The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
State debates Darfur bill
Campaign to end Darfur crisis starts in Ypsilanti, ends in Lansing
By Dan DuChene, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: August 23, 2007
The Michigan Legislature, in response to the conflict in Darfur, may pass a bill with roots in Ypsilanti.
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For nearly four years, tribal residents in the western region of Sudan known as Darfur have been plagued by attacks from militias, known as the Janjaweed. Aside from reports of rape and slavery, 200,000 civilians have reportedly died and two million have been displaced into neighboring Chad, according to the United Nations.
The conflict started when rebel African groups began attacking government targets. The Muslim-led government responded with a military and police campaign. The government is said to have been supporting the Janjaweed, as helicopters and heavy artillery have been reportedly used in attacks.
Last year the U.N. approved a 26,000-member joint African Union peacekeeping force in the region, but was rejected by the country's government in Khartoum.
Ginny Mitchell, an Ypsilanti Township resident responded to the crisis in 2005, when she headed a project to have EMU divest its interests from Sudan. Her work continued when she helped create an EMU chapter of S.T.A.N.D., or Students Taking Action Now: Darfur. In her work with S.T.A.N.D., she helped a campaign, called the Sudan Divestment Taskforce, to have the state of Michigan divest from Sudan as well. No longer a member of S.T.A.N.D., Mitchell works with a statewide Darfur campaign called the Michigan Darfur Coalition.
Called targeted divestment, Mitchell said the law would pull investments from Michigan's pension funds out of companies that help fund Khartoum's military. She said the measure isn't aimed to harm the people of Michigan or Sudan. But, she said the message would still get across to the government of Sudan.
Last year Mitchell approached Ypsilanti Representative Alma Wheeler Smith, D-54th District, about the plan.
Smith eventually signed on and sponsored House Bill 4854 in May. The measure passed the House by a 103-2 margin last month.
"There has to be something that we as individuals and we as a government can do," Smith said. "We were the leading state in divesting from South Africa."
The bill, number 0555 in the Senate, is currently waiting approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee. Jessica Wortley, a spokesperson for the committee's chair, Ron Jelinek, R-21st District, said the issue has gone to the Michigan Department of Treasury to inquire about the effects the bill could have on the state. She said the committee has been discussing the bill since May.
"It wasn't as simple as the House made it seem," Wortely said.
Terry Stanton, a representative from the Michigan Department of Treasury, confirmed his department had received the inquiry. He said the department is looking into what investments the state has in such companies and creating a list of the businesses. He said he doesn't know how much time it will take to process the request.
"We're developing an estimate," Stanton said. It's a timely process."
Detroit Senator Hansen Clarke, D-1st District, is sponsoring the bill in the Senate. He said the bill is taking too long to pass.
"We're a world community," Clarke said. "We need to make sure our tax dollars are being spent right."
Clarke said the Sudanese government uses 70 percent of the country's oil revenues to support its military campaign in Darfur. Various companies from China, India and Malaysia operate in Sudanese oil. He said of the $62 billion Michigan has invested in mutual funds for various employee pensions, about $165 million go to companies operating in Sudan oil.
In targeted divestment, the lawmakers said the Michigan government would not pull all of its money from Sudan. First a company must be identified, then negotiations with that company would be initiated. Eventually, if an agreement can't be reached, the stock would be sold and invested in another company. Global corporations such as Coca-Cola would not be targeted.
"The one way we can stop the violence is to stop the flow of money that fuels that violence," Clarke said. "The money that you and I pay in taxes should not go toward genocide."
The Michigan Legislature has until December 2008 to get a bill passed. If enacted, Michigan would become the 20th state to adopt such a divestment measure.
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