Tag Archives: resistance

Get The Shell Out! Friday 18 May @ 7.30pm

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UK Tar Sands Network, Indigenous Environmental Network, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), Platform, Rising Tide UK, FairPensions, Greenpeace, Shell to Sea and Art Not Oil present:

Get The Shell Out!

18th May 2012, Toynbee Hall, 7.30pm

Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, Greater London E1 6LS

You are warmly invited to a public meeting in advance of Shell’s AGM, that will bring together a diverse coalition of individuals and organisations calling Shell to account for the social and environmental impacts of its activities around the world.

Millions are being affected by Shell’s past, present and future operations. The world’s largest oil company has been violating indigenous rights for 55 years in the Alberta tar sands, committing grave human rights abuses in Nigeria, pumping dangerous levels of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, destroying communities in Ireland, lobbying against effective climate action in Europe and is now set to exploit the Arctic – which could devastate the world’s most fragile ecosystem.

Come and hear stories from community members on the frontline in Alberta, Alaska, Ireland and Nigeria, share ideas and information, and meet activists, academics, lawyers and investors united in their resolve to curb the oil giant’s destructive activities.

Free drinks will be provided. Donations towards the cost of the event welcome! We look forward to seeing you there.

Don’t throw activist histories away: Huntley Conference on Arts & Activism, Culture & Resistance

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18th February, London

There were over a 100 artists, activists, community workers, young people, archivists & conservators, educators, parents, grandparents, policymakers. We were taking part in talks, creative “Groundings” sessions, a parallel youth conference, music & poetry performances, from the fabulous El Crisis, younger talented artists, and the more experienced, discussing race and power, creativity and resilience, protest and activism…..and feasting on delicious food from Jollofpot, book stalls, all in the great facilities of London Metropolitan Archives (LMA).

What was brilliant and so rich about this day was we were learning about art, activism and Black struggle through the legacy and networks of the two activists Jessica and Eric Huntley, now in their 80s, who arrived in London from Guyana in the late 1960s. Continue reading →

California protests against Chevron’s tax grab

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While times are hard and vast majority of us are feeling the squeeze, business is booming for oil multinationals. And it seems that companies will do anything to maximise their profits, even if tax payers bear the cost.

Oil giant Chevron is demanding a $150 million tax refund from Richmond City Council, California. News from our allies in the US confirms that public anger in Richmond, where Chevron has operated a refinery for almost a century, has sparked protests in the company’s home state and garnered further support for the global Occupy movement. Continue reading →

Pillage not development: Egypt’s military junta & the European public banks

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(this article initially appeared in Bankwatch Mail 50)

Bread, freedom, dignity, social justice. These were core demands articulated during the democratic and inspirational Egyptian revolution in Tahrir Square at the beginning of this year. Beyond this, there was widespread support for improved public services to the poor, a shift from subservience to US foreign policy, a reduction in Egypt’s foreign debt and an end to and reversal of privatisation policies.

Tahrir Square on Tuesday 22 November

Now, under the mantle of “supporting democracy”, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are working with the military junta-appointed government – an increase in Egypt’s debt burden and the promotion of privatisation “as a necessity” both look inevitable.

Mass environmental justice uprising engulfs Damietta on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast

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The popular movement against a Canadian petrochemical plant has forced the Egyptian government to shut down the Agrium-Mopco gas-fertiliser factory, after residents shut down highways, bridges and a deepwater port, and battled the Egyptian military in the street.

Grainy photos and video-clips  tweeted out – especially by Al-Jazeera’s @Mansourtalk – show locals standing up to military forces using live ammunition and tear gas. After 25 were arrested, fellow protestors besieged an army unit and APC until their friends were released. At least one local – Islam Abdullah – was killed by police or military and many others injured.

Twitter: Protestors besiege APC demanding release of their comrades @mansourtalk

Continue reading →

‘Britain on Trial’ event in The Guardian

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Check out this coverage of Shake! and Leeds Young Authors’ event on institutional racism in The Northerner blog. You don’t want to miss this unique collaboration between young people, Leeds University’s MA Activism and Social Change, Leeds Bicentenary Transformation Project, Leeds Black Film Club, chaired by Esther Stanford-Xosei of Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition of Europe.

The day comprises mini-lectures, discussion, creative workshops, and film screening of two rare films on anti-racist resistance in Britain There are still places available – email platformshake@gmail.com
Go to Shake’s blog for the whole context of our project with young people.

See reverse of flyer for schedule:

And if you missed Shake’s incredible workshop session at the Rebellious Media Conference “The Unheard: Youth, the ‘riots’ and the media”, get a flavour of it through the blog here. Hear how Shake’s artist-facilitators Sai Murai and Zena Edwards responded to the event through interviews by Ceasefire;  and read feedback from audience…

Egyptian communities protest BP expansion plans

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Egyptian communities concerned about a proposed BP gas plant on the Mediterranean coast have organised protests, including a sit-in on the site, road blockades and a raid on BP’s local office, as reported by Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The residents of Idku, east of Alexandria, are opposing plans to pump gas ashore from BP’s offshore drill rigs before processing it for onwards shipment. The military has already approved the project, but local campaigners are demanding that the Egyptian Environmental Agency. A 2002 report by the Agency concluded that such a project would be too damaging to the local fish, coral reefs,  agricultural land and ecologically-rich area. Continue reading →

Prirazlomnaya: monstrous pioneer of Arctic drilling

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David Cameron today is taking UK oil chiefs on his trade mission to Russia to promote business links following the failure of the BP/Rosneft Arctic deal. Meanwhile, Russia’s first Arctic offshore oil drilling platform Prirazlomnaya has just been installed 60 miles off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, in the Pechora Sea. High-priority national project and top investment opportunity in Russia, Arctic drilling in practice is not only dangerous but suspicious business: here is the darker side of the story of Prirazlomnaya, as uncovered by our Russian colleagues.

President Medvedev with Arctic oil rig model. Source: kremlin.ru

Continue reading →

Gulfsands ends payments to Assad’s cousin – but continues supporting Syrian regime with $8 million every week

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Documents revealed by the FT amid concerns raised by Avaaz show that

Gulfsands Petroleum, the London-listed oil and gas company, agreed to give a share of profits from its production activities in Syria to a company controlled by Rami Makhlouf, the first cousin of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The company has also paid more than $1m in fees to Ramak, the Makhlouf family’s holding company, for services connected with its operations in the country.

Facing increasing public attention over its close relationships with the Syrian regime, Gulfsands today released details of its payments and engagement with Rami Makhlouf. This includes the 5.7% Al-Mashrek shareholding in Gulfsands, rental fees for an office in Damascus, and payments under the Ramak Services Agreement.

Ramak was apparently hired to “provide advice and to assist in identifying, evaluating and pursuing E & P opportunities in Syria, including in connection with the successful public tender for Block 26″. This is interesting, as Ramak is a holding company known best for its duty free stores, not for its expertise in the oil industry. However, the company is known for winning public tenders in Syria. Ramak was added to the Treasury Department’s Blocked Persons List precisely because of Makhlouf’s use of “access to high-level Syrian Government insiders to enrich himself at the expense of the Syrian people”.

Gulfsands claims now to have suspended all payments to the Makhlouf interests after EU sanctions imposed in May 2011. This is possible, but begs the question of why the company claimed in July 2011 that “business as usual” continued in Syria, with no reference to a severance of relations with a key partner. Today’s public statement came only in the context of increased questions in the media, undermining Gulfsands’ claims to be acting responsibly.

Today’s news release also gives the impression that Gulfsands has been complying with both EU and US sanctions:

“Gulfsands notes that the US and EU have imposed a number of sanctions against Syria and various named individuals and organisations. Gulfsands is fully compliant with all applicable sanctions”

This is a clever dodge – note the use of the word “applicable”. US sanctions are not applicable to Gulfsands – because it moved its headquarters from Houston to London. This enabled the company to continue payments to Ramak until now.

Under pressure, Gulfsands has distanced itself a little from Rami Makhlouf. But the company is pressing ahead with its record extraction levels. PLATFORM’s calculations show that Gulfsands is paying the Syrian regime between $4.5 million and $8.4 million in revenue and oil – every week. This provides Assad’s dictatorship a key capital lifeline to continue its attacks on the uprising.

Shell supports Syrian regime with $55 million during crackdown; one out of six Syrian tanks runs on Shell oil

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Today, a Shell-chartered tanker is scheduled to dock in the Syrian port of Tartous. The Heidmar TBN will collect almost 600,000 barrels of crude oil purchased by Shell. The shipment, worth over $55 million, has been marketed to Shell by state company Sytrol, an integral part of Assad’s regime of power.

Repression of the democratic uprising in Syria has seen the regime kill over 1,000 and imprison 10,000. Yet Shell, one of the largest foreign investors in Syria, continues its close co-operation with the Ba’ath regime – extracting oil, meeting with regime leaders, delivering crude to state refineries and purchasing crude exports.

PLATFORM is revealing Shell’s support for Assad’s dictatorship and the company’s reliance on his military & police apparatus. Highlights include:
* 17% of Syrian tanks – instrumental in the repression of the uprising – run on fuel derived from Shell crude.
* Continued revenues paid by Shell are helping bankroll Assad’s crackdown. PLATFORM estimates that 4-8 out of every 100 tanks used to repress opposition are financed through revenues from crude extracted by Shell and its partners.
* Democracy protests and strikes have spread across the oil-producing regions in the southeast and the oil export ports on the Mediterranean. Shell is only able to continue its operations in these regions because of the brutal state repression and extreme force used by military and paramilitary forces in crushing the popular uprising and placing the cities under siege.

PLATFORM Researcher Lorenzo Paluello said: “While the British and Syrian public believe that suppressing a mass democratic uprising with tanks is problematic, Shell continues to work hand in glove with the regime. The people of Syria are rising up for freedom, but this company has placed itself firmly on the side of corrupt dictators. While massacres take place on the streets, Shell relies on the regime’s violence to maintain the “stability” it desires. This is a stability which prioritises profits at the expense of freedom from torture and the right to life.”

The close relationship between Shell and the Syrian regime is clear from both Syrian government and Shell public statements:
* On April 29th 2011, Shell officials in Damascus were courted by Syrian Prime Minister Adel Safar, who “stressed government’s support for the work of Shell” and promised to continued “providing the necessary facilities [to] contribute to strengthening its [Shell's] role”. This was over a month into the uprising after hundreds of casualties and credible accounts of widespread torture. The regime was making sure to keep Shell, one of the largest foreign investors in Syria, close during the period of turmoil. Shell’s General Manager in Syria Graham Henley and Prime Minister Adel Safar reviewed activities and increased future co-operation and joint programmes.
* Shell’s Deputy General Manager in Syria has repeatedly praised the Syrian regime in terms that equate Assad’s regime with the Syrian people: “This success could not have been achieved without the strong partnerships that have been developed over the years between Shell and the Government of Syria. We believe that the relationship Shell has with the Government and the Syrian people is mutually beneficial.”
* Ongoing co-operation – since the uprising began – between Shell and the Syrian regime includes social programmes that “completes the work carried out by the Baath Vanguards Organization” - the youth wing of President Assad’s ruling Baath Party.

PLATFORM Campaigner Lorenzo Paluello said “While Cameron condemns Assad, he allows British corporate support for the brutal crackdown. By prioritising business interests and energy dominance over democracy and human rights,Britain’s foreign energy policy gives Shell and BP a green light to make deals with dictators and shut their eyes and ears to cries for freedom and democracy.
Shell should stop co-operation with the regime’s police and military forces while the brutal crackdown continues. If this means that Shall cannot continue its operations, that is the correct choice for any responsible actor.”


Graham Henley – General Manager of both Syria Shell and the Al-Furat Oil Company – has barely been in this job for a year. Before that he was responsible for Shell’s Gbaran-Ubie project in Nigeria in Bayelsa State.

NOTES
[1] The Heidmar TBN is scheduled to collect 80,000 tonnes or 586,639 barrels of crude on 29th May 2011. It was chartered by STASCO, the Shell Trading and Shipping Company.
The crude purchased by Shell could be a shipment of Syria Light or a sourer/heavier blend of Syrian crude. The latter is valued at a significant discount to Brent, hence our conservative estimate of the payment. If the Heidmar TBN is loading Syria Light, the value could be over $65 million.
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=ar…

[2] Syrian military vehicles run on fuel produced in Syria’s refineries at Homs and Baniyas, supplied with crude extracted in the east of Syria, near Deir Al-Zour.
As of January 2010, Syria’s refining capacity was around 240,000 barrels per day, according to the UE EIA. Shell contributes 55,000 barrels of high quality sweet Syria Light per day through the Al-Furat Oil Company. In addition, Syria imports around 95,000 barrels per day of gasoil/diesel.

[3] Based on Al-Furat exports of 45,000 barrels per day of Syria Light and 110,000 barrels per day of heavy/sour crudes by the Syrian Petroleum Company in 2008. Shell/Al-Furat extraction has remained at the same level since 2008, while wider Syrian extraction levels have fallen slightly, to 387,000 barrels per day. Oil revenues cover around a quarter of the Syrian budget, including military costs. Shell is the dominant foreign oil company. For the exact calculations contact PLATFORM.