محمد سليمان ناشط السودان الجديد، يتحدث امام برلمان كالفورنيا.

Quote: AB 1089 (Hernandez) Fact Sheet The genocide taking place in Darfur, Sudan has been called the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape and mass slaughter of innocent men, women and children. The ongoing devastation in Darfur has killed an estimated 400,000 and displaced over 2.5 million Sudanese since February 2003. The Bush Administration has recognized that the atrocities, which are being carried out against civilians, primarily by the government of Sudan and its allied Janjaweed militias, constitutes genocide. The Darfur crisis represents the first time the United States Government has labeled ongoing atrocities as genocide. AB 1089 ensures that California will not award state contracts to companies that directly or indirectly aide the Sudanese government in perpetrating genocide against innocent civilians. This bill targets only those companies that warrant extra scrutiny due to their complacency towards a government committing genocide AB 1089 sends a message that the state of California does not condone the continued economic gain of international corporations at the expense of innocent people. AB 1089 1) Requires the Department of General Services to develop a list of the “worst offending” companies doing business with the Government of Sudan. 2) Prohibits the State of California from entering into a government contract with a company on the worst offending company list. 3) Requires every company that submits a bid or proposal for a contract with the State of California to submit a statement swearing under penalty of perjury that they are not on the worst offending company list. AB 1089 is tailored to carefully target only the most egregiously offending companies in Sudan and excludes any company that substantially benefits those outside of government circles. Companies involved in medicine, education, general consumer goods, and agriculture are specifically excluded from the bill. Since agriculture remains Sudan's most important economic sector for most Sudanese, employing over 80% of the workforce, exclusion of the agricultural sector is especially critical to minimizing harm to innocent citizens. Last year Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 2941 (Koretz) which now requires the state’s pension systems, CALPERS and CALSTRS, to divest their investments in companies doing business in the Sudan. AB 1089 sends a strong message to the Government of Sudan and to companies that are aiding and abetting the Sudanese Government that California will not stand idly by and let genocide continue without taking action. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -Martin Luther King Jr.