Noting that the issue of divestment is a slippery slope, Reeves said that divestment should not be avidly pursued by institutions of higher education. He said that the purpose of a college's investment portfolio is to provide financial resources for the college, not to change the world. However, he asserted that some situations such as the Sudan genocide cross a moral threshold, in which case it is immoral to invest in companies that support such heinous situations.
Reeves explained how the Arab and African tribal groups have long been in competition with one another for the scarce arable land and water in the region and that the competition has become fiercer in recent years because of the depletion of these resources due to desertification.
Reeves also spoke about how there had been a confrontation between an African insurgency and the Sudanese military in Darfur. After the insurgency began to see success, the government ceased to use its own military and began to support the efforts of Arab militias, known as janjaweed-Arabic for "warriors on horseback." He noted that over the last few years, these militias have seen a "growing impunity" from the Sudanese government.
According to Reeves, the janjaweed assert an Arab supremacy and have as their goal the elimination of the African race from the Sudan. "They are the Ku Klux Klan of the Arab world," he said. Reeves explained that the janjaweed are hurting the African tribes by killing cattle, an essential source of livelihood for many African tribes, and destroying agricultural fields. These acts of terrorism are in addition to executing, raping, and torturing African villagers. Reeves emphasized that all of these actions constitute genocide.
Reeves further explained that the Sudanese government provides no support for African refugees in refugee camps who are frequently attacked. The humanitarian assistance to refugees is provided exclusively by international human-rights workers, whose security is provided for solely by the African Union, which Reeves says is highly incompetent for such a task.
However, Reeves warned that the withdrawal of international organizations will leave African villagers without any assistance. He informed the audience that this prospect is a realistic one since the United Nations had announced that day that it would remove some of its assistance workers due to security concerns.
Reeves criticized the international community for giving the African Union complete responsibility for policing the genocidal conflict in Sudan. The argument given for this decision, he said, is that the genocide in Darfur is an African problem that should have an African solution. However, Reeves said that the African Union is not qualified to handle such a situation and that relying solely on the organization is an excuse by the international community.
Reeves told of how Swiss, German, French and Chinese companies that are traded on the New York Stock Exchange are helping to sustain the National Islamic Front government in Khartoum that supports the genocide. He said that these companies provide investment to the oil industry and other sectors vital to the economic survival of the government in Khartoum.
Noting that according to per-capita the Sudanese are the poorest people in the world, Reeves emphasized that the government could not sustain itself without foreign investment. In response to a question posed by James Montana '08, Reeves stated that divestment would not cause those perpetrating the genocide to pillage African villages since there is essentially nothing left for the government to take from them.
Reeves urged Amherst students to make noise about the Darfur genocide. He said that many people at a number of college campuses across the country are outraged, but not enough people speak out about their outrage. Reeves noted that there is too much comfort while too many people are dying of genocide. He also urged students to question those who are not doing enough to stop to the genocide, such as congressmen and Sudanese embassy workers. "Make them uncomfortable," he said.
Reeves was invited to the College by the Sudan Investment Project, an effort started by Amos Irwin '07, Alex Campbell '07, Rishi Chaudhuri '06E and AAS president Michael Simmons '06. The group hopes to get the College administration to publicize that it does not have any direct holdings in companies that support the Sudanese genocide, to state that the College will not consider acquiring such holdings until the genocide is ended and to get rid of its indirect investments in the Sudan. "[We hope that] this will encourage the creation of Sudan-free investment pools which can then facilitate the nationwide divestment movement," said Irwin. "We will not push Amherst into anything prematurely or aggressively, we are just trying to make a strong attempt to use Amherst's name and financial clout to help end the killings in the Sudan."
Simmons declared the talk an "unequivocal success." "By inviting Mr. Reeves to speak about the reality of the terrible genocide in the Sudan we hoped to give students a thorough understanding of what this crisis means and what we have to do in response," he said. "Many students approached me and offered to help with the ongoing educational campaign on campus and to launch the efforts at getting Amherst students to get in touch with Congress to investigate the unacceptable lack of constructive action towards sanctioning the government of Sudan, among other things."
The College is still evaluating the ways in which the divestment issue can be resolved. "Darfur crosses the threshold of genocide, and the test we are trying to apply is how we can be most effecting in bringing a change to the situation," said President Anthony Marx.
Jide Zeitlin '85, chairman of the Board of Trustees, stated that in addressing the issue, students should not simply focus on divestment. "There's some additional work the students need to do, both to better educate themselves and to figure out the most effective ways to have an impact," he said. "We want this to be about real impact on the ground in the Sudan instead of just about gaining press."
Reeves is an internationally recognized authority on the Sudanese genocide. He has spent the last six years as a researcher and analyst of Sudan in addition to testifying before Congress. Reeves has given a number of academic lectures, and is a consultant to several human-rights organizations working in the country.