05607
Nov. 10, 2005

MRTI-Motorola meeting closed to media

Open-meetings policy permits closure
of sessions involving ‘property negotiation’

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE — For the first time in recent history, the committee that monitors how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) invests its money has excluded the media from a significant part of its meeting.

     The Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) committee closed its meeting today in Chicago to the press, including the Presbyterian News Service.

     MRTI said the General Assembly’s Open Meeting Policy permits the closure of meetings for property negotiation. The “property” in this case is stock in the Motorola Corporation.

     MRTI, staffed by the Rev. Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, was scheduled to meet with Schaumburg, IL-based Motorola Thursday from 3 p.m. to 5 (CDT) to talk about the multinational company’s business practices in Israel and Palestine.

     Motorola, a large electronics and telecommunications company, is one of five corporations MRTI is “engaging” in an effort to get it to discontinue business practices that are believed to promote violence in Israel and Palestine. The 216th General Assembly assigned that task to the committee, and ultimately MRTI could recommend that PC(USA) divest from the companies.

     The denomination, through its Board of Pensions and Foundation/New Covenant Growth Funds, held 644,400 shares of Motorola stock on June 30. MRTI claims Motorola’s wholly owned subsidiary in Israel has extensive ties to the Israeli military.

     MRTI’s decision to keep the media out of its meeting with Motorola, and exclude reporters from a debriefing on that meeting on Friday, was deemed justified by PC(USA) Associate Stated Clerk Mark Tammen.

     The subject matter to be discussed at the meeting “would clearly fall under the provisions … of the policy,” Tammen said.