Some non-election news. maybe lebez could provide his insight into how this could affect china's relations with sudan. perhaps the people of china will become more interested in the situation and press for change.

quote:

Sudan says abducted Chinese killed in cold blood By SARAH EL DEEB – 1 hour ago KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The kidnappers of nine Chinese oil workers in Sudan killed as many as five of their hostages on Tuesday after being spooked by a surveillance plane, a Sudanese government official said, contradicting Chinese claims of a botched rescue. There were also conflicting reports about the number of deaths. Mohammed Doureik, commissioner of Abyei in the province of south Kordofan where the Oct. 18 kidnapping took place, said five hostages were killed, two escaped and a third was handed over Tuesday to local tribal chiefs, leaving the ninth Chinese oil worker unaccounted for. "There were no clashes. There was a slight panic when they saw the plane and they killed them," said Doureik, adding the aircraft had been monitoring the hostages. China's foreign ministry initially reported five of the nine hostages were killed. but later said only four had died, citing new information supplied by the Sudanese government. An Associated Press reporter at the Khartoum airport only saw three coffins leave the plane bringing back the bodies. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China was involved in the rescue attempt and had a working group in Sudan. She declined to say if the Chinese government had been in contact with the rebels or provide further details. The deaths are one of the most violent acts Chinese nationals have faced in recent years as China's businesses expand worldwide in search of energy, raw materials and new markets. Sudan's Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Hussein called the killings a "terrorist act," and Foreign Ministry officials said there will be new measures to protect foreign interests in Sudan. China, which buys nearly two-thirds of Sudan's oil, has angered anti-government forces in Darfur who argue it provides crucial revenue to the government, involved in a civil war where 300,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced. Jiang said China would not cut its business ties with Sudan, saying they were beneficial to both countries. "We have actually played a constructive and contributing role in Sudan's economic and social development. Our companies have brought a lot of benefit to the local people and we will continue to keep our friendly cooperation with Sudan," she said. Sudan's government has blamed Darfur rebels for kidnapping, but on Tuesday a spokesman for the rebels denied involvement. "Even though China has become a partner in supporting the government military offensive in Darfur, we remain committed to international laws ... and we condemn such an attack," said Ahmed Hussein, spokesman for Justice and Equality Movement, which the government specifically accused of the kidnapping. A tribal leader from the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the kidnappers were Arab gunmen — who were part of a government militia and who now feel neglected by Khartoum. Associated Press Writers Anita Chang and Henry Sanderson contributed to this report from Beijing.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5...QJidNwD943JLNO0

China is not pulling out of Africa, make no mistake about it. They have plenty workers to choose from to replace the ones lost. Surely they will increase security. I am not so sure about the reasons why the hostages were killed - I read a Russian media article which said the hostages tried to escape and some were killed and couple managed to escape, or something like that.

This kidnapping just shows that China is becoming trapped in the Sudanese internal problems deeper and anti-Chinese sentiment is on the rise. There are plenty of rebel movements in Sudan - kinda surprising that the country is still together - oh wait, thats because they killed hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese and Darfur Africans in mass genocide.

Rebels know China is on Khartoum's side. So they will continue to hurt Chinese in any way they can.

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Mark my words - Kordofan is the next flashpoint in Sudan. More on this when I sober up.

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Ok, sober and a lull at work - time for a few thoughts.

This is a really frightening development for a few reasons. First, it marks the first time that hostage-taking and execution of foreign nationals has really taken place in Sudan. We're talking about a country that's basically in perpetual conflict - in Bahr al-Ghazal and then the entire South, then Darfur, and now increasingly in Kordofan. There are so many groups involved that it's impossible to determine which group is allied with who.

The fact that any group - nevermind who - has taken the unprecedented step of executing foreign nationals is unnerving - not least because it redefines the political climate of international groups doing business and conducting relief work there.

Will this pattern continue? It depends a lot on reactions, but it could open the floodgate for an outpouring of violence. Groups are already looking to blame one another (the government has blamed JEM, JEM has blamed the government, etc.), and both groups are watching very closely to see who bears the brunt of blame in the international community. Sanctions or inaction could both lead to more violence. One lesson about Sudan that has held true is that violence often crescendos and rarely abates.

Second, it puts China in a very precarious position. It's no secret that China has maintained a close relationship with Sudan, but what is less understood is the amount of influence that the Chinese have there. China has profited from the relationship (mostly in the form of oil) even more than Sudan has - why else would they maintain the relationship in the face of worldwide outrage? This event seems to have surprised China, who called it a "terrorist outrage" - but watch the next few days. If I were a betting man, I would put money on the fact that China will absolve the government of any wrong-doing, opting instead to reinforce the government's claim that these rebel groups in Darfur are conducting widespread terrorist activity. It would be easy enough to do - many groups, including JEM, are on record condemning Chinese policy in Sudan.

I don't think this bodes very well for the people of Sudan at all. We could very well have an increasingly antagonistic China, more willing than ever to turn a blind eye to atrocities aimed at rooting out terror. And the security situation for international organizations attempting to alleviate suffering is heightened. NGOs with people on the ground in Sudan have to be very nervous about what happened here. It would not surprise me to see some organizations scale back, citing increased financial difficulty (OxFam and others are already looking to pull back somewhat) in addition to increased security risks.

If international organizations pull out, whatever happens in Sudan will happen without witnesses, and that is a frightening thought.

Moreover, there's already a real fear that difficulties in Darfur are set to converge with tensions elsewhere in the country. Oil wealth in the country is situated between the South and Darfur, in a region called Kordofan - this region is highly contested by the semi-autonomous south, which fears that in addition to not being granted its promised vote on secession, stands to lose any claim to the land as the government continues to promote resettlement there by the mujahadeen.

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