U'wa of Columbia also threatened by Shell

[Steve Kretzmann <steve@moles.org>]

  Shell/Nigeria activists-
  
  I'm forwarding on this fact sheet on the current situation with the U'wa of
  Columbia.  As you will see, the situation is similar to one we all know
  well, and Shell is once again involved.  Although they are not the operator
  of this project (LA based Occidental Petroleum is), they have a 37.5%
  investment share - equal to Oxy's.  Profits once again measured in barrels
  of blood.
  
  One matter of urgent concern is the current level of violence in the region,
  and the very real possibility that violence may be used to "persuade" the
  U'wa to reconsider their stand.  In 1993, following the first Ogoni Day when
  MOSOP first stated their non-violent opposition to Shell's operations, that
  was when all the killing began in the Delta.  As we know, over 2,000 people,
  including Saro-Wiwa have died since then.  Quick action now for the U'wa may
  help a repeat of the ongoing Ogoni tragedy.  I believe that it will also
  help the Ogoni to bring pressure on Shell from a new angle.
  
  The fact sheet fits comfortably onto 2 pages, and could be useful for the
  upcoming 100th anniversary of Shell (October 18th - although as Nick Jukes
  from the UK pointed out, Shell will be celebrating on October 20th).
  Please use this material and circulate it far and wide.
  
  Peace,
  Steve
  
  
  ********
                                                                              
                                                                              
                                  10/97
  OCCIDENTAL & SHELL THREATEN U'WA OF COLUMBIA
  TRIBE CONTEMPLATES MASS SUICIDE
  
  "I sing the traditional songs to my children. I teach them that everything
  is sacred and linked. How can I tell Shell and Oxy that to take the petrol
  is for us worse than killing your own mother? If you kill the Earth, then no
  one will live." -U'wa woman, August, 1997
  
  The U'wa people have lived peacefully in the cloud forests of the Colombian
  Andes for as long as anyone can remember.  The last great tragedy to befall
  these 5,000 people happened 400 years ago, when according to oral histories,
  a portion of the tribe committed mass ritual suicide rather than submit
  themselves to Spanish rule.  Today, the U'wa are once again talking about
  death as new invaders -Occidental Petroleum ("Oxy") and Shell - move onto
  their land.  As the project moves forward one thing becomes very clear:
  Whether it is through the pollution of the land they consider sacred, the
  increased violence that the project will inevitably bring, or by their own
  hand, oil exploration means the death of the U'wa. 
  
  Oil Project Overview
  In April of 1992, Los-Angeles based Occidental Petroleum was granted
  exploration rights to much of traditional U'wa territory-known to the oil
  companies as the "Samoré block." Shell and Oxy each have a 37.5% investment
  share in the project, and Ecopetrol, the Columbian national oil company, has
  25%.  Oxy, the operator of the joint venture, believes the field to hold
  approximately 1.5 billion barrels of oil, slightly less than three months
  worth of oil for the United States.  Since the beginning, Samore project has
  been plagued by guerrilla violence and the steadfast opposition of the U'wa.
  If it can be brought to production, Oxy and Shell stand to make millions in
  profits from what could be one of the largest oil fields in this hemisphere.
  
  Columbia & Oil
  Colombia is the fourth-largest and fastest-growing major exporter of oil in
  South America, increasing its output by nearly 30 percent in 1995, and
  expecting to double its production by 1998.  Under pressure from the United
  States and international financial institutions, the Colombian government
  has turned to increased oil production as a way to pay off its debts.  For
  the peoples of Columbia living in oil regions though, multinational oil
  exploitation has brought pollution and conflict.
  
  As Occidental knows, the growing oil infrastructure has served as a magnet
  for violence.  Oxy's Cano Limon pump station and pipeline in Arauca which
  controls almost one third of Colombia's oil export has been attacked by
  guerrillas 473 times in its 11 years of existence.  Like in Nigeria and
  Burma, multinational oil companies are turning to the military to protect
  their investments.  With the strong presence of guerrillas in the area, the
  Colombian military-recognized as having one of the worst human rights
  records in the world and armed with the latest equipment and weapons by the
  U.S. government-has moved in to protect Oxy's  and Shell's oil interests.
  Human rights observers contend and Occidental officials privately concede
  that oil industry activity in the region will only serve to heighten and
  focus the violence.
  
  In the last decade, some 1.4 million barrels of crude oil have spilled
  because of pipeline sabotage in Colombia  (the Exxon Valdez spill was only
  36,000 barrels).  As the Samoré block is located in one of the highest
  conflict areas of the country, it is impossible to imagine that the project
  will not result in significant environmental damage to the U'wa homeland.
  This is situated at the headwaters of the Orinoco river basin, which flows
  through sensitive rainforest ecosystems and other indigenous homelands on
  its way to the sea.  All of this is threatened for three months of oil. 
  
  Current Situation 
  "Now they say that the government wants to know our thoughts about the oil
  project, but if they don't like what we think, they will simply proceed with
  their own decisions." - Roberto Cobaria, President of the Traditional U'wa
  Authority
  
  In their search for justice the U'wa have turned to both national and
  international legal fora, neither of which has yet to fully recognize the
  U'wa's right to protect their land and culture.  In early 1997, two
  contradictory rulings on the U'wa case were handed down by Colombian courts,
  with the Council of State's decision taking precedent. This ruling found
  that the States right to develop its natural resources, in this case oil,
  superseded the U'wa's constitutional right to consultation and defense of
  its cultural identity.  
  
  Looking internationally, the U'wa have recently petitioned the
  Inter-american Human Rights of the OAS to call for the project's
  cancellation in defense of the U'wa's human rights.  Meanwhile, in response
  to a request from the Colombian government, the OAS in conjunction with
  Harvard University, has issued a series of recommendations in regards to the
  Samoré block, intended to serves as a guide to resolve the conflict between
  the U'wa and oil interests.  This report advocates several positives steps
  to be taken in favor of the U'wa, including an immediate and unconditional
  suspension of all oil activities in the Samoré block, and the legal
  recognition of the U'wa's full traditional territory. However, it also
  recommends a process of consultation with the U'wa which is based on
  recognizing the Colombian's States right to exploit oil over the U'wa's
  right to halt it.  The OAS/Harvard path to conflict resolution, therefore,
  depends on the U'wa giving up both their position of resistance as well as
  their vow to collective suicide if the project goes ahead.  These
  assumptions not only disregard the U'wa's rights, but in the end could prove
  horribly tragic.
  
  WHAT YOU CAN DO 
  Write Oxy and Shell asking them in your own words to cancel their plans for
  the Samoré block.  Let them know that you hold them responsible for the
  U'wa's welfare.
  
  Dr. Ray R. Irani, CEO							Philip J. Carroll, CEO
  Occidental Petroleum Corp., 10889 Wilshire Blvd., LA, CA 90024
  Shell Oil, P.O. Box 2463, Houston, TX
  fax (310) 443-6922						  	fax:(713) 241-4044
  
  U'wa Project International 
  (818) 505-8353 phone/fax  uwaproject@aol.com 
  http://www.solcommunications.com/uwa.html
  
  Project Underground      	 			Rainforest Action Network
  (510) 705-8981					(415) 398-4404 
  project_underground@moles.org     			rainforest@ran.org 
  http://www.moles.org					http://www.ran.org 
  
  U'wa Project International is working to publicize the U'wa struggle and
  mobilize international support by organizing institutions and people in
  defense of the U'wa. Formed in July of 1997, the U'wa Project International
  is supported by a coalition of environmental and human rights groups
  including: Amazon Watch, Center for Justice and International Law, Coalition
  for Amazonian Peoples and their Environment, Colombian Human Rights Watch,
  Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund,  FIAN - Germany, Project Underground,
  Rainforest Action Network, and SOL Communications.
  
  ********************************
  and a recent Reuter's story... 
  **
  Colombian Indians fight to stop oil drilling
  
  By Anthony Boadle 
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Colombian Indians who have threatend mass
  suicide if Occidental Petroleum Corp. drills oil wells on their
  ancestral lands have asked the Organization of American States for
  help. 
  
  "Oil is blood in the veins of Mother Earth. It does not belong to us,
  to the Colombian government or Occidental," Roberto Cobaria, chief of
  the 5,000 U'wa of northeastern Colombia, said Wednesday. 
  
  The Inter-American Human Rights Commission held a hearing on Tuesday
  on the plight of the U'wa people at which Colombian officials pledged
  not to allow drilling without giving advance notice to the tribe. 
  
  The U'wa asked the commission to recommend that Colombia suspend
  Occidental's drilling rights in the potentially oil-rich Samore block
  which overlaps with U'wa lands. 
  
  Occidental has completed seismic exploration of the oil field and in
  March the Colombian government allowed exploratory drilling to
  proceed, but the company has delayed starting until the dispute is
  resolved. 
  
  Cobaria said the advent of the oil industry would destroy his tribe's
  culture and introduce the political violence that is endemic in the
  Colombian countryside. 
  
  "We don't want our culture to die," Cobaria told a news conference.
  "We are looking for help abroad because the Colombian government has
  sold out on us to the oil companies." 
  
  He said the government was breaking Colombian laws that have
  recognized native communities and protect their lands. 
  
  At a news conference in Bogota in January, tribal leaders threatened
  to commit mass suicide if Los Angeles-based Occidental won the rights
  to go ahead with the Samore project. 
  
  They said many U'wa would throw themselves off a high cliff in an act
  of mass ritual suicide. 
  
  Occidental's oil and gas subsidiary is the second largest oil producer
  in Colombia. But its output has been falling and the company is
  interested in new exploration. 
  
  In May, the Colombian government asked the OAS to help solve the
  dispute. The OAS got Harvard University's Center for International
  Affairs to look into the matter. 
  
  The OAS/Harvard study, which was funded by Occidental, recommended
  that the oil company suspend all exploration and development plans to
  allow for talks. 
  
  "We have voluntarily refrained from moving ahead, even though the
  government has given us permission to do so," said Larry Meriage, a
  spokesman for Occidental Oil and Gas. 
  
  He said the U'was wanted to enlarge their reservation to include their
  migratory paths and it was up to the Colombian government to decide. 
  
  _______________________________________________________
  Steve Kretzmann			510-705-8982 - office
  Campaigns Coordinator		510-705-8983 - fax
  
  Project Underground
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  Supporting communities threatened by the mining and oil industries
  
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