Activists made sure Shell staff arriving at work this morning at their London HQ knew their company is soon to face trial for human right abuses in Nigeria. Leaflets were distributed amid chants of ‘justice is coming’ by activists brought together by the ShellGuilty coalition.
Photos below: Campaigners outside Shell’s headquarters in London make sure Shell staff know their company is on trial. Photos courtesy of Martin Le Santo Smith. Click on the images for a larger version. [Journalists, to download the below photos at high-resolution, click here].
The ShellGuilty coalition comprises Friends of the Earth, Oil Change International and PLATFORM/Remember Saro-Wiwa. They have formed a global campaign to hold Shell accountable and demand that it stop gas flaring in Nigeria.
On May 26th, people from across Ogoni joined a rally organized by the Ogoni Solidarity Forum and Social Action, along with other supporting organizations. There were very tense moments at the beginning, when soldiers stopped buses filled with supporters on the way to the rally and arrested dozens of people.
The first report came through from Ogoni:
Earlier today, Ogoni and other Nigerian activists were prevented by troops from entering an open field at Bori where solidarity rallies were scheduled in honour of Ken Saro-Wiwa and in opposition to genocide by Nigerian soldiers in Gbaramatu and other Ijaw communities in Delta State.
Members of Ogoni communities and other Nigerian activists have today been arrested by police. Most of those arrested are women (in 5 buses) who were on their way to Ken Saro-Wiwa’s village for a rally to protest the complicity of Shell and the Nigerian government in the Ogoni murders. The community members are also opposed to a return of oil drilling in Ogoniland. Each of the 5 buses carried 30 persons and the 150 were forced into a little cell and about 20 cell phones were smashed when they tried to make contact with a rally organizer from the police station.
Celestine, a key organizer from the Ogoni Solidarity Forum writes after the rally:
However, the resilience and determination of our people ensured that we had one of the most peaceful and successful protest with over 1,500 persons participating.I must confess that I didn’t prepare for the crowd I saw and had to go the extra mile in making sure that enough vehicles were mobilised to move them to Bane-Ken’s community after our ugly encounter with the police.
If you haven’t already heard, the Wiwa v. Shell trial was postponed today. No new opening date was given and rumors are swirling that Shell must be scrambling at the 11th hour for an out-of-court settlement. It’s hard not to speculate but the plaintiffs, defendants, and court haven’t said anything else about it.
However, following on a large protest in Ogoni today where soldiers arrested dozens of people trying to reach the rallying point, solidarity RALLIES WILL GO ON AS SCHEDULED in New York and London!
NEW YORK: 12 noon at Foley Square near the courthouse.
LONDON: 8:30am at the Shell Center near Waterloo station
There has been a flurry of media reporting that surely has Shell feeling the pressure. We will hold our rallies tomorrow to continue turning up the heat on Shell to end its abuses in Nigeria and to show solidarity and support for the Ogoni and other Niger Delta peoples struggling for an end to the oil-fueled oppression and environmental degradation they have faced for far too long.
If you are in or near New York or London, please join us and spread the word!
One week ahead of Shell’s trial for human rights abuses, including the murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa, ShellGuilty turned up the heat on the company at their AGM.
Spectacular fire juggling brought Shell’s gas flaring in the Niger Delta to the attention of shareholders as they entered the Barbican where the UK AGM was held.
The protest marks the start of an International Week of Action against Shell’s abuses, bringing together activists from across the globe.
The campaign’s chief demand is an end to gas flaring in the Niger Delta. The practice poisons communities, emits huge amounts of greenhouse gases, and wastes approximately $2.5 billion of natural gas annually. Check out the video, as well as photos, below.
Today, to coincide with Royal Dutch Shell’s Annual General Meeting in Den Haag, Netherlands and London, UK, the three main ShellGuilty coalition members plus Greenpeace UK released a stunning new report.
Research by the four leading environmental groups/oil watchdogs – Greenpeace UK, Oil Change International, Friends of the Earth, and PLATFORM/Remember Saro-Wiwa – reveals the carbon intensity of the top international oil companies.
Shell is now the most carbon intensive oil company in the world based on its total resources.
CLICK HERE to download the report as a PDF document.
From the press release:
The research examined the leading international oil companies and measured their carbon intensity by calculating emissions per future barrel of oil produced. While all the companies are moving into higher carbon production, Shell stands out because of its reliance on Nigerian crude which is associated with huge levels of gas flaring, liquefied natural gas which is highly energy intensive, and Shell’s massive gamble on Canada’s tar sands. Shell revealed to investors last year that 30% of its total resources are tar sands.
“As carbon control legislation moves forward in the US, and the world looks towards Copenhagen for action to limit climate change, Shell is going the wrong way by massively increasing the carbon intensity of its production,” said Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, and one of the authors of the report.
“Next week, Shell will go on trial for crimes against humanity and murder for its activities in Nigeria 14 years ago,” said Kretzmann. “The company publicly expresses regret over the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa, but maintains its innocence despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. One wonders if 14 years from now, they will similarly profess innocence for the state of the world’s climate.”
I haven’t been watching a lot of TV lately but since I’m here in New York, I’m going to start watching more. I’m hoping I’ll catch the new PSA that ShellGuilty created and began running this week in the New York media market.
Yesterday marked two weeks until the opening of the Wiwa v. Shell human rights trial in federal court only a couple miles south of where I sit as I write this. Shell spends enormous funds on public relations campaigns to convince the world that it’s a leader in sustainability while it continues to flare gas in Nigeria, among other abuses that belie its green rhetoric.
It’s hard to believe that after more than thirteen years, oil giant Shell will finally stand trialtwo weeks from today to answer to charges that it conspired with the Nigerian military to crush peaceful resistance by the Ogoni people to the company’s degradation of their homeland.
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Many people are aware of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, author, environmentalist, and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). His arrest and eventual hanging on November 10, 1995 caused a great outcry around the world. From the first days after Saro-Wiwa was arrested and held without charges, his son Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr. has been an eloquent spokesperson, first demanding his father’s release, then speaking out about Shell’s terrible role in his father’s murder, and more recently speaking of the need for an accounting of what happened in order for the aggrieved people to be able to move forward with their lives:
“We need to know the truth. We need to have people account for their role in the executions and the displacement of the Ogoni people, many of whom feel traumatised. It will be a relief. It will enable people to face the future. That’s the most important thing. Let’s account for the past, so we can move forward.”
For over thirteen years, Ken Jr. has waited for justice for his family and his sons who will never know their martyred grandfather.
But Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged along with eight others, and his killing was the culmination of a horrific campaign of violent suppression of the Ogoni people that resulted in countless killings, beatings, arrests, and the wholesale destruction of villages throughout the Ogoni region. Read the rest of this entry »
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has an outsize presence in the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi Delta region and especially New Orleans, home to One Shell Square, Louisiana’s tallest building and local headquarters for the company. For Shell, its sponsorship of the hugely popular New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is the brown sugar atop its public relations peach cobbler (a regional specialty). As in previous years, this year’s ‘Jazz Fest,’ as it’s simply known to legions of fans everywhere, was ‘presented by Shell,’ its chief sponsor.
For a handful of groups dedicated to environmental and human rights– from local to international in scope– it was important to have a presence at Jazz Fest to counter Shell’s PR spin and expose the dirty truth about the company’s impact on people and the planet.
The ShellGuilty campaign is working to pressure the oil company in the lead-up to the landmark trial in U.S. federal court on May 26th at which Shell will face charges of complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria. We’re demanding that Shell ceases its gas flaring in Nigeria, a practice devastating to the environment and human health, and a significant contributor to global warming.
From the Mississippi Delta to the Niger Delta, Shell’s legacy in oil-producing regions has long been one of environmental devastation and human suffering. And with the climate crisis, one doesn’t have to be living on top of an oil deposit or next to an oil refinery to suffer the consequences of Shell’s business practices.
After some great work by local Loyola law students and other local supporters who passed out materials and educated the public on the first weekend of Jazz Fest, I headed to New Orleans for the second weekend to represent the ShellGuilty coalition and keep up the pressure. Read the rest of this entry »
Last Tuesday, I (Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International) was asked to give testimony (pdf) to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US House of Representatives regarding the environmental and social impact of Shell’s operations in Nigeria. It was an honor to help give this issue the full airing in Congress that it deserves. In addition to my testimony, I submitted a copy of All for Shell into the record. Soon, I’m told the committee will have fixed its website and you can view these items there. Until then, this will have to do.
Recent coverage of the Shell trial in the Financial Times and the Observer, and the launch of ShellGuilty.com has escalated the number of people following this landmark human rights case. The high level of public interest must be concerning for Shell, who continue to deny responsibility for the murder of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues, despite a caseload of evidence to the contrary. Read the rest of this entry »
