Sharon Stultz-Karim
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 17:38:09 -0700
From: amccombs@igc.apc.org (Alice McCombs)
Subject: EarthWINS Daily Supplement: Drillbits & Tailings 1.1
To: mining-exchange@econet.org (Recipients of 'mining-exchange' Mailinglist)
EarthWINS Daily Supplement: Drillbits & Tailings 1.1
Mining-exchange News & Information Service 8/19/96
Contents
1. Drillbits & Tailings, Volume 1, Number 1, August 1, 1996
"Second Saro-Wiwa" Released in Nigeria
Nigerian environmentalist, author, and human rights activist Nnimmo Bassey
was released from prison on July 18, 1996. His release, however, is not
unconditional. Although he has still not been informed as to the
charges against him, he is required to report weekly to the local police,
and his name still appears on the "Wanted" list in Lagos airport.
As head of Environmental Rights Action, the Secretary-General of the
Association of Nigerian Authors and a leading member of Oilwatch (a network
of communities threatened by the oil industry), Bassey has led efforts
within Nigeria to raise awareness about the environmental damage caused by
oil companies (Shell, in particular). Bassey was detained June 5 as he was
leaving the country to attend a Friends of the Earth meeting in Ghana.
Project Underground and Oilwatch believe that Bassey's detainment is a
direct result of his environmental campaigning, and are urging letters to
be written to Shell to publicly call for the unconditional release and
freedom of movement of Nnimmo Bassey. Due to the close collaboration
between the Nigerian government and Shell, they hold Shell accountable for
the future health and safety of Bassey. The case is reminescent of that of
Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was held for nine months before being formally charged
by the Nigerian military and subsequently illegally tried and executed in
late 1995. The case brought world condemnation against the regime.
Shell, which is the largest single source of income for the brutal Nigerian
regime, admits to importing arms for the Nigerian military and has provided
logistical support to armed units of the Nigerian police and military who
have shot anti-Shell protestors. Brian Anderson, head of Shell Nigeria,
has admitted there is a "black hole of corruption" in Shell's operations.[1]
Shell had no comment on the Nnimmo Bassey case.
Sources:
[1] Shell quote is from Oilwatch/Project Underground press release
------------------ ******* ------------------
Shell Oil Spill in Nigeria
Shell Nigeria, which has recently trumpeted a $100 million effort to
upgrade its pipeline system, is once again experiencing delays in tanker
loadings due to spills. In the last several weeks, spills have occurred at
Nembe Creek (5,000 barrels), Cawthorne Channel (unknown quantity), and the
Sambriero River (200 barrels). The first two spills Shell attributes to
"operational problems" in its aging network of pipelines. The Sambriero
spill, which occurred on July 22, 1996, Shell blamed on sabotage.
When asked if the Sambriero spill was due to sabotage, Don Cannon, Shell's
general manager, investor relations and external affairs, said "There's no
question on that." The spill caused a shutdown in production of 195,000
barrels a day for nearly a week. Cannon said that half the oil spilled had
been recovered and that flow resumed on the weekend of July 28. The spill
coincides with increased demand for oil by Nigerian refineries.
Shell claims that up to 69 percent of its spills in Ogoni are due to
sabotage, but has never been able to substantiate that claim. The company
simultaneously acknowledges that at least 50 percent of their spills in the
Niger Delta are caused by corrosion in pipelines that are more than 30
years old. The World Bank estimates 10 to 15 percent of oil pollution in
the Delta is caused by sabotage. [1]
Sources:
[1] "Defining an Environmental Strategy for the Niger Delta" by Jasdip
Singh, David Moffatt and Olof Linden. World Bank. May 30, 1995.
----------------@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@-------------------------
Drillbits & Tailings, Volume 1, Number 2, August 15, 1996
Ogoni 19 Plight Continues; Shell Eyes Return to Ogoniland
Members of the "Ogoni 19" smuggled a hand-written July 13 note describing
the conditions they are facing in prison. The activists complained of
rashes, weight loss, diarrhoea, malaria and a variety of other health
ailments. "Our deteriorating health status [which] makes us a ghost of our
former selves is made worse by the general correlation of the prison from
overcrowding and ... [inadequate] food," the note reads. One of the
detainees died in custody last year, and Human Rights Watch has called for
the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining 18.
State security in Nigeria arrested the lawyers for five of the Ogoni 19 who
began trial in early August. Agents confiscated a camera belonging to a
journalist for Vanguard as he attempted to photograph the activists on
August 6 outside the courtroom. When the two lawyers tried to intervene,
the agents arrested them. The state prosecutor has requested that the
lawyers be denied bail in view of "the special interest" the military
government has in the matter. During the trial of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight
others last year, defense lawyers were assaulted and forced to withdraw to
enable government-appointed lawyers to defend the detainees.
Meanwhile, Shell has made moves to re-enter Ogoniland. The company pulled
out in April 1993 in response to opposition by the Movement for Survival of
Ogoni Peoples (MOSOP). The company toured projects in Ogoniland in early
June 1996. A government official that accompanied Shell said, "It is the
neglect of the oil producing communities by respective state governments and
inability by the previous [state oil company, OMPADEC] management to fully
and effectively carry out its statutory role of making life more meaningful
for the oil producing communities that partly led to the spate of communal
attacks and condemnation on Shell." The state government has entered into
an agreement with Shell for projects in the state, including construction
of a new road. Shell General Manager Egbert Imomoh, who was part of the
touring delegation, emphasized the community projects that Shell would
include in their developments. Shell Managing Director Brian Anderson has
said the company worked out a "plan of action" to mend fences with the
Ogoni. But an August 1 MOSOP statement says that the community did not
consent to a return of Shell. The company "has made it clear ... that they
can only go back when the Ogoni people ha[ve] welcome[d] them, and we hold
them by their words," the statement reads.
In the United States, the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS)
will consider next month whether to divest its $52.4 million holdings in
Shell, Mobil and Chevron because of their investment in the Nigerian regime.
KPERS spokesperson Meredith Williams said the system's holdings in the three
companies amounts to about 1 percent of its $7 billion in assets. The
system's pension plan has as members 202,000 current or former Kansas public
servants. On the national front, U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kansas, has
co-sponsored a bill that would eventually impose a boycott on Nigerian oil
and order additional economic sanctions.
Sources: Translated copy of hand-written note; MOSOP press releases; letter
from Human Rights Watch to Sani Abacha, August 6, 1996; "Shell begins moves
to return to Ogoni," by Udenna Orji, The Guardian, June 4, 1996; "Kansas
Public Employees Retirement System Considers Divestment from Nigeria," by
Rhonda Frey, The Wichita Eagle (Kansas), August 13, 1996.