4:15 p.m.

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders today voted down an attempt to get the company to sell its stake in a firm that some people said helps pay for a campaign of genocide in Sudan.

People urging Berkshire Hathaway to sell its $3.3 billion stake in PetroChina said the subsidiary is tightly entwined with Chinese government-owned Chinese National Petroleum Co. And they say the Chinese company's oil interests in Sudan have helped that government pay for a campaign of genocide in Sudan.

"PetroChina was created for the sole purpose of allowing investors to distance themselves from the actions of the parent company," shareholder Jerry Porter said. If Berkshire divests itself of its holdings in PetroChina, others would follow, Porter said.

Porter's wife, Judith, said her grandparents were killed in Nazi Germany in 1941. People vowed never again after Nazi Germany's actions, but genocide has occurred again and again around the world, including Bosnia and Rawanda.

"How many times must we say never again?" Judith Porter said.

Buffett said the authority structure in question is similar to Berkshire's ownership of Wesco Financial Corp. Buffett said Wesco does not control Berkshire, rather Berkshire controls Wesco. Buffett said the same holds true for the parent company of PetroChina.

"We have no disagreement about what is going on in Sudan," Buffett said. "I see no effect whatsoever in Berkshire Hathaway trying to tell the Chinese government what it should be doing."

Munger said foreign policy should flow through the American government, instead of various citizens. "Berkshire cannot set U.S. policy vis-a-vis China," Munger said.

Buffett also said China leaving its assets behind in Sudan would only benefit the Sudanese, who would acquire the assets at a bargain price and substantially increase its oil revenue.
 

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