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PRESS
RELEASE NR.01/UNITA/ MEMORANDUM ON NON-COMPLIANCE BY THE MPLA 1975-1998 CARTA ABERTA AOS POVOS DE EXPRESSÃO PORTUGUESA
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From: Joffre Justino To: povoada Sent: Monday, October 09, 2000 3:53 PM Oil companies and Human Rights in Angola Introduction According to the EIA, Energy Information Administration, there are 35 companies, or group of companies, operating in the oil exploitation business, in Angola. It certainly would be important if these enterprises were to go by the ethic function inherent to a business activity today. Specially taking under consideration that most of these companies are transnational with high incomes, given the characteristics of the sector in which these companies operate In fact, if they would follow their ethical obligations we wouldn't find in the INTERNET, in the National French Assembly page, the following statement: "The oil sector in Africa hasn't helped it's development... in fact, the oil business has only contributed to enlarging the national debt, empoverting the population and damaging the infra-structures." ( in, Relatório de Informação da Comissão de Negócios Estrangeiros, 13.10.1999 ). Still regarding Angola, the aforementioned report contains statements of Mr. Pierre Brana quoting Mr. Ngalejy Yorongar, deputy of the Federation of the Republic, of the National Assembly of Chade, "to whom oil is the spawn... of war and blood in Africa (Angola, Congo Kinshasa, Congo Brazzaville, Nigeria e Sudan). The oil in Gabon, no more than in Angola or in Congo, hasn't, in any way, helped the people in these countries." It was during a brief investigation on the ELF case, that the idea of putting together a little document regarding the impact of the oil companies activity's, came up. This document would focus on issues such as Development, Human Rights, Environmental Defense and the combat of corruption. And everything because something unexpected and very serious happened, If there's a significant information on the cases of corruption, violation of Human Rights and Environment related to oil companies throughout the world, the silence that falls over what's happening in Angola, is at the very least, dramatic. Doesn't the ELF case exist? For those unaware, the ELF is an old case in the French judicial system. It involves serious elements of corruption and important segments of the French political class, as well as a number of leaders of African States - former French colonies - that began around 1996. This case has had the opportunity of not being resolved thanks to the stubbornness of one French judge, Eva Joly. The same case has been known by several names in the French social communication, such as "Biederman case", Le Floch-Prigant case", "the lighter case, "Dumas case" and "would be called "Terrell case"", according to the communist French journal L' Humanité. After three or fours years of investigation what is known is that "from 1990 to 1997, about 610 million francs have passed through he Swiss accounts of André Tarallo, ex Mr. Africa of the Society." According to Tarallo's declarations to Le Monde such amount corresponded to, "the official bonuses that are granted in the oil business, according to the contracts. However, there are other bonuses that are parallel, but still must be respected". According to Mr. Andre Tarallo and the L'Humanité, "the old PDG of the ELF in Gabon has explained to judge Van Ruymbeke, the system... that centers this system of "abonnements contracts" that predicted a sum of three francs, in offshore societies economy, for each barrel bought by ELF Trading..." L'Humanité refers to, "the French neo- colonialism such as it is implemented in Gabon, in the Congo Brazzaville and, more recently, in Angola" as a way to characterize the ELF/Africa relationship. The news agency AFP, quoted some more of Mr. Tarallo, based on the interview he gave to Radio France Internationelle, RFI, "The relationship system in Africa is such, that one would benefit from the good relationships with one country, in another country... I believe to have mentioned (to the judges), that President Sassou had been very effective in the entrance of the ELF group in Angola, by recommending us to President dos Santos (of Angola), in a way that he would appreciate the way we do business". Today, the only thing we are sure of, is that the ELF case, or the would-be Tarallo case, has been going on for 4 years and still hasn't found a stop. Perhaps this isn't just an "ELF case" but an "oil companies in Africa case"... Reinforcing this idea is this quotation from the Report of Information by the Commission of Foreign Affairs, of the National French Assembly, dated from 13.10.99, "The mission confirmed that the oil companies respect the international rules in a random way because the governments of their countries of origin encouraged them to do so". Anyway, this "Tarallo case", originated and forced a statement on it, from the President's Office, on the 19. 7. 00, dismissing any connection with eng. Dos Santos and any acts of corruption: " ... This Office feels the duty to repudiate the allegations in which Mr. Tarallo would be concealing any possible criminal actions committed by him or any of his colleagues from the ELF". So, to the Presidency of the Angolan Republic, the ELF case doesn't really exist apart from some discriminatory "campaigns of defamation". What the INTERNET provides... Having tried to obtain information on the 35 companies operating in Angola, there was only access to data on 8 of them - CHEVRON, AGIP, TEXACO, TOTAL/FINA/ELF, EXON/MOBIL, BP/AMOCO, OCCIDENTAL and SHELL. What was found isn't really very positive regarding the fore mentioned companies. This was a simple investigation, navigating through several ONG's and other net-pages, ones more official than others. We surfed through some social communication sites and the National French Assembly as well as the House of Representatives of the USA. This information was synthesized in an annexed board, reflecting only 8 of the companies of the 35. The ones from which we found real credible information available. Some examples... 3.1 17 intellectuals versus the "Guides for the Cooperation between the UN and the Business Community". On the 25.07.2000, 17 Intellectuals from 9 countries sent an Open Letter to his Excellency the General Secretary of the UN, Mr Kofi Annan, expressing their "disappointment", from hearing who were the entities that were accepted and that joined the UN, in these "Orientation Guides". These were some of the mentioned cases in the mentioned Letter, "Shell is a corporation with a large History of complicity in which concerns violating Human Rights, and is especially infamous in Nigeria". "BP/AMOCO is yet another company of sophisticated rhetoric in social and environmental matters". Let us still remember the end of the Letter," In short, Mr. General Secretary, the Global Compact partnership and the Guides of Orientation for Cooperation do not assure nor integrity nor independence", of the UN. The African Research Center and CHEVRON In a reference to the "Meeting of Information and Council on the West African Gas Pipelaine", that took place on the 14/15 de March de 2 000 and where there were 130 representatives of the communities surrounded by areas of the Project, the conclusion of the Meeting was to reject the Project, specially regarding CHEVRON, "Chevron is much more at ease amidst the weapons of the military than among the communities it affects", stated Carwil James, Project Underground activi st. "They condemn the "carbon credit" concept and emphasize that CHEVRON and other members of the consort were never environmentally friendly in their activity. 3.3 BP, a past of Apartheid, pollution and exploitation... " BP is one of the last 3 multinationals that kept refining oil in South Africa, despite the international embargo of oil... and... According to Anne Griffin, responsible for the TransAfrica, "the operations of BP/Shell in South Africa are a perfect example of what should not happen, for the antiapartheid movement". " BP has resisted the governmental regulations on oil activities and solicited permission to spread its exploitation to the Refuge for the Wild Life of the Arctic". Behind the oil campaigns According to Robert Benson, a college Law scholar in the Loyola University, " Oil always brings along an unsightly morphing of Culture and is often accompanied by Violence". " In Nigeria, the Reports on the evolution of abuses of the Human Rights by Shell include military complicity to repress the dissidents" (Independent Annual Report). " But the oil companies are benefiting directly from these cruel attempts to repress the dissidents... on the 4th of January of 1999, armed soldiers, a Chevron chopper and Chevron boats attacked two small communities in Delta State, Opia and Ikenyan, they killed at least 4 people..." " Having met the representatives of the Machiquenga Community, Famaa "told them of non-violent Resistance" and described the 2 levels of Shell abuse". What this company does in South America, Africa and Asia is beyond comparison. They do not dare do the same in North America or Europe" (Project Underground). "BP provided military security training through a British company of mercenaries called Defense System Limited (DSL)". " He is one of the 70 people that were taken from their villages and forced to work - a TOTAL's decision..." (Karen, Human Rights Group) 4. However Angola lives surrounded by silence... After all these dramatic descriptions on the way the oil companies act in Less Developed Countries, by allying with totalitarian regimes, even generating them. Corrupting entities and people, imposing forced work, taking part in murders, strikes on States or violating the Planet's Environment, It's particularly odd that there's such a huge silence regarding the activity of these enterprises in the degradation of Life in Angola... Apparently, Angola would be Paradise, if it weren't for the Civil War and the miss-behavior of the Angolan, which stops the economical and social growth. So, it's necessary to wait for the Report of USA's Energy Department of State, of the 14. 7. 2000, to find out that, "In the beginning of the current year, many residents from Futilla, a village by the oil camp of Malongo, informed that many had fallen ill" consequently to the pollution caused by the activity of CHEVRON that caused seriously "damaging pollution". That information forced Chevron to take full responsibility for the pollution and support the treatment of the 70 villagers that had been poisoned, according to the report. Could this be possible? Neither the HRW nor the Global Witness reports mention real situations of violence and horror. No word whatsoever referring Human Rights violation, degradation of the Environment or Corruption directly linked to the oil companies acting out in Angola. Quite on the contrary, we find in these reports a statement from the BP, emphatically declaring that, "We'll keep committed to acting responsibly and ethically (as written in the statements text) reinforcing the 2 ways of relationships with the local communities, clients, suppliers or partners, the government and the employees. We believe that our activity must be competitive at a level of success as well as force of Good" (Global W). This is the % of what oil represents in Angola's PNB, Oil 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 GW 56,6% 55,8% 58% 48,5% 38,5% 47,7% EIU 58,1% 56,0% 59,3% 48,5% 44,9% And the Governments estimated Public Revenue, 1995/98 are, Tax Revenue 1995 1996 1997 1998 With Oil 67% 89% 82% 75% Without Oil 33% 11% 18% 25% It is quite obvious that oil has determinant weight in the Angolan Economy... If we verify where does the State Revenue head to in Angola, 1994 1995 1996 1997 General Public Service 21,4% 19,2% 13,9% 17,7% Public Order and Defense 33,7% 31,4% 35,0% 36,3% Education 2,8% 5,1% 4,6% 4,9% Health 3,8% 5,7% 3,0% 3,1% We begin to wonder whether the oil business is or is not, in part, directly responsible for the political, economical and social situation of Angola... In the mean time, the Angolan Government and the International Monetary Fund establish an agreement, on the 3rd of April of 2000 for the Reform of the Angolan economy. They also agreed to watch over the oil Revenue, in order to "establish the transparence and revenue towards the Angolan government". According to the HRWatch this "represents a step"... So condescending.... In this latest HRWatch report, Peter Sutherland, manager of the BPAmoco stated," We haven't got the means to assure that these (bonus payments) won't be used to help finance the war efforts of the government". But the UN knew and now they put up this policy of Sanctions against UNITA and this pressure over the Angolan diamond exploitation sector. Why doesn't the same happen to the oil sector? Nevertheless, the Global Witness "wounds the beast" in the communiqué on the 24th of May of 2000, sequentially to an oil company's meeting. This meeting took place. On the 24/26th of May, in Houston, USA. There these oil companies planned the "future massive expansion on the exploitation of oil in Angola". According to the Global Witness, " After 5 months of the last GW report, the "Crude Awakening" a force that not only documents the corruption in Angola but also defies the oil industry, which makes it a force of transparency in Angola... it's extremely upsetting that there was no time in this meeting to discuss that", declared Simon Taylor, head of this ONG. This is why the GW maintains the challenge made in 1999 and reaffirms that the oil companies should "recognize it's special obligation towards the Angolan People... and publish the whole of payments made to the Angolan Government". Simon Taylor goes even further, "The oil companies need to acknowledge that if they don't succeed in this change, then their complicity will be confirmed... the BPAmoco, TOTAL/ELF/FINA and Exxon, as well as the operators of Blocks 31, 32 and 33, could put up a good example for others." All this delicacy, towards the same the oil companies that in other Continents, in other countries, are freely accused of being assassins by the ONG's that also factually expose the way these companies proceed on location. Besides, all the fragility falls apart faced with the descriptions made by the department of State of the USA, the Bureau of Democracy and the Human Rights and Labor, in the document on Human Rights for Countries practice, in the Angolan chapter. Describing of the economical and social conditions in which the Angolan people lives, despite all the oil in Angola. Quoting, " The annual gross produce per capita was something in the order of 450 USdollars. The Wealth of the country is still concentrated in the hands of a small elite whose members use their governmental positions for a massive personal profit. Corruption is still a common practice at any level... the urban wagers (approximately 20% of the work force) is below the needs of subsistence... The rural salaries are even lower..." " During this year( 99), the minimum salary was close to 2, 5 Usdollars a month... most of the workers make less than 20 Usdollars a month... Nor the minimum wager, nor the average salary, which is estimated between the values of 15 and 20 Usdollars a month, are enough to provide a decent level of life for the workers and the family". Point down that even the highest part of the average salary, which is 200 Usdollars, it's a value that corresponds to 46% of the minimum salary in Portugal. Consequently to the governments decision to print coin in order to finance it's military expeditions (just as the State Department of Energy refers, on the 14 of July, of 2000) the inflation tax in 1999, in Angola, went up to 250%.... The oil companies keep their weight above Angolan's national economy, so there's no possible connection to any kind of corruption or violations of the Human Rights... It's a known fact that " According to official information of the International Bank, in 1999, around 900 million dollars of oil profit aren't included in the Angolan Declarations" (also in the aforementioned report). The problem with all these reports, the department of State of the USA, the GW, the HRW, is that they all run away from the root of the problem - the direct link between the dominant totalitarianism in Angola and the Misery that afflicts the Angolan people, and the effective part of the oil companies in all this situation, including the continuation of the Civil War. 5. Are there corrupters in Angola? In fact, if the critics stand strong and serious regarding the government/Mpla, there isn't a single reference to the part of the private sector in the economical and social growth of the Angolan development. Here are some questions, In Angola, the oil companies do not use private companies of security to protect their belongings, as they do everywhere else. What guarantees do these companies offer regarding Human Rights defense? What kind of training has they to do so? Isn't there a meshing of gears between these companies and the State's security forces? Have the oil companies created areas where, by developing their activity, contributed in any way to economy or any social aspect? Do the oil companies allow the independent syndicate activities that aren't State-controlled? Faced with Angolan salaries, has there been any kind of strike in the oil business? Has any company hired UNITA members to positions on the headboard? Has any oil company authorized visits to their camps, by independent members of independent ONG's? Up till now, has there been any control over the oil companies bank accounts, and especially offshore bank accounts? Particularly after the complaints that were made and after what happened with the ELF. This would be a way to verify the development of the mechanisms of corruption that the USA's department of State is so eager to yawn about. Are there corrupts without corrupters? Truthfully, when it's something other than the oil companies, the fore-mentioned reports demonstrate a fine acuity of detailed information, quoting cases and people's names in several situations. That has never happened with the oil companies... Even in the Global Witness document, in the communiqué of the "A Crude Awakening" report, when the companies are quoted, they're kept in an awful gray area, where anything's possible: The combination of massive corruption and the lack of transparence of oil companies such as the French ELF, the British BP/Amoco and the American Chevron and Exxon/Mobil" and the people involved, like "President dos Santos, Elísio Figueiredo, Fernando Miala, gen. Kopelipa, gen. José Maria, José Leitão, Desidério Costa... Pierre Falcone e António Mosquito Mbakassi". Therefore, there aren't any real corrupters in Angola. There aren't Human Rights violators in Angola. There isn't any violation towards the Environment in Angola. Because, if there's nothing to complain about, there's no reason for the Right of Defense to exist in Angola. There's plenty reasons, however, to impose a number of Sanctions on Unita. With that, there's an explicit intention of ceasing the dialogue between UNITA and the Angolan who wish to speak, who desire the Negotiations, who want for Peace, Democracy and Development. For that effect, there's a commission of 4, not 5, experts, nominated by the UN's Security Council, to analyze the ghost bank accounts of the diamond business. No one analyses the Bank accounts of the Corruption coming from the Oil business, which everyone points their finger at, but no one precised what they're pointing at This is why we are writing to His Excellency, the President of the Security Council of the United Nations, to the African Union, to the Presidency of the European Union, to His Excellency the President of the United States of America, to the Candidates of the Presidential elections going on in the USA, to put an end to the Sanctions on UNITA. This two-face policy towards Angola must be stopped. This policy of Sanctions against UNITA is the main reason why there's still an Angolan Civil War going on, and why Most Angolan Oppose to it! |
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Última actualização/Last update 23-11-2000 |
