USA Africa Dialogue Series - $3 million loan to collect $100 million?

 

OCCUPY PETER J. GROSSMAN'S FRONT YARD IN BROOKLYN, NYC!

Sunday December 4: From Wall Street to the Congo!

What: Vulture Fund FG Hemisphere run by American financier Peter Grossman is trying to collect on a $100 million debt from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The current debt is based on an initial $30 million loan he purchased from Bosnia's former Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic for only $3 million.

Grossman has tried to seize the DRC's Washington Embassy as down payment on the debt, but this was blocked by US authorities. His company tried to claim the debt once more in the US, South Africa, and again in Hong Kong, before attempting in Jersey, an island that is a British Crown dependency.

The country is one of the poorest in the world, ranking last at 187 on the United Nations 2011 Human Development Index. Peter Grossman's Vulture Fund is attempting to deny the impoverished people of the Congo of their right to basic human needs. When questioned whether he thought that his collection of the debt was fair, Grossman replied, "Yeah, I do, actually." Adding, "I am not doing anything wrong. I am collecting a legitimate debt."

Who: Existence Is Resistance and Friends of the Congo.

Existence Is Resistance is an internationalist organization determined to promote non-violent resistance through cultural arts.

The Friends of the Congo is a grassroots advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.

When: Sunday, December 4, 2011, 2:00pm - 5:00 pm. 



Where: Meet at Fulton St & Waverly Ave intersection in Brooklyn, NY 11238 (Clinton/Washington Stop off of the A/C Train). We will march from the intersection to 300 DEKALB AVE to the residence of Peter Grossman.

Contact:  Kambale Musavuli, 646-571-8312, info@friendsofthecongo.org
               Ryan Green, 917-284-5343, questions@existenceisresistance.org

For more information, visit http://www.congojustice.org to learn more about the plight of the Congolese people.

Visit http://www.existenceisresistance.org to learn more about the work of E.I.R.

For more on Grossman's theft of Congo's resources, view these links:
1.    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15745003
2.    http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/22/reporter_greg_palast_exposes_how_us

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Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222  (fax)
http://www.toyinfalola.com/
www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue