Testimony of David Rolde representing the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts in opposition to Senate Bill 1474: 'An Act Relative to Pension Divestment' and in opposition to House Bill 2556: 'An Act Regulating Divestment in Sudan'
March 29, 2007 The Green-Rainbow Party opposes Senate Bill 1474 (Docket Number: SD01591 filed by Harriette Chandler), House Bill 2556 (filed by Denis Guyer) and all other bills calling for divestment from Sudan that are before the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court. We oppose the bills not only because divestment would deprive Sudan of revenue and thus be harmful to the people of Sudan, but also because the bills are based on an unjust and offensively racist demonization of the government and people of an African country whose people have suffered greatly from years of US economic warfare and overt and covert US military warfare against them. Unjust and Hypocritical Demonization of Sudan US imperialist and Zionist organizations have spent millions of dollars on an anti-Sudan propaganda campaign to vilify the Sudanese government and Sudanese people and to try to convince Americans that the Sudanese government is committing genocide against the people of Sudan's Darfur region. In reality there is no genocide. There has been a civil war in Darfur with many armed factions - some anti-government factions being supported by the US - fighting against each other. The numbers of deaths are often exaggerated. The word "Janjaweed" in Darfur does not refer to a specific organization but refers to any armed group whether they are independant bandits, allied with the government, or allied with one of the anti-government rebel movements. The motivations for the anti-Sudan propaganda campaign are to convince Americans to support war against Sudan in order for the US government to gain control over Sudan's oil and other resources or to install a new Sudanese government more compliant to US wishes. Anti-Sudan propaganda is also part of the general anti-Arab and anti-Muslim rhetoric that is used to gain US domestic support for the war in Iraq, continued US support of Israel, and for the so-called "war on terror". The anti-Sudan bills before the Massachusetts legislature demonize the government and people of Sudan - the largest country in Africa. The bills serve to amplify the drums of war against Sudan and set the stage for further U.S. imperial war against Sudan. The Chandler Bill cites Colin Powell and George W. Bush and other U.S. government officials - the same persons who lied about Iraq's non-existent "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and "links to Al Qaeda" to promote the invasion of Iraq - as accusing the government of Sudan of "genocide" and of "supporting international terrorism". Accusations like these have recently and historically been used by the U.S. government as pretexts to go to war against many countries. All the bills depend on continuing US state department designation of "genocide" - a designation that can be placed and removed because of Sudanese government compliance or non-compliance with US dictates about other issues and about access to Sudanese resources. International organizations, including the United Nations and the African Union, have not used the term "genocide" in regards to Darfur, have not accused the Sudanese government of genocide, and have criticized all sides in the civil war. International organizations have also estimated fewer deaths in Darfur than the Chandler bill cites and have not blamed the Sudanese government for all the deaths. The demonization of Sudan as expressed in these bills is hypocritical on several levels. First: the text of the bills blame the Sudanese government for problems that were caused by US intervention. The US has starved Sudan with sanctions and a trade boycott, destroyed Sudan's largest pharmaceutical plant with a missile strike thus rendering Sudan incapable of producing needed medicines for its people and livestock, instigated the civil wars in Sudan, armed the rebels, and then blamed the Sudanese government for all the deaths (whether by violence or famine or disease) and callled it genocide. Second: people in the USA do not hold the moral high ground to be able to accuse others of human rights violations. The United States government itself supports international terrorism and has killed millions of people with direct warfare in Iraq, Korea, and Southeast Asia and thousands of people in Afghanistan, Panama, Somalia and elsewhere. The US government through covert military support of insurgencies and open military support of brutal regimes has killed thousands - and perhaps millions - of people in Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, Haiti, etc. The US has committed genocide in Iraq, and is supporting a genocidal colonial settler regime in Palestine. But the Massachusetts legislators are not considering divesting from Israel or divesting from US weapons manufacturers. The Sudan divestment campaign is aimed primarily at the Chinese oil company to try to stop China from obtaining oil from Sudan. China's growing economy represents a threat to US global economic hegemony. The US already cut China off from Iraqi oil by invading Iraq. The Massachusetts legislators are not considering divesting from US oil companies who benefit from US imperialist warfare and neoliberal trade agreements forced on other countries by the US government at the behest of US oil companies. While the crudest anti-Sudan propaganda labels the civil wars in Sudan as race wars, in fact almost the entire population of Sudan are black, and almost everyone in Darfur is an Arabic speaking Muslim. The allegations that the Sudanese government has economically neglected Darfur must be seen in the context that Sudan is an impoverished country with a per capita GDP of less than $2500 per year, that economic development during British colonial rule was regionally uneven before Sudan's independence only 50 years ago, that Sudan has not had the resources to fully recover yet from colonial underdevelopment, and again that Sudan is dealing with civil wars instigated by the US. Meanwhile in the USA millions of people of color are in prison or live in fear of harassment by the police and court system. There is widespread poverty and lack of equal access to economic opportunities - especially for people of color - in our wealthy country. Indeed the USA was founded on genocide and exploitation of Native Americans and of African slaves. Divestment would be harmful to the people of Sudan The U.S. government started limited sanctions against Sudan in the early 90s, accusing Sudan of "supporting international terrorism" because the Sudanese government expressed support for the Palestinian cause and did not support the US "Gulf War" against Iraq. In 1997 the Bill Clinton administration, with executive order 13067, imposed a complete trade and financial embargo against Sudan so that US persons or companies are not allowed to buy from or sell to Sudan. This embargo or boycott is still in effect. The embargo has damaged the Sudanese economy and caused immense suffering to the Sudanese people. Sudan is cut off from some markets for its exports. Therefore Sudanese exports must be sold for a lower price than they would be in a more competitive market situation, or sometimes no buyer can be found. So Sudanese revenue is decreased and poverty increased.Things that Sudan needs - for instance human and veterinary medications that can't be produced locally since the Clinton administration destroyed Sudan's Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in 1998 - must be bought for a higher price in a market with reduced Sudanese access to vendors, or in some cases needed goods cannot be obtained by Sudan at all because Sudan cannot afford them or because they are only available from the US. Divestment from Sudan by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts might make it more difficult for Sudan to sell oil to China and possibly other exports to other buyers and thus would further reduce foreign revenue to Sudan. This revenue is needed by the people of Sudan - it provides jobs - and by the government of Sudan to build infrastructure and provide services to the people of Sudan. US Economic sanctions, (of which Massachusetts divestment from Sudan would be part), are used by the US government to coerce or try to coerce the Sudanese government into following US dictates. The US wants Sudan to support US policies in Africa and the Middle East and to support Israel. The US government, on behalf of US-based corporations, wants unlimited access to and control over Sudan's oil, uranium, gum arabic and other agricultural produce, and other resources. And the US government wants access to Sudan's territory to build military bases and pipelines. US government interests do not generally coincide with the interests of the people of Sudan. The Sudanese government, in order to acquiesce to US demands in hopes of US economic sanctions being removed or in hopes of the US stopping covert military operations against Sudan, would have to act against the interests of the Sudanese people. Finally, sometimes US economic sanctions against a country are a prelude to overt warfare or an invasion. Demonization and economic sanctions set the stage for war. Iraq is a good example of this. Massachusetts divestment from Sudan would make a US, NATO or US-sponsored UN invasion of Sudan more likely to happen. US troops, including soldiers from Massachusetts, could end up being sent to kill and die in Sudan. This would plunge all of Sudan into warfare and be a disaster for the people of Sudan. Recommendations Concern for the people of Sudan is laudable. It is important to understand the US role in Sudan and to understand the conflict in Darfur as a civil war rather than incorrectly as a genocide. Demonization of the Sudanese government and divestment from Sudan are harmful to the people of Sudan rather than helpful. The Green-Rainbow Party urges the Massachusetts legislature to reject Senate Bill 1474 (An Act Relative to Pension Divestment), House Bill 2556 (An Act Regulating Divestment in Sudan) and any other bills calling for divestment from Sudan. The Green-Rainbow Party has called for removal of all US economic sanctions against Sudan and for normalization of relations with Sudan. The Green-Rainbow Party is opposed to US or UN or other imposed military intervention in Sudan. To help the people of Sudan the Massachusetts state legislature should lobby the US federal government to remove economic sanctions against Sudan, normalize relations with Sudan, stop threatening Sudan, and refrain from arming or supporting any armed groups in Sudan. ------------ --------- --------- --------- ------ ------------ --------- --------- --------- - References and Information Sources "United States Terrorism in the Sudan" by Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed a comprehensive and well-footnoted article about US intervention in Sudan in the 90s _http://www.mediamon itors.net/ mosaddeq16. html#3_ (http://www.mediamon itors.net/ mosaddeq16. html#3) Ketih Harmon Snow's articles on Sudan _http://www.allthing spass.com/ journalism. php?catid= 24_ (http://www.allthing spass.com/ journalism. php?catid= 24) 'Darfur: an open discussion on intervention, regime change & the politics of genocide' Hear forum audio at Traprock Peace Center website _http://www.traprock peace.org/ darfur_intervent ion_070606. html_ (http://www.traprock peace.org/ darfur_intervent ion_070606. html) article summarizing the forum at _http://www.workers. org/2006/ world/darfur- 0720/index. html_ (http://www.workers. org/2006/ world/darfur- 0720/index. html) The Peace and Justice Foundation "What Concerned Citizens Should Know about the Crisis in Darfur by El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan _http://www.peacethr ujustice. org/home. htm_ (http://www.peacethr ujustice. org/home. htm) other articles on Sudan at _http://www.peacethr ujustice. org/sudan. htm_ (http://www.peacethr ujustice. org/sudan. htm) 'Darfur, Sudan: Seeking the Truth' video interview with Minister Louis Farrakhan _http://tinyurl. com/26orav_ (http://tinyurl. com/26orav) The European Sudanese Public Affairs Council _http://www.espac. org_ (http://www.espac. org/) _http://www.espac. org/darfur_ (http://www.espac. org/darfur) Articles by Sara Flounders of the International Action Center "The U.S. Role in Darfur, Sudan" _http://www.workers. org/2006/ world/darfur- 0608/index. html_ (http://www.workers. org/2006/ world/darfur- 0608/index. html) "Why Sudan Rejects UN Troops" _http://www.workers. org/2006/ world/sudan- 0914/index. html_ (http://www.workers. org/2006/ world/sudan- 0914/index. html) Articles by Columbia University Professor Mahmood Mamdani "How Can We Name the Darfur Crisis: Preliminary Thought on Darfur" _http://www.pambazuk a.org/en/ category/ features/ 24982_ (http://www.pambazuk a.org/en/ category/ features/ 24982) "The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, Insurgency" _http://www.lrb. co.uk/v29/ n05/mamd01_ .html_ (http://www.lrb. co.uk/v29/ n05/mamd01_ .html) "U.S. Imperialists Increase Efforts to Recolonize Sudan" by Natividad Carrera _http://tinyurl. com/yok5xz_ (http://tinyurl. com/yok5xz) (quotes George Bush as saying The pervasive role played by the government of Sudan in Sudan's petroleum and petrochemical industries threatens U.S. national security and foreign policy interests) "Darfur, Imperialist Intevention and Anti-Arab Hysteria" by Eugene Puryear _http://socialismand liberation. org/mag/index. php?aid=628_ (http://socialismand liberation. org/mag/index. php?aid=628) on African Holocaust . net "Myths About the Arab Slave Trade" by Owen âAlik Shahadah _http://www.africanh olocaust. net/news_ ah/arabslavetrad e.htm#MYTHS_ (http://www.africanh olocaust. net/news_ ah/arabslavetrad e.htm#MYTHS) "Darfur Truth Report" _http://www.africanh olocaust. net/news_ ah/darfur% 20report. html_ (http://www.africanh olocaust. net/news_ ah/darfur% 20report. html) "Thousands Protest in Darfur against Security Council Resolution for UN Deployment" _http://www.un. org/apps/ news/story. asp?newsid= 19738&cr= sudan&cr1_ (http://www.un. org/apps/ news/story. asp?newsid= 19738&cr= sudan&cr1) = Interview with Sudanese Compatriot Ismail Kamal _http://newswire. indymedia. org/en/2006/ 05/839852. shtml_ (http://newswire. indymedia. org/en/2006/ 05/839852. shtml) "UN Peackeeping Paramilitarism" by Steve Lendman _http://sjlendman. blogspot. com/2007/ 02/un-peacekeepi ng-paramilitaris m.html_ (http://sjlendman. blogspot. com/2007/ 02/un-peacekeepi ng-paramilitaris m.html) "While World Capitalists Spend Trillions on Wars, Hunger Kills 18,000 Children Each Day" by Hassan El-Najjar _http://tinyurl. com/3cuhoz_ (http://tinyurl. com/3cuhoz) --------------------------------- Bored stiff? 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