Activists urge governor to sign bill divesting funds from Sudan

By: ALICE WALTON - North County Times wire services | Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:19 PM PDT ∞

LOS ANGELES - Actor Don Cheadle was among the activists who today urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign legislation that would force state pension funds to divest from companies that do business in war-torn Sudan.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, would affect the Public Employees' Retirement System and California State Teachers' Retirement System.

"The time for words has drawn to a close and action desperately needs to take its place," said Cheadle, who starred in the 2004 film "Hotel Rwanda."

"We must take action now, without delay," he said. "Action that sends a message that we will not stand idly by as innocent men, women and children are hastened to their deaths by bombs, bullets, disease and the weapon most relied on -- staggering indifference."

An estimated 200,000 people in Sudan's Darfur region have died from disease, hunger and fighting since civil war began in 2003. The conflict has left 2 million Sudanese homeless.

"California will not stand by idly as genocide rages in Darfur," Koretz said. "With each day that passes, more innocent people are tortured and slaughtered by their government."

The bill would give the controllers of the state's pension funds 18 months to sell off hundreds of millions of dollars in stock in companies that do business with Sudan, Koretz said.

"Genocide is an expensive venture," said Adam Sterling with the Sudan Divestment Task Force. "The Sudanese government relies heavily on foreign investment to fund its military and the brutal militias seeking to eliminate the non-Arab population of Darfur."

The bill mirrors action taken earlier this year by the University of California Board of Regents, which voted to divest from nine companies involved in Sudan.

Schwarzenegger, who has not yet taken a position on the bill, has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to sign it into law.

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