U.S. judge rules apartheid suits can proceed

By Christine Kearney
NEW YORK, April 8 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on
Wednesday that lawsuits seeking monetary damages can continue
against five large companies accused of aiding South Africa's
former apartheid system of racial segregation.
But U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin also dismissed
claims against banks UBS AG and Barclays Bank Plc
and electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd <6702.T>.
"Corporate defendants accused of merely doing business with
the apartheid Government of South Africa have been dismissed,"
Scheindlin said in her ruling.
The judge allowed at least some claims made by tens of
thousands of South African plaintiffs in two lawsuits in U.S.
federal court to proceed against automakers General Motors Corp
, Ford Motor Co and Daimler AG as well
as International Business Machines and Rheinmetall AG
.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages
against companies that they say helped support South Africa's
former racial system in which a minority white government
oppressed a majority black population.
The decision was hailed as a victory by attorneys for the
plaintiffs. Their lawsuits accuse the companies of aiding and
abetting the apartheid system, torture and extrajudicial
killings.
The lawsuits argue that the automakers knew their vehicles
were being used by South African forces to violently suppress
protesters. They also argue that IBM and Fujitsu knew their
computers were being used by South Africa's white minority
government to help strip black citizens of their rights.
Scheindlin disagreed with arguments made by the companies
such as IBM's contention that it was not the company's place to
tell clients how to use its products.
"That level of willful blindness in the face of crimes in
violation of the law of nations cannot defeat an otherwise
clear showing of knowledge that the assistance IBM provided
would directly and substantially support apartheid," she said.
Apartheid ended in 1994 when South Africa held its first
all-race elections, bringing Nelson Mandela and the African
National Congress to power.
The U.S. and South African governments supported the
companies' efforts to get the complaints dismissed, as did
Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Britain. Supporters of the
lawsuits included South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a
recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
More than 50 major corporations were initially sued in
2002, but the complaints were amended last year with fewer
companies targeted.
Lawyers for the companies did not immediately return calls
seeking comment.
((Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Will Dunham)
((nyc.buro@reuters.com; 1 646 223 6280; Reuters Messaging:
christine.kearney.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: APARTHEID USA/LAWSUITS

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