Several US Congressmen Call on Investors to Boycott Sudan

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and religious groups in the United States Monday called for shareholder action to force multinational and overseas corporations to withdraw from Sudan. The legislators accuse these companies of providing financial support for the Khartoum government's genocide in the Darfur region. U.S. public pension funds are being asked to divest their holdings in multinational companies doing business in Sudan. Former member of Congress Walter Fauntroy says oil companies, such as Total of France, are the biggest offenders. These companies, he says, have paid over $500-million for mineral rights in oil-rich southern Sudan. Mr. Fauntroy says American pension funds should not own shares in any company, foreign or domestic, still active in Sudan. "We're asking them to take action to stop companies doing business in Sudan from using our money to support the dirty work of the Khartoum regime," he said. [more]