MEDIA RELEASE 18 November 1998: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Re: Canadian corporate involvement in Sudan Action against Talisman Energy Inc. needed urgently, Canadian agencies tell Axworthy Eleven Canadian agencies have called on Canada's Minister for Foreign Affairs to take action against Talisman Energy Inc., a Calgary-based oil exploration and production company that is working in partnership with the Government of Sudan, one of the worst violators of human rights in the world today. In a letter to the Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, the agencies say they believe that, as a result of Talisman's investment in Sudan's oil projects, "revenue generated by oil production and sales will be used to further prosecute the civil war and result in many more human rights abuses and civilian deaths." The presence of a credible Canadian oil company "will also create a favourable climate of investment and allow the Sudanese government to access international credit, which we believe it will use to prosecute the civil war with even greater intensity," the agencies state. The agencies also point out that Talisman is currently providing oil which they believe is being used to fuel military activities including the operation of tanks, personnel carriers, and planes that bomb hospitals and displaced persons camps in southern Sudan. They also mention reports alleging ethnic cleansing around the oil fields. According to these reports, Sudanese government forces and the militias armed and directed by the government have cleared the area of local people (whom the Sudanese government believes could be sources of support for the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army) in order to secure the safety of Canadian and other foreign oil workers and increased oil production. The agencies cite two instruments which Canada has at its disposal to curtail or limit the actions of Talisman and other Canadian companies working in Sudan, and ask Mr. Axworthy to explore prospects for the use of both. Placing Sudan on the Area Controls List would require all exports from Canada to Sudan, including equipment and technology needed for the full range of Talisman's activities, to have an export permit. The Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA) would enable Canada to impose economic sanctions on Sudan in the absence of a resolution from an international body. The agencies also ask Mr. Axworthy to resist pressure from Talisman and other Canadian firms to have their risks underwritten or applications for financing granted by the Export Development Corporation (EDC). The Government of Sudan, which is controlled by the Islamist National Islamic Front, stands accused by the United Nations and many international human rights agencies of a litany of human rights violations including genocide, slavery and the use of food and famine as tactical weapons of war. More than 1.5 million people, 80 percent of whom were women and children, have died as a result of 15 years of civil war. For more information contact Gary Kenny, Inter-Church Coalition on Africa Tel. 416-927-1124. Preparation of this media release and the letter to Mr. Axworthy was facilitated by the Sudan Inter-Agency Reference Group (SIARG). Inter-Church Coalition on Africa 129 St. Clair Ave. West Toronto, ON Canada M4V 1N5 Tel: 416 927 1124 Fax: 416 927 7554 E-mail: iccaf@web.net Web Page: www.web.net/~iccaf