ali Nafie, in 2005. (Sudan: Breaking the Abyei Deadlock - International Crisis Group Africa, Briefing N°47 Nairobi/Brussels, 12 October 2007)

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At least six sections of the border remain contested, including the oil producing Heglig area between South Kordofan and Unity state, as well as areas between Western Bahr el Ghazal and South Darfur states, which are reported to have significant copper and uranium deposits. (Sudan: Negotiating Southern Independence, Wolfram Lacher, 2010)

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The location of key oilfields in these concessions, such as Heglig, was heavily disputed between the NCP and SPLM during the CPA's interim period. (Sudan Looks East: China, India & the Politics of Asian Alternatives - Daniel Large, Luke A. Patey, 2011)

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According to SPLM secretary-general, Pagan Amum, four other areas are in dispute: the northern-most border separating Renk county in Upper Nile from the north’s White Nile state, the borderline running north-south between the south’s Unity state and the north’s Southern Kordofan (this will determine who controls the Heglig oil field), whether the Bahr al-Arab river forms the exact border between the south’s Bahr el-Ghazal and Darfur in the north, and which river forms the exact western-most dividing line between Western Bahr el-Ghazal and Southern Darfur. (Sudan: Peace or war, unity or secession? Research Paper 10/40 2 June 2010)

Quote:

The location of Heglig is contested by the government and Southern Sudanese alike, largely because of the oil reserves in the area. In the 1980s, Chevron discovered a large oilfield in Heglig (later called Block 2). The Dinka of Pariang insist that this area is their land, locally known as Aliny and renamed Heglig – from the Arabic name Igligi – by the government, so as to incorporate it into Northern Sudan. (Oil Development Induced Displacement in the Sudan 2009)

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The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed. - Carl von Clausewitz

27-Feb-15, 05:36

#3

Taseti

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Myth 2 -- The Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded 'Heglig' to Sudan in 2009

Quote:

The PCA made no ruling about Panthou/Heglig itself, or about any other portion of the 1956 boundary line. To do so would have exceeded their mandate… (Note on Panthou/Heglig, Douglas H. Johnson 2012)

Quote:

Menkarios who held talks with the leadership of the new country on the resumption of peace talks in Addis Ababa on 29 May told the meeting The Hague’s ruling had never stated that Heglig (Panthou) was part of North Sudan.

The Eritrean diplomat further explained that the court only determined only the boundaries of the territory of Abyei area and not the borders between South Sudan and Sudan. He said the court simply stated that Heglig did not fall within the territory of Abyei. (UN special envoy says Hague court did not give Heglig to Sudan 2012)

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The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed. - Carl von Clausewitz

27-Feb-15, 05:58

#4

Taseti

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I'm going to evoke a very crucial piece of evidence -- the wealth-sharing provisions of the CPA. The CPA’s wealth-sharing provisions mandated a 50-50 sharing of revenue from oil wells in the South -- and only oil wells in the South. Khartoum didn’t have to [and did not] share revenue with South Sudan from the few oil fields found in the North.

To quote the CPA's Wealth-Sharing Provisions:

Quote:

The parties agree that the basis for an agreed and definitive framework for the sharing of the wealth emanating from oil resources of Southern Sudan…

After the payment to the Oil Revenue Stabilization Account and to the oil producing States/regions, fifty percent (50%) of net oil revenue derived from oil producing wells in Southern Sudan shall be allocated to the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) as of the beginning of the Pre-Interim Period and the remaining fifty percent (50%) to the National Government and States in Northern Sudan.

Quote:

Revenue from oil in the South is split 50/50 between the central government and the GoSS, after 2 per cent is set aside for the oil producing state.( Sudan: Breaking the Abyei Deadlock - International Crisis Group Africa Briefing N°47 Nairobi/Brussels, 12 October 2007)

Quote:

The Heglig and Unity fields sit almost on top of the line that divides northern and southern Sudan. And exactly where that line was located mattered tremendously because it determined how much of the oil revenues Khartoum was supposed to share with the South. (Sudan: Art Ayris, Ninie Hammon, 2010)

Khartoum acknowledged South Sudan's right to 'Heglig' for four [4] of the six [6] years in the interim period and DID ‘share’ remittance from 'Heglig', per the requirements of the CPA.

Now why did the NCP acknowledge 'Heglig' as an integral part of the South for four [4] of the six [6] years of the Interim period up until its intentional misinterpretation of the 2009 PCA ruling on Abyei!?

Why did the NCP ’share’ the proceeds from 'Heglig's' eight oilfields and seventeen wells with *southern Sudan* for four [4] of the six [6] years when the CPA only mandated a sharing of oil revenue from only those oil fields in the south!? Was the NCP impelled by uncharacteristic altruism, philanthropy and grace!?

Quote:

The Sudanese government announced that it will stop remitting payments to the South on the oil revenue from the Heglig oil fields following a court ruling on the borders on the Abyei region. (Rifts emerge between Sudan’s ruling parties after Abyei ruling July 24 2009)

Quote:

The dominant National Congress Party said it would stop remitting payments to the South on the oil revenue from the Heglig oil fields as the court ruling on the borders on the Abyei region stated it is part of Southern Kordofan state in the north. (Abyei ruling doesn’t demarcate North-South Sudan border – lawmaker July 26 2009)

Quote:

The Sudanese government announced that it will no longer share the oil revenue from Heglig oil field with the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) in light of the ruling. (Sudan’s SPLM threatens to refer oilfield dispute to The Hague 2009)

It’s only at this point that Khartoum decided to stop giving South Sudan its 50% share from 'Heglig''s oil fields.

The NCP purposely misinterpreted the very specific and very limited mandate of the PCA with regards to its ruling on *Abyei*; it convinced itself that the very specific and limited demarcation of the Abyei area was in fact a demarcation of the entire border and has acted accordingly within that convoluted context by being unbearably stubborn.

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The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed. - Carl von Clausewitz

Last edited by Taseti; 27-Feb-15 at 06:08.

27-Feb-15, 06:24

#5

Taseti

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The Demography of 'Heglig'.

The depopulation and annexation of mineral rich southern territory has been Khartoum’s most cherished policy since independence; and it has pursued this policy through war for decades.

Facts on the demography of 'Heglig' and their subsequent expulsion have been documented by the UN, Human rights watch, the Harker Report, the coalition of international justice, and two former UN Special Rapporteurs, Leonardo Franco and Gaspar Biro.

Quote:

In 1978, Chevron discovered oil reserves in the Muglad and Melut basins, in the northern parts of Southern Sudan.3, 153 [Appendix A, Map 4] The GoS gave both fields names that suggested northern control. Block I became known as “Unity,” suggesting southern incorporation with the North, while Block 2 was christened “Heglig,” a colloquial Arabic term for a type of tree. (Talisman’s Sudanese Oil Investment: The Historical Context Surrounding Its Entry, Departure, and Controversial Tenure, Jennifer C. Leary 2007)

Quote:

The central government and the Southern Kordofan authorities used the Arabic name Igligi for this oilfield and area in Block 2, using an Arabic name to denote Arab control. (Human Rights Watch: Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights 2003)

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Chevron first discovered oil in Heglig and Unity oilfields in 1978. That immediately started the forced depopulation of Ruweng County by Arab nomad groups, armed by the Government. Chevron left the region for security reasons in 1984, after war resumed between the Government of the Sudan and the Southern opposition. (Depopulating Sudan’s oil regions, Diane deGuzman, 2002)

Quote:

The Harker mission pointed out that while there have always been pressures on the Dinka in the Heglig-Ruweng area as a result of inter-tribal fighting with Arab nomads for grazing areas and dry-season water, the situation had worsened with the beginning of oil exploration and had continued to deteriorate over the years because of the periodic offensives launched by the Government and its allies, resulting in destruction and mass population displacement. (United Nations, General Assembly, Situation of human rights in the Sudan A /55/374 Fifty-fifth session Agenda item 114 (c) Human rights questions: human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives, 11 September 2000)

Quote:

The Heglig oil location (in Block 2) was not densely populated, but Dinka lived dispersed in the whole Heglig area and moved their cattle to cattle camps in that same region, according to contemporary accounts, the memories of former residents, and older maps. (Human Rights Watch: Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights 2003)

Quote:

In May of 1999, just as the pipeline was completed, an offensive on the eastern edge of Heglig was carried out by the Sudanese army displacing one to two thousand civilians. The United Nations Special Rapporteur noted reports by observers of government bombers, helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery used against unarmed civilians to clear a 100-kilometer swath around oilfields. (Coalition of International Justice: Soil and oil, dirty business in Sudan, February 2006)

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The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed. - Carl von Clausewitz

27-Feb-15, 06:47

#6

Taseti

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The redrawing of maps and the forced depopulation of the oil areas.

The depopulation and annexation of mineral rich southern territory has been Khartoum’s most cherished policy since independence, and it has pursued this policy through war for decades.

Quote:

In 1980, President Nimeiri instructed his Attorney General Hassan el Turabi to redraw Sudan’s map for administrative purposes. The Attorney General executed this task and presented a “new” map to the Parliament that year. The new map carved away oil areas such as Heglig and Bentiu from the South. (Integration and Fragmentation of the Sudan: An African Renaissance, February 21, 2011)

Quote:

Nimeiri's overconfidence and the regime's intensifying economic difficulties led him to seek direct control over the newly discovered oil resources in the south… In 1980, he announced plans to redraw the borders between southern and northern provinces. When this proposal was blocked by the regional government, he conveniently created a new province [al-Wihda, or "Unity" State] and removed the oil fields altogether from southern administrative jurisdiction. (Civil War and Failed Efforts for Peace in the Sudan - Taisier Ali and Robert O. Matthews)

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Since the 1980s, Heglig has witnessed intense violence by Arab nomads, government soldiers and local militias. Oil companies were also to blame. (Oil Development Induced Displacement in the Sudan 2009)

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Arab nomads allegedly settled in the depopulated area, with the support of the oil company Talisman, which developed water points, health facilities and schools. Talisman came under intense criticism for facilitating government efforts to alter the demography of the area. However, it claimed that the area had ‘never known permanent habitation, always being the scene of widespread flooding in the rainy season, and of cattle drives and nomad camps in the dry season’. (Oil Development Induced Displacement in the Sudan 2009)

Quote:

UN Special Rapporteur Leonardo Franco wrote of this area being attacked in May 1999, with villages on the eastern edge of Heglig being attacked and burnt to the ground. He said that as many as six thousand homes were destroyed, along with 17 churches, all leaving 1,000-2,000 people displaced. (Human Security in Sudan: The Report of a Canadian Assessment Mission Prepared for the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ottawa, January 2000)

Quote:

Also oil-rich Heglig, where settlement of Arab nomads and displacement of the local Dinka have been actively pursued by the central government, has witnessed serious tensions. The Dinka people claim Heglig as part of their traditional homeland but central government elites allege that it is part of the North. By claiming that Heglig is located in the North, the central government elites deny the South a share of revenues from oil pumped out of the huge Heglig oilfield. (Oil Development Induced Displacement in the Sudan 2009)

Quote:

In May of 1999, just as the pipeline was completed, an offensive on the eastern edge of Heglig was carried out by the Sudanese army displacing one to two thousand civilians. The United Nations Special Rapporteur noted reports by observers of government bombers, helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery used against unarmed civilians to clear a 100-kilometer swath around oilfields. (Coalition of International Justice: Soil and oil, dirty business in Sudan, February 2006)

Quote:

...after the discovery of oil, central governments armed elements of the Baggara cattle herders of southern Kordofan and gave them free rein to attack Dinka and Nuer in and around the Unity and Heglig fields north of Bentiu. These Baggara militia – dubbed ‘murahleen’ - raided and burned villages, looted cattle, drove southerners off their pastures and abducted women and children. (FMO Country Guide: Sudan)

Quote:

In 1999, the UN Special Rapporteur Leonardo Franco accused Khartoum of using its army to create a 60 km security zone around the oilfields. He reported that half the population in Ruweng County, the county in which Heglig and Unity lie, was displaced in attacks between April and July 1999. He said thousands of villages, and 17 churches were destroyed. (The scorched earth: oil and war in Sudan, 2001)

Quote:

From April to July 1999, an estimated half of the population of Ruweng County, where the Unity and Heglig oilfields are located, was displaced after attacks by Government of the Sudan troops. This was confirmed in the 1999 report by the UN Special Rapporteur, Leonardo Franco. (Depopulating Sudan’s oil region 2002)

Quote:

The areas around Heglig and Unity oilfields, the first to be opened up, have been wastelands since early 1999, when the government began forcibly removing the civilians in an effort to secure the area before oil exploration began. (PROFILE OF INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT: SUDAN Compilation of the information available in the Global IDP Database of the Norwegian Refugee Council, 2004)

Quote:

As noted above, beginning half way through the dry season of 1991-2 and restarting in November 1992, (and continuing through the whole of the dry season of 1992-3) government forces together with Arab murahaleen allies began an offensive of looting, burning and abduction, resulting in the destruction of at least 57 hamlets in the Heglig area. (Coalition of International Justice: Soil and oil, dirty business in Sudan, February 2006)

Quote:

The Dinka of Pariang insist that this area is their land, locally known as Aliny and renamed Heglig – from the Arabic name Igligi – by the government, so as to incorporate it into Northern Sudan. (Oil Development Induced Displacement in the Sudan 2009)

Quote:

The Dinka village of Athonj was ethnically cleansed and renamed El Toor, while the GOS deployed troops in Maper and changed its name to Munga. Over the years the attacks and displacements led to a gradual Dinka depopulation of the oil-rich area, since few of the original inhabitants returned after each displacement. (Canada in Sudan: War without borders - Peter Pigott 2009)

Quote:

The Dinka village of Athonj was renamed El Toor, and the GOS deployed troops in Maper, renaming it Munga. (Human Security in Sudan: The Report of a Canadian Assessment Mission, 2006)

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The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed. - Carl von Clausewitz

Last edited by Taseti; 27-Feb-15 at 06:55.

27-Feb-15, 07:03

#7

Taseti

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Quote:

The July 2009 PCA decision placed the Heglig oil fields outside Abyei. Yet, SPLM figures remain firm that Heglig is part of Unity state and thus in the South, while NCP officials argue it is part of the North. (Defining the North-South border Crisis Group Africa Briefing N°75, 2 September 2010)

Quote:

The Dinka village of Athonj was ethnically cleansed and renamed El Toor, while the GOS deployed troops in Maper and changed its name to Munga. Over the years the attacks and displacements led to a gradual Dinka depopulation of the oil-rich area, since few of the original inhabitants returned after each displacement. (Canada in Sudan: War without borders - Peter Pigott 2009)

Quote:

The Dinka village of Athonj was renamed El Toor, and the GOS deployed troops in Maper, renaming it Munga. (Human Security in Sudan: The Report of a Canadian Assessment Mission, 2006)

The village of Athonj was renamed El Toor and Maper was renamed Munga; Pawol became Fauwel, Ajaj became Agag, Kur Wi became Jebelayn and Aliiny became “Igligi” or “Heglig”… and we can go on and on.

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The conqueror is always a lover of peace; he would prefer to take over our country unopposed. - Carl von Clausewitz