From a fellow public service retiree in Colorado re: their SudanList.pdf

Sent to John Curry, Sunday, August 26, 2007
Subject: SudanList.pdf

John, As you'll see none of these companies are American companies. However, the same principle applies as with the "terror lists". These are highly profitable companies that anyone else can own either as individual stocks or in mutual funds/indexes. Many of them probably have offices in the U.S. In this era of globalization, none of this makes much since unless it is being used to do great harm to public pension funds. Also, some of these companies are not on the SEC list so who made the decision about list inclusion anyway? And how was that decision made? PERA bought two lists, International Shareholders Service (ISS) and KLD Research and Analytics, which partners with Sudan Divestment Task Force. PERA derived their Sudan divestment list from these two companies. (I understand a list costs $10,000 and up.) How's that for setting foreign policy? Did this improve relations with all those countries where the companies are headquartered? I think not. Did it hurt PERA? You betcha!!

A history of US sanctions against Sudan Before 1987: Sudan receives on average $216 million a year in aid from the United States.

1988: The US chokes off about 40 percent of its aid to Sudan after the African country defaults on foreign loans. US humanitarian aid continues.

1989: Sudan's democratically elected government is overthrown.

1990: After a military dictatorship comes to power, US aid trickles to $22.8 million, and President George H.W. Bush calls for cuts to some humanitarian funds.

1993: The US places Sudan on a terrorism watch list, cutting off American aid and loans to the country. The sanctions exclude food aid, which increases from $22.4 million in 1992 to $70.1 million in 1994.

1997: President Bill Clinton bans nearly all trade between the United States and Sudan, except for food and medicine.

2000: Congress passes legislation to allow imports of gum arabic, a major Sudanese export used by printers and soft-drink makers.

2003: President George W. Bush imposes economic sanctions on Sudan, as well as other countries, after reports of human trafficking. The US gives $145.3 million in aid.

2004: Secretary of State Colin Powell calls the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region a "genocide."

2005: Mr. Bush drops many sanctions, citing Sudan's efforts to combat trafficking, but the country remains on a terrorism watch list. Congress introduces legislation to impose sanctions against the government.

2007: Bush announces new US economic sanctions against Sudanese companies and individuals. He calls for the United Nations to impose further sanctions on Sudan's government.

Source: Congressional Research Service. Compiled by John Aubrey and Leigh Montgomery All figures in 2007 dollars.

[Links to the article were provided, but they were no longer working. KBB]