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Sierra Club President Calls on Shell to Aid Ogoni 19 Vows Group Will Continue Boycott of Company Until Rhetoric Matches Actions Boulder, Colorado -- Sierra Club President Adam Werbach pledged today that the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization will continue its boycott of Shell Oil until the company's rhetoric matches its actions. Werbach was in Boulder to open a new "Ogoni Freedom Center" with the CEO of The Body Shop, Anita Roddick, Dr. Owens Wiwa, brother of the Nigerian writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa who was executed in 1995, and Ellen Moore of Amnesty International's Urgent Action Program.. "It is not enough for Shell to announce a plan to clean up the environment, or a plan to respect human rights," said Werbach. "The company has made many such announcements of plans and left it at that, announcements on paper with no real actions to address the environmental problems they have caused. Actions speak louder than words, and we're still waiting." Werbach quoted passages from a stunning report on the Ogoni region of Nigeria released in January by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The WCC report blamed Shell for much of the environmental devastation in Ogoni and said it was "almost unethical for Shell not to use its influence to pressure the government for justice...Instead of changing their policies and practices, [Shell] seems more interested in changing their image," the report said. The Boulder Ogoni Freedom Center, officially opened today by Werbach and the others, is designed to educate visitors about the plight of 19 Ogoni activists currently imprisoned for what environmentalists and human rights advocates believe is due to the Ogoni campaign aimed at exposing Shell's pollution of their environment. Visitors will be asked to write letters to Shell and to President Clinton, urging him to ensure that U.S. businesses operating in Nigeria respect and protect the environment and fundamental human rights. "Nineteen Ogoni men are now awaiting trial for the same murders for which Ken Saro-Wiwa was wrongly tried and hanged," said Werbach. "We understand that some are suffering in detention from blindness, disease and torture. We demand that Shell use their considerable influence to see that the Ogoni 19 are released," Werbach concluded. Environmental and human rights advocates believe Ken Saro-Wiwa was killed because of the international campaign he led against the pollution in his homeland caused by the oil company Shell, one of the largest revenue producers for the military junta that rules Nigeria. The Nigerian military government, an international pariah, has refused to release the body of Saro-Wiwa and eight others executed, to the families. The regime maintains a strong presence in Ogoniland, beating and jailing any Ogoni who dares speak Saro-Wiwa's name or attempts to organize others to protect the environment. The Nigeria Country Report on Human Rights, released in January by the U.S. Department of State, noted that "General Abacha's Government relied regularly on arbitrary detention and harassment to silence its many critics." Anita and Gordon Roddick, founders of The Body Shop skin care stores, opened the first Ogoni Freedom Center in Manhattan last November in a joint campaign with the Sierra Club. The freedom centers are designed to educate visitors about the plight of the 19 activists currently imprisoned and to tell the story of the Ogoni struggle to protect their homeland against environmental devastation caused by the oil industry. Since the New York center's inception, thousands of visitors have used free fax and phone lines to contact President Clinton and Shell Oil. Visitors have also written letters of support to the imprisoned Ogoni activists. "Since the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Shell has spent millions on public relations and advertising to respond to the public outcry for environmental justice in Ogoni," said Stephen Mills, Director of the Sierra Club's Human Rights and the Environment Campaign. "But they have yet to admit responsibility for their actions, to pay adequate compensation to villagers whose farms were destroyed, or to clean up their environmental mess in Ogoni." "We do not accept that Shell could abide by one operating standard in this country and in Europe, and by yet another, lower, standard in Nigeria," said Mills. "We do not accept that the company could stand idly by as men, women, and children were massacred to protect their installations." Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
