Action in Sudan preps state divestment campaign

Divestment campaigns have a long history when it comes campus activism, but their use has recently expanded to focus upon larger targets at the state level. This means state investment/retirement boards, the largest of which number among the biggest institutional holders of securities in the world. Using these institutional bodies to promote human rights through shareholder activism is an increasingly popular and effective tactic for activists, already extending to this state. A few years ago, the city of Milwaukee passed a divestment resolution as part of a World Bank bonds as part of an effort to promote a boycott of the bonds at the state level.

An upcoming divestment campaign organized in Madison will target the state's investment board, pressuring it to sell all of its shares in companies with direct financial commitments in Sudan. This is intended to put pressure upon that nation to cease government attacks on residents of the Darfur region, which have killed upwards of 400,000 persons, and displaced millions more. In a situation recalling Rwanda a decade ago, this new African genocide has received limited media attention, and little more than lip service from the American and other governments.

This divestment campaign, receiving support from activists across the ideological spectrum for a variety of reasons, is gathering steam throughout the country, and is beginning to emerge locally. Tomorrow evening (Wednesday, May 18), a benefit promising "a night of African music, hip hop, and global change" will be held downtown at Café Montmarte to promote state divestment from companies invested in Sudan.

Organized by the UW-Madison student group Action in Sudan, the ask at the door is five bucks. Performers at the benefit include a number of Madison hip hop heavyweights, including Peter Parker of dumate, el guante (a Dane101 contributing writer) and DJ Pain1, and Rob Dz of the Rob Dz Experience. Opening the evening of performers is "the beautiful music of Tani Diakite and his handmade Malian 8-string harp, the n'goni."

According to a press release announcing the event, "[a]ll proceeds go to benefit refugees in Darfur, Sudan and Action in Sudan's campaign to divest the $1.6 billion in State of Wisconsin pension funds from companies that support the genocidal regime in Sudan.'

Action in Sudan "is a group of students and community members" that list three primary organizational goals;

• promotes awareness about the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan
• builds support for humanitarian relief of refugees
• pushes for increased U.S. and international pressure on the Government of Sudan to stop attacks and aid refugees

In addition to their efforts to raise awareness about the issue (including joining the rubber bracelet division, forest green brigade), the primary campaign of Action in Sudan is to get the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to divest from about one-and-a-half billion dollars of investments in companies that conduct direct trade and capital investment in Sudan.

American companies have been subject to trade sanctions against Sudan since 1997, but according to Action in Sudan, "of the 67 billion dollars in state pension funds that the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) invests in many different companies around the world, it invests an estimated $1.6 billion in 29 foreign-owned companies who are currently profiting in Sudan and propping up the genocidal regime there with their business."

Sources for more information about Darfur and the broad divestment campaign against Sudan that are recommended by Action in Sudan include Save Darfur and Sudan Divestment.

Dane101 spoke for a short time over the phone this evening with Action in Sudan organizer Jen Pro, talking with her about Action's work on their divestment campaign, their hopes for the benefit, and why this issue needs more attention.

Dane101: Tell me about your organization.

Pro: The group started about six months ago. It was originally six roommates who started it, and I got involved in it a week later. We're a student organization, and our intention is to increase awareness about Darfur on campus and around Madison. If people were more knowledgeable about it, they would be more interested in the issue. Our second mission is to increase political action within our government on this issue.

I graduated on Saturday, and will be staying in Madison for some of the summer. All the leaders in the group now have graduated, and we've gotten younger undergraduates to get involved and take leadership positions, and we're trying to get grad students involved.

Dane101: What do you expect will come out of the benefit tomorrow night?

Pro: We're just hoping to make some money. We just found out that Wisconsin has 1.6 billion in companies in Sudan, and we want to divest that money. We're looking to expand the campaign for that, and anything else we want to put into humanitarian relief.

Dane101: What's the status of the divestment campaign?

Pro: We're raising money to try to get it started.

Dane101: What companies are you looking for the board to divest from?

Pro: Petro-China is a big one. We need to get a more distinct list. The bill won't specify companies, I think. Rather, the bill will ask the state retirement fund to divest from companies investing in Sudan, and the following step will be to identify them.

Dane101: Are you in contact with anybody from the pension board?

Pro: Yes, we've been starting to do that. We're in the very beginning steps of that campaign. We're beginning the legislator education campaign, as we are finding many legislators know little about the issue. We're planning on going into all of their offices, giving them factsheets telling them what's going on, ultimately to get support to have somebody sponsor the bill.

Dane101: Have you had any contact with state employee unions on the issue?

Pro: Not yet, but we plan to.

Dane101: Is this being worked on in other states, and if so, what is the status of these campaigns?

Pro: Illinois just passed a divestment bill in its legislature, and it needs signing by their governor. Harvard recently sold all of their shares in Petro-China, which was actually a huge number.

Dane101: Why do you think this is of such a low profile, both in our media and as a priority in the U.S. international agenda?

Pro: I think that the fact that we are in Iraq makes it difficult for anyone to want to get involved in another international issue. It has such a low profile in our government because the American people don't really know about it, and we're not pressuring our elected officials in government on this issue.

Dane101: What do you think it will take to get Wisconsinites interested in this issue, which received very limited attention in our media?

Pro: I think that knowledge will get them interested. If they knew what was going on, they would care. If they knew their retirement money was being invested in this regime, then they would want to pull it out. Getting people aware of the fact that this is going on is our intention.