No Word on Gulf Divestiture; PALC, Afro Issue Ultimatum

The Pan-African Liberation Committee (PALC) and Afro issued a joint ultimatum last night demanding that the Harvard Corporation announce today whether it will sell its stock in the Gulf Oil Company.

The two-page ultimatum read in part: "It has been seven months since President Bok was presented with the demands for divestiture, two months since Afro endorsed the demands, and two weeks since the Corporation meeting. Each day Gulf's Cabinda operation brings revenue for the Portuguese war effort. Each day means more lives of Africans lost in the war for liberation."

"If we (Afro and PALC) do not receive a public response by 5 p.m. tomorrow, we will consider the Corporation's decision to be a "no" to our demand."

"Completely Unnecessary"

President Bok called the ultimatum "completely unnecessary." "The Corporation will announce its decision either Tuesday or Wednesday," he said last night.

The Corporation held an all-day meeting yesterday at 17 Quincy St., the former President's house, but failed to reach any final consensus, according to Bok and Francis H. Burr '35, Fellow of the Corporation.

Bok had said on April 8 that the Corporation would announce its decision by April 14. Both Bok and Burr refused to specify the exact reason for the delay.

PALC and Afro issued the ultimatum after holding a joint strategy committee meeting yesterday evening. Clement Cann '74, and Afro spokesman, said last night that the ultimatum had been issued "to prevent the Corporation from stalling until the end of the year." This delay cannot continue to go on," he said.

The Gulf issue was first raised at a mill-in in University Hall on February 24. Since then, PALC and Afro have continued intermittent protest over the issue.

The two groups have charged that Gulf--through its investment in Portuguese colonies in Africa--"facilitates the daily slaughter of Africans" and that "Harvard is deeply implicated in this crime."

They have claimed in briefs and position papers that Gulf's payments to Portugal ease the strain on Portugal's military budget and provide the Portuguese government with an important source of foreign exchange currency.

Harvard owns 680,000 shares of Gulf stock valued at $21 million dollars.