Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- More than 100 people rallied in front of the Capitol steps Wednesday, calling for Alaska's oil riches investment program to be divested of holdings in Sudan because of the violence in Darfur.

Those attending the student-led rally, which featured 15 state lawmakers, say the Permanent Fund Corp. should follow 41 other states that have adopted or considered similar changes.

Since 2003, an estimated 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million have fled their homes in the African country.

"The message is pretty simple," said Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage. "Alaska holdings should not support genocide."

A small group lay in front of the steps to symbolize what the United States has called government-sponsored genocide in Darfur.

The emotional 30-minute gathering also had its dose of reality. Neither the lawmakers nor the supporters expect the Legislature to pass the bills this session.

Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, who co-sponsored the House bill with Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, broke the news to the crowd while assuring them it was not a partisan issue.

Rally leader Lauren Tibbitts-Travis, a sophomore at Juneau-Douglas High School, said she wasn't surprised to hear Lynn's words.

"Money makes the world go around," the 16-year-old said.

Tibbitts-Travis said she became interested in Darfur while studying other historic examples of genocide such as the Holocaust, which led to the death of an estimated 6 million Jews during World War II.

Last December, President Bush signed legislation that allows states and local governments to cut investment ties with Sudan.

Gara encouraged the crowd not to give up.

"Do you want to make money off of blood?" he asked.

Permanent Fund Corp. officials declined comment, deferring to prior testimony to the House State Affairs Committee by Michael Burns, the chief executive officer.

Burns said the fund does not invest with a "social or political agenda."

"Placing a social investment directive on the fund would be a significant change to our core mission," he said.

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