In extraordinarily important divestment news, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has voted to divest from Talisman Energy, citing Talisman’s appalling complicity in exacerbating civil war in Sudan, its dependence upon scorched-earth warfare in southern Sudan, and its role in sending oil revenues to the “genocidal” Khartoum regime.
Eric Reeves [February 25, 2001]
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063
413-585-3326
ereeves@smith.edu
Using immensely critical language, the Presbyterian Church has sent a message that will resonate powerfully among other major American church denominations now considering divestment from Talisman Energy. The reality of an irresistible divestment campaign, national in scope and broad in its supporting constituencies, is a giant step closer. Every day now is a day closer to a full-scale reprise of the campaign that helped to end the hateful system of apartheid in South Africa.
Voting unanimously on Friday (Feb 23), the General Assembly Council (GAC) approved a recommendation for divestment from Talisman Energy coming from the National Ministries Division. The language from the “Presbyterian Church (USA) News” (Feb 24, 2001; major excerpts attached below) could not be more explicit. Guided by a report (again unanimous) from the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI), the Presbyterian Church has declared:
“It is also clear from numerous independent and well-respected sources (Amnesty International, the United Nations and Human Rights Watch) that the Sudanese government targeted villages and civilians to clear the area around the pipeline, and continues to do so to protect against rebel attacks.”
Further: “Spokespersons for the MRTI committee said Sudan’s Muslim government is a genocidal regime that enslaves women and children, bombs hospitals, and has been responsible for the starving deaths of more than a million people. The committee said its action was meant to keep the PC (USA)’s name from being associated with war and human-rights abuses.” [from the news release]
A challenge to other church and religious investor responsibility committees has been issued in the strongest possible terms. A number of other major denominations are considering Talisman Energy divestment, and this finding by the Presbyterian Church will surely accelerate deliberations. It is also noteworthy that the American Council of Catholic Bishops is in the process of sending a high-level fact-finding delegation to Sudan. The American Catholic hierarchy can be expected to make its own powerful statement in the near future.
The callous calculation by Talisman Energy that their corporate complicity in the oil-driven destruction of Sudan would begin to lose its ghastly profile is proving disastrously inept. Indeed, their practical ineptitude in this respect is exceeded only by the viciousness of the complicity itself.
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[from “Presbyterian Church (USA) News,” February 24, 2001]
“Canadian firm too close to Sudan war and human-rights abuses”
by Evan Silverstein
LOUISVILLE — The General Assembly Council (GAC) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is recommending that one of the world’s largest oil companies be added to the General Assembly’s corporate divestment “hit list.”
The GAC unanimously approved a recommendation from the National Ministries Division (NMD) Committee on Friday, Feb. 23 to add Talisman Energy Inc., to the denomination’s divestment list, barring church entities from owning stock in the Canadian-headquartered company.
The recommendation — acted on during the GAC’s meeting at the Hyatt Regency here — originated with the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI), which said Talisman should be included on the list because of its ties to Sudan’s 17-year-old civil war. The Calgary petroleum giant drills for oil in Sudan, with royalties going to the Sudanese government to fuel its 17-year-old civil war and its frequent human atrocities, MRTI said in a written report to GAC.
“The MRTI committee decided that the Talisman situation merited a divestment recommendation according to these criteria,” MRTI said in its report. “The General Assembly has spoken out for decades on behalf of human rights as derived from God, in whose image human beings are made. The church through MRTI has also engaged corporations about their responsibilities when operating in countries with serious human-rights abuses.”
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MRTI is responsible for assessing firms’ compliance with General Assembly policies such as those on environmental protection, human rights and labor practices. MRTI also combines GA-approved social screens with shareholder engagement through proxy voting, dialogues with corporate executives, and filing shareholder resolutions on the issues. Members of MRTI unanimously approved the Talisman recommendation during a Jan. 20 meeting in Tucson, AZ.
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Spokespersons for the MRTI committee said Sudan’s Muslim government is a genocidal regime that enslaves women and children, bombs hospitals, and has been responsible for the starving deaths of more than a million people. The committee said its action was meant to keep the PC (USA)’s name from being associated with war and human-rights abuses.
Foes of the Sudanese regime contend that Americans who invest in Talisman and other oil companies doing business in Sudan become supporters of genocide, because the oil fields pump millions of dollars into the government’s war effort. The civil war, which has cost more than 1.5 million lives since 1983, pits Khartoum’s Islamic government against mainly Christian and animist rebels in the south.
Chevron discovered oil in Sudan 20 years ago. Talisman Energy, which recently took over the franchise, has helped the country develop a major oil capacity. A 1,000-mile pipeline running from the interior to Port Sudan pumps at least 100,000 barrels per day. The Sudanese government has targeted villages and civilians to clear the area around the pipeline in southern Sudan, according to MRTI’s report, and reportedly has purchased billions of dollars worth of arms from several countries, using future oil revenues as
credit.
“It is also clear from numerous independent and well-respected sources (Amnesty International, the United Nations and Human Rights Watch) that the Sudanese government targeted villages and civilians to clear the area around the pipeline, and continues to do so to protect against rebel attacks,” the report said.
The recommendation also asks this summer’s General Assembly to direct the stated clerk, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, to inform Talisman Energy Inc. management of the GAC’s action; direct MRTI to continue monitoring the situation in Sudan; call upon the church to pray for the people of Sudan and support international peacemaking efforts.