Sudan Divestment Bill Passed Congress
posted in Politics, News & Events, Foreign News | | | View blog reactions | Print This PostI’m a week late on getting this up, but it looks like our work of pestering congress has paid off.
The divestment bill that many of us activist wanted, and have urged others to contact congress about has passed
According to an Associated Press article: States, localities and private investors would be allowed to cut their investment ties with Sudan under legislation passed by Congress on Tuesday and sent to the president for his signature. The legislation adds to sanctions already in place against the Khartoum government meant to pressure Sudan into ending the murderous violence in the Darfur region of the country.
A Washington Post article tells of the resignation of President Bush’s special envoy to Sudan on last Friday:
President Bush’s special envoy to Sudan, Andrew S. Natsios, resigned yesterday amid continuing frustration in Congress, the administration and the human rights community over the slow pace of deployment of international peacekeepers to war-ravaged Darfur.
Natsios will be succeeded by Richard S. Williamson, a prominent Illinois Republican and former U.S. ambassador who has held senior posts in three GOP administrations, the White House said.
The article also tells of the problem with getting real action in Darfur to stop the genocide despite the passage of a UN resolution to send in a joint United Nations/African Union peace keeping force:
Natsios’s departure comes as the United Nations once again struggles to expand an existing African Union force of 7,000 troops into a more robust international force of 26,000 peacekeepers. U.N. officials have had little luck persuading countries to contribute the 24 helicopters needed for the mission. The government of Sudan, considered a major instigator of the violence, has thrown up various roadblocks after initially accepting the idea of the new force.
At least this divestment bill has good potential to apply some real economic pressure, the second most likely thing to bring about results next to military intervention.
It’s still a disgrace that this country and the world has not taken decisive action to end this now nearly 5 year genocide.
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