HARD-HITTING DEMONSTRATION BRINGS SPECTACLE
TO OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM IN LOS ANGELES
MESSAGE "OXY STEALS FROM AMAZON INDIANS" HEARD BY THOUSANDS
(Los Angeles) Today at noon, activists from Rainforest Action Network
(RAN) and Los Angeles-based Rainforest Action Groups staged a hard-hitting
demonstration at the headquarters of Occidental Petroleum Corporation
(Oxy). Two of the activists scaled a ledge above the building's main
entrance and unfurled a 25-foot-long banner with the message: Oxy Steals
From Amazon Indians. Simultaneous to the demonstration in Los Angeles,
angry Indians from the Amazon rainforest and activists from Amazon-based
environmental organizations marched in protest to Oxy regional headquarters
in Quito, Ecuador's capital, demanding that the company stop development on
Indian land.
Oxy is currently developing an oil project on the traditional territory of
the Siona and Secoya Indians in the Ecuadorian Amazon, despite the
opposition of these communities. In July, Oxy's legal representative in
Ecuador, Manuel Echevarria, threatened to bring in the military to seize
tribal land if Indian representatives refused to sign a carte blanche
agreement allowing the company to conduct any sort of development it
chooses. This is in direct violation of Oxy operating policies that state
the company will "protect the environment, health and safety... of the
communities in which we operate."
"Occidental Petroleum is stealing from Amazon Indians, taking away their
security, clean environment, and their right to self-determination" said
Shannon Wright, RAN's Amazon Program Director. "Companies like Oxy think
they have the right to destroy the environment and disregard the will of
whole populations in order to make a quick profit. They will even use
military force against traditional people in rainforest villages to get
their way. We have to let people know what is going on, and that together
we can make a difference."
RAN is calling on Oxy to abandon its strong-arm tactics against the Siona
and Secoya communities. Also, Oxy must acknowledge that the agreement the
company procured under extreme duress is invalid, and conduct an internal
investigation, with findings released to the public, determining how the
company violated its own operating principles. Twelve international human
rights organizations have signed a letter supporting these demands.
At best, Oxy's entire Ecuadorian operation is expected to produce enough
oil to serve the United States' petroleum needs for a mere thirteen days.
The Los Angeles demonstration also featured giant papier mache puppets,
including the glittering red "Corporate Devil," and the "Oxy-Moron," a
pasty corporate goon with armed soldiers for fingers. The demonstration,
which attracted hundreds of bystanders, focused public attention on the
role of Oxy in tropical rainforest destruction and flagrant abuse of
indigenous rights.
Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's rainforests and
support the rights of their inhabitants through grassroots education,
organizing, and non-violent direct action.
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