In their messaging, the Christian coalition on Sudan, which kicked off the divestment campaign, made use of an even more stark contrast of Arabs against Christians in the south. Although, out of 9 million people in southern Sudan, not very many are Christian.
Diverse: Today, there is a massive campaign to divest in Sudan, with student activists convincing more than a dozen universities to divest. What do you think of the divestment campaign?Hansch: In South Africa, it started with the universities, then the states and then Congress and finally the big difference was the big banks got involved. Yet, it would not have worked in South Africa had the country not already been deeply divided. Enough South Africans saw their country as a cosmopolitan and progressive country that they cared not to be isolated. In contrast, despite all our best work in organizing global economic pressure on Burma, the Burmese military junta does not particularly care. Meanwhile, there’s no question that economic sanctions have harmed the citizens of Burma.
Sudan is more similar to Burma than to South Africa. The divestment campaign will hurt the Sudanese government but just as in the case of Burma, the Sudanese can find other markets, like China. China’s disrespect for human rights is the common thread running through numerous student campaigns, from Tibet to Burma, from North Korea to Darfur.
Diverse: The Chinese company PetroChina has been the biggest target of divestment. Does Harvard University removing a few million from a billion-dollar PetroChina really have any effect?Hansch: Yes. There’s a symbolic effect, which matters to markets and share prices. Every step like this is a part of a larger jigsaw puzzle. If every shareholder worldwide does their share, then the bandwagon will grow and the appropriate pressures and signals will be sent.
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