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"From the beginning, we sought to ensure compliance with the U.S. sanctions," says Talisman president Jim Buckee.

"No one is saying there aren't problems [in Sudan]," says Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International. "But this particular transaction [of China National] should not be affected by concerns about Sudan or other parts of the world."

Allowing China National to list on the New York Stock Exchange is like letting a Nazi-affiliated company raise money on Wall Street, says Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), who has led trips to Sudan to verify atrocities. "The poor people in southern Sudan are being told their value is not as important as open markets and the free flow of capital."

At the end of February, a coalition of religious and human rights leaders launched emergency efforts to block China National's stock-exchange listing. Nina Shea of Freedom House, Diane Knippers of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, and others wrote 200 of the largest U.S. investors, asking them not to buy shares in China National.

Freedom House's Paul Marshall and other Canadian evangelical leaders met with Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy about his tepid response to Talisman's involvement with Sudan's regime.

The commission plans to develop an evaluation tool for portfolio managers and other investors. The tool would evaluate the risk a company or its capital fundraising face as violations of religious freedom and human rights prompt international protests against certain investments.

After a vigorous call by evangelical leaders and others for a selloff of Talisman stock, the stock price has plummeted. But divestment and eyewitness testimonies of the atrocities have not stopped the war.

Gassis believes the government targeted the Upper Kaouda Holy Cross School, which he built—four small buildings with thatched roofs—as a warning against him testifying.

"The message of the bombing is for me to keep quiet," says Gassis, who recently received the Wilberforce Award from Prison Fellowship. "The Khartoum government knows that I am here. 'Bishop,' they are saying, 'keep your mouth shut.' "

Gassis says he is in the United States because of the desires of his Christian brothers and sisters in Sudan. With an evangelical mother and a Catholic father, the bishop feels he exemplifies the church's unified voice. "Come and save us," he says. "And pray for me."Tony Carnes is Senior News Writer for Christianity Today.

Our earlier coverage of this subject includes:

Protest Begins as White House Rethinks Policy on Sudan Regime | Religious leaders urge Clinton administration to act against oppression (Feb. 10, 2000)

Oil Exports Draw Protests | Christians urge divestment from Canadian company (Nov. 15, 1999)

Religious Freedom Panel in Place (June 14, 1999)

The U.S. Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999 has an extensive entry on religious liberty abuses in Sudan, and the Department of State 1999 Country Report on Human Rights Practices (Released February 25, 2000) also includes considerable information on religious freedom.

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April 3 2000, Vol. 44, No. 4