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| 5/24 |
| 2006/1/15-17 [Politics/Domestic/Election, Politics/Domestic/911] UID:41381 Activity:low |
1/15 The Dirty Dozen
http://www.divestterror.org/dirtydozen.html
\_ "In the 1980s, millions of outraged Americans succeeded in bringing
about a singular achievement -- ending South Africa's racist
apartheid policy. There is little debate as to how this was
accomplished: Where international sanctions, public condemnation
and diplomacy fell short, a nationwide American divestment campaign
triumphed. " Is this true? They cite no evidence. I recall my
parents boycotting various products because of South Africa, but
I don't recall ever hearing about one of those big companies
actually divesting. Does anyone know anything about the accuracy
of their claims?
\_ Google south africa apartheid divest
This was one of many pages I found on the subject. More research
left to you, the reader.
http://www.msu.edu/~divest/apartheid.html |
| 5/24 |
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| www.divestterror.org/dirtydozen.html Contact Us The "Dirty Dozen" There are some 400 public companies that do business with terrorist-sponsoring states. Many of these companies provide critical revenues and advanced equipment and technology to these countries. In addition, each of these European, Asian and US-owned subsidiary companies provides moral and political cover to the governments of these countries, obscuring the fact that they are providing hard currency, weapons, technology and safe harbor to terrorists. org does not differentiate among companies operating in terrorist-sponsoring states. Until such time as these countries discontinue their sponsorship of terrorism, it is our view that no company, regardless of the scale of their operations, should be willing to do business with them. Regrettably, hundreds of multinational and American companies have, to date, refused voluntarily to send this vital security message to the terrorist-sponsoring governments. A dozen of these companies exemplify the various ways in which this behavior is helping prop up such governments and, thereby, enabling their ability to aid and abet terrorism. |
| www.msu.edu/~divest/apartheid.html South African Apartheid The divestment campaign sent a strong message to the Apartheid regime, telling them that they had lost financial institutional support, along with the political and moral support of the international community. Between 1977 and October 1985, 55 universities and colleges across the US had partially or fully divested from South Africa. MSU was one of the first schools in the United States to do so, leading the way for schools such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, Colombia and the University of Michigan. The United States government was also forced to act because of the magnitude of the divestment and boycott campaigns. Universities led the rest of the country in removing investments from companies that did business with the apartheid government. The divestment in 1986 of the University of California Berkeley's $3 billion in stock holdings was particularly important because at that point it was the largest public institution to take a stand. Nelson Mandela, during a visit to the area after his release from prison, pointed to this event as a catalyst that ultimately helped end white-minority rule in South Africa. By divesting a significant amount of funds from companies doing business with Apartheid South Africa, and by accepting the principle of divestment, the universities caused companies themselves to put pressure on the South African government. The divestment movement posed a serious threat to the profit margins of companies doing business with Apartheid South Africa, leading them to divest, or apply pressure for change. It was also of great symbolic importance, in applying public pressure on the United States government to actively change its position on apartheid. Divestment was a major contributor in bringing down the apartheid regime. Renowned South African anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu wrote, "There is no greater testament to the basic dignity of ordinary people everywhere than the divestment movement of the 1980s." MSU was a leader in that movement, and set a precedent for the country to follow. Today, divestment remains an important democratic tool that will help MSU maintain its integrity as an institution that respects the needs of the community and society as a whole. |