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Dear Sustainable Maritimers,
Feb. 3 is the day chosen for actions in solidarity with the U'wa tribe in
Colombia. They are struggling to protect their land from oil drilling and
theirs is a high stakes struggle. They will need much support and solidarity
from us. We may not be able to organize anything for Feb. 3 but any letters
we can write on their behalf (after Feb. 3 too) would be a help.
all the best, Jan
PS Elizabeth May joins me in urging you to take up the U'wa cause.
*************************************************
First, let me copy some excerpts from an article I found in the autumn '97
issue of _Adbusters_ magazine, to give you some idea why I care so much
about this cause:
"U'wa and Oxy by Robert W. Benson (Law professor at Loyola, Los
Angeles, & co-director of the International Law
Center for Human, Economic & Environmental
Defence. This article originally appeared
in the _Los Angeles Times_.
The U'wa indians of Colombia have threatened mass suicide if Occidental
Petroleum Corporation drills for oil on their territiory. A summit between
the U'wa, Oxy and the Colombian government at the end of May failed to reach
an agreement. Now the U'wa are in the mountains for the annual spiritual
retreat.
Early in may, U'wa leader Roberto Cobaria came to Los Angeles to meet with
Oxy officials. There, in a sterile conference room, Cobaria lifted hs voice
in song.
I was present and I had to wonder what was going through the minds of the
pink-cheeked, silver-haired oil executives as this small, dark spirit broke
into a lilting melody like a delicate rain forest bird.
...It was a song about the Father Sky and the Mother Earth, the sun and the
moon, and their connection to all people. It summed up the message Cobaria
repeated again and again in the 1 1/2 hour meeting: Americans and Colombians
have their laws, but the U'wa are bound by "the law that was law before
there was a sun and before there was a moon." Under that law, oil from deep
in Mother Earth is part of her..."
all the best, Jan
PS I will copy here the letter I am sending (on stationary of our local
environmental group, of which I am secretary) to the CEO of Fidelity:
Dear Edward C. Johnson III,
Chairman & CEO, Fidelity Investments, 82 Devonshire St., Boston, MA 02109
fax: (617) 476-4164
Does Fidelity really "help [people] invest responsibly?
We shall see.
Will you see that Fidelity divests itself of all Oxy stock unless Oxy
commits itself to abandon its plans to drill for oil on U'wa lands?
here in Canada some oil executives have had the courage and caring to speak
out against the deadly economic sanctions crippling Iraq. Will you have the
courage to prevent disaster in Colombia?
Sincerely, Jan Slakov
**********************************************************************
From: "Patrick Reinsborough" <rags@ran.org>
To: <rags@ran.org>
Subject: U'wa Day of Solidarity Feb 3! Fidelity invests in Genocide
Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2000 18:57:33 -0800
please forward
FEBRUARY 3 TAKE ACTION!
DAY OF SOLIDARITY AND ACTION TO SUPPORT THE U'WA RESISTANCE
TO OIL DRILLING ON THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS
TARGET OCCIDENTAL'S MOST IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER - FIDELITY INVESTMENTS
JOIN THE GLOBAL CRUSADE TO DEFEND LIFE!
In this post
1. Call to action for Feb 3(and beyond)
2. sample letter to Fidelity/phone zap info
3. U'wa communique of Nov 17 <snip>
4. Background on the U'wa struggle <snip>
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
#1 FIDELITY INVESTMENTS : INVESTING IN GENOCIDE
"...we ask that our brothers and sisters from other races and cultures
unite in the struggle that we are undertaking...we believe that this
struggle has to become a global crusade to defend life."
- Statement of the U'wa people, August, 1998
The U'wa people of Colombia are now six weeks into their peaceful
occupation of Occidental (Oxy)Petroleum's proposed drill site. Despite the
FARC's (left wing guerillas) pre-Christmas attack on the nearby town of
Cubara things remain peaceful at the occupation. 200 U'wa remain
continually at the site and preparations have been made for thousands more
to join them at the first sign of activity. Occidental could move in at any
time.
<snip>
One of the best ways to pressure Oxy is to hold their major shareholders
accountable. One of Oxy's largest shareholders is Boston-based financial
giant Fidelity Investments which controls more than 30 million Oxy shares
valued at approximately $700 million. Fidelity's stake in Oxy rises and
falls quarter to quarter but they are always either the largest shareholder or
among the top three controlling between 8% and 12% of the company.
<snip>
A coalition of human rights and environmental groups sent Fidelity a letter
just before Christmas warning them that we will hold them accountable for
Oxy's actions in Colombia. The letter gave Fidelity a deadline of March 1
to either convince Occidental to cancel the project or to show that they
will not invest in genocide by dumping all their Oxy stock.
If Fidelity decides to address the issue of U'wa lands then Oxy will
listen. It is up to us grassroots activists around the world to make
Fidelity address this issue. We must show Fidelity that we will not
tolerate their profiteering off the destruction of the U'wa culture. We need to
demonstrate at their stores, educate their customers, flood them with
emails, phone calls, faxes and do whatever is necessary to make Fidelity
take action on behalf of the U'wa.
Organize a vigil, demonstration or direct action at the
nearest Fidelity office. If Fidelity is not in your area organize something
at a Colombian consulate/embassy or an educational event in your community.
Highlight America's role in financing the Colombian military. Reprint and
circulate the communique or background article below. <snip> Please let
Patrick at Rainforest Action Network know if you are organizing something.
Rainforest Action Network can provide hard copies of materials (they can
also be downloaded from our website at www.ran.org) and copies of a 10
minute video on the murder of U'wa activist Terry Freitas. Additional
information can be found at www.amazonwatch.org and www.moles.org.
<snip>
In solidarity for the Earth and all her peoples,
Patrick Reinsborough,
Grassroots Coordinator, Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine St Suite 500 San Francisco CA 94104
phone - 415-398-4404/1-800-989-RAIN fax - 415-398-2732
www.ran.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
#2 WRITE/FAX BLAST/PHONE ZAP FIDELITY!
Edward C. Johnson III
Chairman and CEO Fidelity Investments
82 Devonshire St.
Boston, MA 02109
Telephone: 800-544-6666
Fax: 617-476-4164
<snip>
ALSO CONTACT Occidental and the Colombian government directly :
Dr Ray Irani, President and CEO OR, write to him at HOME!
Occidental Petroleum Corporation Dr. Ray Irani, 338 St. Pierre Rd.
10889 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, USA
Los Angeles, CA 90024 90077
or Via fax: (310) 443 6922 P.S. No insults, please.
Presidente Andres Pastrana
Casa Presidencial
Bogota, Colombia
Colombian Embassy Washington D.C.
Fax:(202)387-0176
Phone : (202)-387-8338
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: Elizabeth May
Subject: Fwd: [celleno] Fw: URGENT COMMUNIQUE! Colombian Military
Invades U'wa Land!
>From: "Atossa Soltani" <asoltani@igc.org>
>Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 14:09:47 -0800
>
>CALL AL GORE'S CAMPAIGNS HQ IN NEW HAMPSHIRE! 603-622-8303
>>
>> AL GORE HAS HALF A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF OCCIDENTAL STOCK. DEMAND THAT
>> HE USE BOTH HIS PERSONAL AND POLITICAL INFLUENCE TO DEMAND THAT THE
>> COLOMBIAN MILITARY AND OCCIDENTAL PULL OUT OF U'WA LAND!
>> (see article below)
>>
>> FEB 3! ORGANIZE AGAINST FIDELITY INVESTMENTS! FIND THE NEAREST ONE TO YOU
>:
>> http://personal400.fidelity.com/gen/centers/invstctr.html.tvsr
>>
>> CALL YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES AND TELL THEM TO VOTE AGAINST CLINTON'S
>$1.3 BILLION MILITARY AID PACKAGE TO COLOMBIA
>>
>> FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK 1-800-989-RAIN
>> IF YOU ARE IN LOS ANGELES CALL ACTION RESOURCE CENTER - 310-392-7656
>>
>> Communique from the U'wa People
>> January 20, 2000
>> <snip>
>> _____________
>>
>> Financial Times, 1/19/00
>> World News / Americas
>> Gore attacked over Colombia oil project
>> By Matthew Jones
>><snip>>
>> Mr. Gore has targeted the environmental and human
>> rights vote as part of his election campaign and was
last
>> week rated "the most knowledgeable" presidential
>> candidate on green issues by the influential League of
>> Conservation Voters.
>>
>> But the U'wa Defense Working Group, which represents
>> the U'wa indigenous tribe from the north east of
>> Colombia, says Mr. Gore is inextricably linked with
>> Occidental Petroleum, the US oil group which plans to
>> start drilling on its ancestral lands in the next few
>> months in search of an estimated 1.5bn barrels of oil.
>>
>> According to Mr. Gore's official Public Financial
>> Disclosure Report for 1998, the latest information
>> available, the vice-president owned between $250,000
>> and $500,000 in Occidental stock inherited from his
>> father, Albert Gore Sr., who died in 1998. Mr. Gore Sr.
>> became a board member of Occidental Petroleum after
>> losing his Senate seat in 1970.
>><snip>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
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The preceding message was posted on Sustainable Maritimes (sust-mar)
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A word from our lawyers ...
Don't forget ... COPYRIGHT material, such as newspaper/magazine articles
cannot be posted on sust-mar without the owner's permission. It's against
the law. CROSS-POSTINGS (messages from other lists) are also discouraged.
In either case, why not tell us something about the issue in your own
words? Or ... send a clipping along with the URL where the original can be
found, or directions how to join the list it came from?
Takes a few more minutes, but makes for a more interesting sust-mar ... :)
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