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Berkeley joins Nigeria business ban
Thursday, July 17, 1997
By
Cecily Burt
STAFF WRITER
BERKELEY -- Berkeley has joined the ranks of Bay Area cities
prohibiting
contracts with companies who do business with the military
dictatorship in
Nigeria.
The council voted 8-0 with one abstention to adopt the ban proposed
by the city's
Peace and Justice Commission because of human rights abuses and
military
repression in Nigeria.
Councilmember Polly Armstrong (Elmwood) has a policy against voting
for
international issues. However, she said she would personally boycott
Shell
products.
The city manager will return next week with an appropriate
resolution. The city
already has divestment policies against Tibet, South Africa and
Burma. The
Nigeria ban affects five major corporations: Royal/Dutch Shell,
Chevron
(Standard Oil), Mobil Oil, Coca-Cola and Bank of America.
City employees can continue to use their Chevron credit cards until
an acceptable
alternative gasoline supplier can be found. The city manager was
given three
months to find an alternative source -- not an easy task since Exxon
is the only
company producing premium grade gasoline which is not doing business
in
Nigeria or Burma.
The city does not do business with Exxon since adopting the Valdez
Principle in
the wake of the Exxon tanker accident and spill in Alaska.
Activists have charged that multinational oil companies, in
particular the Shell
Petroleum Development Company, have ravaged the Niger Delta and
contaminated rivers without doing anything to help the people. The
oil
companies pump $11million a day to the military-run government, but
nothing
is done to help the people whose land has been destroyed, they
charge.
International protests have grown since Ken Saro-Wiwa, playwright and
leader of
the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People and winner of the
prestigious
Goldman Environmental Prize, was hanged along with eight of his
supporters in
the fall of 1995.
In January, Shell admitted to importing weapons into Nigeria to help
arm the
police to protect its oil installations.
Berkeley is the eighth U.S. city to adopt a ban against Nigeria.
"I am overwhelmed with joy," said Tunde Okorodudu, a representative
of the Free
Nigeria Movement.
"Each step will be a victory for us. This is a giant step; Berkeley
is a very
strategic city. It is the cradle, the nucleus of freedom and free
speech movement."
Okorodudu said half of Nigeria's oil is produced by Shell, and oil
accounts for 80
percent of government revenues.
"Every day we wait things are getting worse," he said.
"Nigerian people can't even get to work because there is no gas for
them, in a
country that is producing 2.1million barrels of oil a day."
© 1997 Alameda Newspapers, Inc.
All rights reserved
Title: Berkeley joins Nigeria business ban
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Berkeley joins Nigeria business ban
Thursday, July 17, 1997 By Cecily Burt STAFF WRITER BERKELEY -- Berkeley has joined the ranks of Bay Area cities prohibiting contracts with companies who do business with the military dictatorship in Nigeria. The council voted 8-0 with one abstention to adopt the ban proposed by the city's Peace and Justice Commission because of human rights abuses and military repression in Nigeria. Councilmember Polly Armstrong (Elmwood) has a policy against voting for international issues. However, she said she would personally boycott Shell products. The city manager will return next week with an appropriate resolution. The city already has divestment policies against Tibet, South Africa and Burma. The Nigeria ban affects five major corporations: Royal/Dutch Shell, Chevron (Standard Oil), Mobil Oil, Coca-Cola and Bank of America. City employees can continue to use their Chevron credit cards until an acceptable alternative gasoline supplier can be found. The city manager was given three months to find an alternative source -- not an easy task since Exxon is the only company producing premium grade gasoline which is not doing business in Nigeria or Burma. The city does not do business with Exxon since adopting the Valdez Principle in the wake of the Exxon tanker accident and spill in Alaska. Activists have charged that multinational oil companies, in particular the Shell Petroleum Development Company, have ravaged the Niger Delta and contaminated rivers without doing anything to help the people. The oil companies pump $11million a day to the military-run government, but nothing is done to help the people whose land has been destroyed, they charge. International protests have grown since Ken Saro-Wiwa, playwright and leader of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People and winner of the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, was hanged along with eight of his supporters in the fall of 1995. In January, Shell admitted to importing weapons into Nigeria to help arm the police to protect its oil installations. Berkeley is the eighth U.S. city to adopt a ban against Nigeria. "I am overwhelmed with joy," said Tunde Okorodudu, a representative of the Free Nigeria Movement. "Each step will be a victory for us. This is a giant step; Berkeley is a very strategic city. It is the cradle, the nucleus of freedom and free speech movement." Okorodudu said half of Nigeria's oil is produced by Shell, and oil accounts for 80 percent of government revenues. "Every day we wait things are getting worse," he said. "Nigerian people can't even get to work because there is no gas for them, in a country that is producing 2.1million barrels of oil a day."
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