Divestment letter

Dear Dr. Hatch and Financial and Accounting Services,

            The government of Sudan along with the janjaweed militia has been carrying out a policy of genocide against the people of the Darfur region for the last four years.  They are responsible for razing 90% of Darfur’s villages, gang-raping civilians, slaughtering 400,000 victims, displacing 2.5 million more, using forced starvation as a weapon and impeding access of humanitarian aid in Darfur.  These actions have continued to occur despite the Darfur Peace Agreement, and are still occurring as you are reading this sentence.
            A number of international companies that continue to operate in non-humanitarian activities are providing significant revenue to the Sudanese government while providing little benefit to the majority of Sudan’s citizens.  It is estimated by the Sudan Divestment Taskforce that 70-80% of oil revenue for Sudan, which came from direct foreign investment, was used for military purposes in 2005.  These companies can have a large impact on the Sudanese government because the government will have to pay for the genocide themselves without the backing of these companies, but refuse to use their power to stop the massacres. 
            Targeted divestment is the removal of funds from companies that are the “worst offending” businesses.  They must have a business relationship with the government of Sudan, impart minimal benefit to the country’s underprivileged, and have demonstrated no substantial corporate policy regarding the Darfur genocide. 
            We are not asking that the university to act any way that could seriously harm itself financially, but we are asking the university to at least take some action.  We ask that Wake Forest University under the leadership of President Hatch take a serious look at the companies that they investing their funds into.  As we have all seen, political pressure has done little to stop this genocide.