DARFUR CAMPAIGN CUTS SUDAN MONEY!
Darfur campaign cuts Sudan money
Martin Plaut Africa editor, BBC News.
Actors Don Cheadle and George Clooney supported the new law. A campaign in the United States to put pressure on Sudan over its policies in Darfur received a boost this week when California passed laws limiting business links with Sudan's government.
It is the latest example of a growing drive to stop companies doing business with Khartoum.
So far six states have enacted legislation, and a further 18 are considering what action to take.
On Monday the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed his state's latest piece of legislation.
The law requires the state's pension funds to sell their investments in companies trading with Sudan.
By his side was another actor - Don Cheadle, the star of Hotel Rwanda. The link was clear: genocide in Rwanda, and genocide in Sudan.
The governor urged President Bush to follow the same path.
Mr Schwarzenegger wrote to the president on Thursday, calling on him to sign the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.
"With a stroke of your pen, you can do far more than any one state to ease the suffering of millions in this war-torn region," he wrote.
The campaign is run by the Sudan Divestment Task Force.
Having started at Harvard University, it now includes cities and institutions across the country.
It is beginning to gain the kind of momentum it took anti-apartheid pressure groups 20 years to achieve.
In just 18 months a movement has grown up across the United States to try to halt the atrocities in Darfur.
"Genocide is an expensive venture," said Adam Sterling, the executive director of the task force.
"The Sudanese government relies heavily on foreign investment to fund its military and the brutal militias seeking to eliminate the non-Arab population of Darfur."
Two million people have fled their homes in Darfur.
The campaigning group has developed a sophisticated online website to allowing individuals to screen their investment funds for investments in companies supporting the Sudanese government.
Its targets are not American companies, which have been prohibited from doing business with Sudan since 1997. Rather it is companies like China's PetroChina, India's Bharat Heavy Electrical and Sudan Telecom that are coming under pressure.
Lobbying by American companies has so far prevented tougher legislation being passed by Congress.
But if the momentum is maintained it could become as difficult for corporations to do business with Sudan as it once was to do deals with South Africa.
Martin Plaut Africa editor, BBC News.
Actors Don Cheadle and George Clooney supported the new law. A campaign in the United States to put pressure on Sudan over its policies in Darfur received a boost this week when California passed laws limiting business links with Sudan's government.
It is the latest example of a growing drive to stop companies doing business with Khartoum.
So far six states have enacted legislation, and a further 18 are considering what action to take.
On Monday the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed his state's latest piece of legislation.
The law requires the state's pension funds to sell their investments in companies trading with Sudan.
By his side was another actor - Don Cheadle, the star of Hotel Rwanda. The link was clear: genocide in Rwanda, and genocide in Sudan.
The governor urged President Bush to follow the same path.
Mr Schwarzenegger wrote to the president on Thursday, calling on him to sign the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.
"With a stroke of your pen, you can do far more than any one state to ease the suffering of millions in this war-torn region," he wrote.
The campaign is run by the Sudan Divestment Task Force.
Having started at Harvard University, it now includes cities and institutions across the country.
It is beginning to gain the kind of momentum it took anti-apartheid pressure groups 20 years to achieve.
In just 18 months a movement has grown up across the United States to try to halt the atrocities in Darfur.
"Genocide is an expensive venture," said Adam Sterling, the executive director of the task force.
"The Sudanese government relies heavily on foreign investment to fund its military and the brutal militias seeking to eliminate the non-Arab population of Darfur."
Two million people have fled their homes in Darfur.
The campaigning group has developed a sophisticated online website to allowing individuals to screen their investment funds for investments in companies supporting the Sudanese government.
Its targets are not American companies, which have been prohibited from doing business with Sudan since 1997. Rather it is companies like China's PetroChina, India's Bharat Heavy Electrical and Sudan Telecom that are coming under pressure.
Lobbying by American companies has so far prevented tougher legislation being passed by Congress.
But if the momentum is maintained it could become as difficult for corporations to do business with Sudan as it once was to do deals with South Africa.
BBC NEWS REPORT.
posted by jackaranda at 9:25 pm
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