By Rick Jurgens
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Amnesty International, in a new report on human rights violations in the oil-rich Niger Delta of Nigeria, criticized Chevron Corp. for its response to a violent confrontation in February between soldiers and demonstrators at its Escravos terminal.
"Oil continues to blight rather than benefit the lives of most Delta populations," according to the report, which was timed for release a few days prior to Nov. 10, the 10th anniversary of the Nigerian government's execution of author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight associates. The nine were hanged by a military dictator after Saro-Wiwa attracted international attention with his protests against the harm done to his home region by oil production by the Shell Oil Corp.
Chevron, which also produces crude oil in the impoverished region at the foot of the Niger River, has been the target of repeated mobilizations by local residents protesting pollution or seeking jobs or support for economic development.
A section of the new report focuses on a Feb. 4 incident where, according to Amnesty International, more than 200 demonstrators from a nearby village went inside the Chevron facility and were subdued by soldiers using tear gas, rifle butts and batons. One demonstrator was shot to death and more than 30 were injured, according to the report, which says that "Amnesty International is concerned that the force used against the protesters by the security forces was excessive and disproportionate."
While the report does not accuse Chevron of complicity in the excess violence, it concludes that Chevron failed to report abuses to authorities, failed to provide medical treatment to injured demonstrators and failed to adequately train and supervise the security forces guarding its facility.
That failed to meet Chevron's obligations under a 2001 document known as the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, according to Mila Rosenthal of Amnesty International.
Chevron is one of 16 participating companies listed on the home page of the secretariat that administers the principles. Amnesty International, which helped draft the document, "wanted to look at what happened in Escravos in light of Chevron's obligations under those principles," she said.
Don Campbell, a Chevron spokesman, dismissed the new report as "unfair, unbalanced and anything but objective. Chevron unequivocally deplores the use of violence in the Niger Delta." He said the region's problems were rooted in poverty and that "solutions require peaceful dialogue and ... collaboration by all stakeholders: government, communities, ethnic groups, energy companies and" non-governmental organizations.
In an interview published in the company's 2004 corporate responsibility report, Jay Pryor, the managing director of Chevron's Nigerian unit, said the company "works hard to play a positive role in the Niger Delta" despite the existence of "complex issues." Pryor cited the company's financial support for education and health care and its contribution of $30 million to a Nigerian government agency that focuses on development in the region.
While generally critical of Chevron, Shell and other oil companies, the report does credit Chevron and others for supporting some development projects that "have been effective in involving communities meaningfully, identifying priorities and implementing local solutions."
It also describes frequent conflicts between rival ethnic groups and an incident in which five Chevron employees and two contractors were killed in an ambush.
Amnesty International, a human rights organization that claims 1.8 million members and eschews financial support from governments or political parties, sent a delegation to visit Escravos in April and has continued to monitor developments since, Rosenthal said.
Rick Jurgens covers energy and business. Reach him at 925-943-8088 or at rjurgens@cctimes.com. |
