SAN FRANCISCO - The Save Darfur Coalition today launched the latest phase of its divestment advertising campaign with provocative national television and online advertisements targeting genocide-linked investments held by firms Franklin Templeton, JP Morgan, Vanguard, Fidelity Investments, and Capital Group. The coalition also unveiled new "station domination" divestment advertisements in San Francisco's Montgomery Street BART Station specifically targeting San Mateo-based mutual fund company Franklin Templeton. To view the television or online ad, click here: http://www.savedarfur.org/divestment/presskit .
"This phase of the Divest for Darfur campaign urges every American to ask their financial advisor and mutual fund company one simple question: ‘Am I invested in genocide?'" said coalition spokesman, Allyn Brooks-LaSure. "Because firms such as Franklin Templeton are so heavily invested in Chinese oil company PetroChina, the answer too often will be ‘yes.' American mutual fund companies must shed their ties to investments that extend the suffering and misery for millions of Darfuris, because American investors don't want to bankroll genocide."
Divestment activists said the five firms are the largest U.S. mutual fund company investors in Chinese oil company PetroChina. According to the targeted divestment model developed by the Sudan Divestment Task Force, PetroChina through its parent company CNPC, is the worst of the "highest offending" companies helping to fund the genocide in Darfur.
The television ad, directed by Jake Scott of RSA Films, will broadcast nationally on CNN and on multiple television stations in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, hundreds of advertisements will cover the Montgomery Street BART station in San Francisco's financial district, with awareness teams distributing information outside the station. Aggressive online advertisements will also launch this week. Later this month, Darfur activists across the country will host events at the headquarters and storefront offices of targeted companies.
To view the television or online ad, click here: http://www.savedarfur.org/divestment/presskit .
Darfur activists specifically appeal to mutual fund companies because such firms hold the retirement savings for millions of Americans. According to a poll conducted earlier this year, eight in ten Americans said they would withdraw their investments from American companies that do business with companies that directly or indirectly support genocide. Eight in ten - 82 percent - also said they would advise friends, family and co-workers against buying products or services, or investing in American companies that invest in a foreign company that directly or indirectly provide revenue to a government that perpetrates genocide. The poll was conducted by KRC Research.
"Americans are crystal clear on this issue - they do not want their personal investments linked to genocide," said Brooks-LaSure. "It is well past time that these industry leaders reflected American values in their investments."
U.S. law prohibits most American companies from operating directly in Sudan. However, U.S. firms are legally able to invest in foreign companies that operate in Sudan, several of which make a significant contribution to Sudan's economy, indirectly funding the genocide. According to research by the Sudan Divestment Task Force, Sudan has historically been responsive to economic pressure when diplomatic pressure has not succeeded.
The coalition last month announced a list of investment firms that have adopted the targeted divestment model: Calvert, Clean Yield Group, Domini Social Investments, Pax World, Prentiss Smith and Company, Trillium Asset Management, Walden Asset Management/Boston Trust, and Women's Equity Fund. The details about the target companies - and those that have divested - are available at: http://www.divestfordarfur.org.
RSA Films, who donated time and equipment for this project at little to no cost, is one of the world's leading commercial advertising and music video production companies. "The genocide in Darfur is the single most important issue facing the human race now," said Jake Scott. "We must not stop until it stops."
