From corporation-watch at countercorp.org Wed May 27 01:47:40 2009 From: corporation-watch at countercorp.org (Corporation Watch) Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 22:47:40 -0700 Subject: [Corp. Watch] Automotive industry bribes European Union officials and politicians Message-ID: <1F04B1CA-E32E-41EF-A916-9262BD713C16@countercorp.org> Documentary Reveals Car Lobby Perks for MEPs (Inside the Brussels Bubble blog, May 19) -- An interesting documentary on Dutch television yesterday showed the massive influence of the automotive industry in the European Union (EU) capital in Brussels, Belgium. The industry's lobby uses a range of different tactics, including some that come close to influence peddling. Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Malcolm Harbour, who has a strong say in Parliamentary decisionmaking on the EU's environmental standards for cars, routinely borrows luxurious new cars for "test drives", accepts invitations to attend grand prix racing events, and other treats courtesy of the automotive industry. Harbour (a former car designer) claims he needs to understand the latest technology. The documentary revealed that it is very common both for European Commission officials and MEPs to buy cars at reduced rate. For decades, every major car manufacturer has a special "diplomatic sales" branch in Brussels offering 20-25% discounts exclusively for MEPs and other EU officials. (For example, here's Fiat's "diplomatic sales" website: www.diplomaticsales.be .) The influence of the car lobby became very clear when European Commissioner for Enterprise Guenter Verheugen [the equivalent of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce] and MEPs Harbour, Ari Vatanen (a former rally driver), and Herman de Croo, who chairs the European Transport Safety Council, were interviewed about car safety standards. Asked whether the car industry should be obliged to use the best available technology in order to reduce accidents and mortality rates, all of these influential players repeated the "integrated approach" mantra promoted by the car lobbies. To avoid stricter car safety regulations, lobbyists have successfully convinced EU decisionmakers that driving behavior, [obstacles such as] trees next to roads, and other infrastructure are [equally] as important factors [as car design and safety equipment]. While those things may or may not be important to vehicle safety and car-related fatalities, they are matters that MEPs have no power over, because they are actually controlled by the individual countries that are members of the EU. The result: preserving the status quo. From corporation-watch at countercorp.org Wed May 27 03:59:58 2009 From: corporation-watch at countercorp.org (Corporation Watch) Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 00:59:58 -0700 Subject: [Corp. Watch] Accessories to murder: Corporations conspire with violent regimes to maintain profits Message-ID: <116B8259-A028-4D05-84FA-B8BA2CFDF78F@countercorp.org> [EDITOR'S NOTE: The plight of the Ogoni people described in the article below is the subject of the opening night film at this year's Anti-Corporate Film Festival in San Francisco, which starts on Thursday. For more information about the films -- including trailers and links to purchase advance tickets, visit www.countercorp.org] Nigeria Oil Executions Case Reaches U.S. By Andrew Walker (BBC News, May 26) -- Activists trying to prove oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in the 1995 executions of nine anti-oil campaigners, including Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa , will begin their case in a New York court on Wednesday. Over the last 12 years, the family of the Ogoni poet and playwright has pursued the company through the courts with the support of American environmental and human rights campaigners. Shell deny accusations they had anything to do with the executions of Saro-Wiwa and eight others by the government of military ruler Gen. Sani Abacha. "They weren't the hangman," Ken Wiwa, the activist's son, says about Shell. "But their fingerprints are all over it." The case will be closely watched in Nigeria, where a younger generation of oil militants has caused chaos in the oil industry, blowing up installations and kidnapping staff. 'Goaded' In 1993, Ogoni activists stood up to the international oil company, forcing them to pull out of the region in Rivers State. The protests were led by Saro-Wiwa, famed for writing a popular TV soap. He founded the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), which used largely non-violent means to bring the world's attention to the environmental damage being done by oil production in the Niger Delta. But the leadership of MOSOP was accused of ordering the murder of four local traditional leaders, and arrested. In 1995 the government of Sani Abacha shocked the world by carrying out the executions of the Ogoni Nine, as they became known. The plaintiffs are trying to prove that Shell, in the younger Wiwa's words, "goaded" the government into the executions. Wiwa, now an aide to current Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, says he is not interested in "retributive justice", but is trying to find a solution to the problems that still plague the region. Like his father, he wants oil firms to realize that it is only by working with and engaging local communities that there can be longer- term profitability for all. "My father always said that one day Shell would realize he was their greatest friend," Wiwa told the BBC's Network Africa program. For the past 14 years, no oil has been pumped from Ogoniland ground. The court action is being brought by Wiwa and the families of seven of the nine men executed, as well as a number of other Ogonis injured or killed by the military during the 1990s. The case is being heard in a New York court because American law allows foreign nationals to sue companies registered in the U.S. They are being assisted by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Earth Rights International. Their lawyers will try to prove that the company had a close relationship with the Nigerian government, ordering military raids and attacks on villages in the name of "security". They say Shell executives told the government they had to "deal" with the Ogonis and MOSOP. They also claim Shell knew in advance that Saro-Wiwa and the rest of the Ogoni Nine would be found guilty, and, perhaps most damningly, they say they can prove the director of Shell's Nigerian subsidiary met with Saro-Wiwa's brother and offered to arrange his freedom in return for an end to MOSOP's campaign. Denial Shell says the claims are "false and without merit". A spokesperson told the BBC that "Shell in no way encouraged any act of violence against the Ogoni Nine or any of their fellow Ogonis. We believe the evidence will clearly show that Shell was not responsible for the tragic events." The executions were carried out by the Abacha government, they say. "Shell tried to persuade the government to give those found guilty clemency, and we were shocked and saddened when we heard the news," the Shell spokesperson said. The case is trying to establish a precedent for accountability in cases where extractive industries come into conflict with local populations, says Ledum Mitee, current president of MOSOP. Mitee, who is traveling to the U.S. to testify, was arrested with the other leaders of MOSOP in 1994, but had charges against him dropped. "If the case is successful, other people will know there is some legal recourse for violators," he said. But even if they lose, Mitee says, more attention will be brought to the activities of multinational companies in similar situations all over the world. A previous case also in a New York court found oil company Chevron was not responsible for the deaths of activists who occupied an offshore oil platform and were killed by the Nigerian military when they came to remove them. Chevron had requested the intervention and flown the soldiers to the rig in one of their helicopters. The oil company pressed for damages from the community to cover their legal costs and in order to "dissuade further litigation", but a judge ruled the community should not be liable for the legal fees. "The comfort for me is not the decision of the court," said Mitee said, "but the hope of future justice for repressed people." 'Normality' The Niger Delta now is a dangerous mixture of armed militants and corruption. Unemployed youths join the militants looking for easy money from the extortion, kidnapping and crude oil theft they practice. Militant leaders have grown rich on kickbacks from anyone wanting to do business in the oil-producing swamps, and their ties to political and military figures have pushed a solution seemingly further from reach. A strong military campaign is currently under way to loosen militant control in Delta State, but it is not clear if the government is winning. Many innocent villagers have reportedly been forced from their homes, and there are reports some have been killed. If militants can fight back, oil companies' income from on-shore joint ventures will be put under more pressure -- it has already been cut by as much as 20% by militant activity since 2006. In Shell's statement on the trial it says: "Shell remains committed to reconciliation, peace and a return to normality." But a Shell spokeswoman was unable to describe exactly what that "normality" would be.