On Tuesday morning, the state capitol lawn, littered with tents
and college students from across California, became a refugee
camp.
The simulated camp was part of a demonstration aimed at pushing
legislation for the next step in what students and policy makers
have developed into a nationwide Sudanese divestment campaign.
This was the second time students gathered in Sacramento to meet
with legislators and policy makers regarding divestment from
Sudan.
Today, the state assembly is expected to vote on a bill that
would require California’s two largest pension funds ““
California Public Employees’ Retirement System and California
State Teachers’ Retirement System ““ to withdraw funds
from companies associated with the Sudanese government.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Assemblyman Paul
Koretz, D-West Hollywood, joined the rally and visual
representation of the situation in Darfur to show their support for
the bill.
“We have a moral responsibility to stop these investments.
By allowing our pension systems to invest in these companies, we
may as well be committing genocide ourselves,” Koretz, the
author of the bill, said in a statement.
The divestment campaign is part of an effort to put pressure on
the Sudanese government to end fighting in Darfur, as it has been
charged with perpetuating the violence in the region.
Since the beginning of the conflict three years ago, hundreds of
thousands of civilians have been killed and even more displaced in
Darfur. The situation has been called a genocide by the U.S.
government, and recently the conflict has spread to neighboring
Chad.
There are currently dozens of divestment proposals in progress
at universities and cities throughout the country, said Adam
Sterling, co-chairman of the Sudan Divestment Taskforce.
The UC Sudan Divestment Taskforce, which was comprised of
students and advocates from colleges and universities across the
state, began working on a UC divestment campaign last year. Their
efforts grew into a nationwide movement after the UC Board of
Regents voted to divest in March.
Small divestment campaigns across the nation joined forces after
the UC’s decision to divest, Sterling said.
“There were ongoing campaigns in a number of other
universities and states throughout the country, but it was more of
a hodgepodge; all the universities and states were doing different
things, there was no coordination,” he said.
The UC’s divestment plan, developed by the task force, was
unique because it focused on withdrawing funds from companies that
met certain criteria.
Under the plan, companies that provide extensive revenue to the
Sudanese government and do not provide benefits to civilians or
humanitarian organizations in the region will be targeted for
divestment.
The current bill on state divestment is modeled after the
UC’s targeted divestment plan.
Task force members have been working with Koretz and members of
the CalSTRS and CalPERS boards to create a divestment plan that
will please all parties involved, said Karina Garcia, legislative
director of the Sudan Divestment TaskForce.