Canada implicated in genocide in Sudan

[Tehuti-4]

Canada asked U.S. to intervene in Talisman case

By Jeffrey JonesWed Jul 6, 6:11 PM ET

Canada asked Washington to persuade a U.S. court to dismiss a lawsuit against Talisman Energy Inc. that alleges the Calgary-based oil company aided genocide in southern Sudan, documents show.

The suit, filed in a New York district court in 2001 by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan, is dogging Talisman despite its exit from the Sudanese oil industry two years ago.

The company has made at least two attempts to have the case thrown out of court and maintains the charges in the suit are "outrageous and absolutely without merit."

The Canadian government's move to stop the case from going forward was made public in a Toronto Star newspaper report on Wednesday. The intervention could be troublesome for Ottawa, which has emphasized soft power and legal remedies over military strength in Sudan.

Prime Minister Paul Martin made a show in May of pledging C$170 million ($137 million) in aid for Sudan's ravaged Darfur region.

The six-page diplomatic note to the State Department from the Canadian embassy in Washington that was made public by the Star shows the Canadian government asked U.S. officials to intervene.

The note followed a similar missive sent last summer.

In the most recent, dated Jan. 14, the embassy stressed Canada's opposition to the U.S. Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows lawsuits against foreign companies over actions alleged to have occurred outside the United States.

It says the case is "problematic" for international relations because the "assumption of extraterritorial jurisdiction by a U.S., court constitutes an infringement in the conduct of foreign relations by the Government of Canada."

In its position statement to the court, the State Department said it took no position on the question of genocide in the case, but that it shared Canada's concern over U.S. federal courts exercising wide extraterritorial jurisdiction.

"Without getting into the details of this case, the principle is that we do not think a judge should be asked to essentially make foreign policy decisions, which is the responsibility of the government," a State Department official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters on Wednesday.

The suit alleges Talisman helped Sudanese forces in a "brutal ethnic cleansing campaign" against civilians in the south of the country based on the civilians' ethnicity or religion.

Talisman, it alleges, participated in the armed campaign to enhance its ability to explore and extract oil from areas of southern Sudan, site of a two-decade civil war.

Talisman sold its 25 percent interest in Sudan's main oil project for $771 million in 2003.

It has maintained its presence was positive because, as a public company reporting to its shareholders, it brought attention to the conditions in Sudan. It also points out it funded schools, hospitals and other public works projects and has continued to fund humanitarian causes there.

Talisman spokesman Barry Nelson declined to comment on Canada's diplomatic efforts, which the Star reported came at the company's urging, citing constraints imposed by the court.

Judge Denise Cote of the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, is expected to rule on arguments about foreign relations, although it is not clear when.

In June, Cote rejected a second attempt by Talisman to have the suit dismissed on what it called "a purely legal issue."

David Kilgour, independent member of Canada's parliament, sent a letter to Martin on Tuesday saying the government's intervention in the case raised doubts about its commitment to human rights.

Spokesmen for Canada's foreign affairs department and Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew had no immediate comment.

(With reporting by Randall Palmer in Ottawa and Saul Hudson in Washington)