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How much do you know
about BP, sponsor of the National Portrait Award?
ìWe want to simply say
that BP is a bad company; when BP is based in West Papua,
Indonesia can send more military to ìprotectî BP and then
kill us. BP is creating pollution in West Papua. BP will kill
our forest and our sea. BP must get out of West Papua. BP
are coming and offering ìdevelopmentî. They are bringing more
schools, hospitals, roads, airports, pollution, money and
western goods. We do not want these. They will cause us more
problems. We are just fine how we are. We are not asking for
development. We are not asking for BP. What we are asking
for is Freedom.î From a statement made by DeMMaK (Koteka Tribal
Assembly) Spokespeople on BPís Tangguh natural gas project
in West Papua, March 2003
If most of your knowledge has come from
BP itself, or from the institutions it sponsors, it might
be worth digging a bit deeper before giving the company a
clean bill of health. Many people believe that BP (not to
mention the entire oil industry) causes human rights violations,
ecological devastation and the growing destabilisation of
the worldís climate, (also known as global warming).
A more accurate portrait? 8 facts BP would
rather you didnít know:
Ý BP bankrolls Colombian paramilitary
death squads in exchange for the ëprotectioní of its oilfields;
Ý BPís planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil & gas pipelines, if built, would be a human rights disaster
and produce over 150 million tonnes of CO2 every year for
40 years, causing untold damage to the worldís climate. (More
info: www.baku.org.uk)
Ý BP invests less than 1%
of its annual budget on solar and other renewable energy sources,
a great deal less than what they spend on advertising and
public relations.
Ý BP has been investigated
by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for serious and widespread
safety breaches at its UK refineries. In 2002, the HSE fined
it £1m for these breaches.
Ý ëBP and Shell have discussed
with the government the prospect of claiming a stake in Iraq's
oil reserves in the aftermath of war.í Financial Times, 11.3.03
Ý ë$319m US lawsuit accuses
BP of pollution offences and lyingí, FT 14.3.03
Ý ëAlaska cites and fines
BP over death of workerí, FT, 28.5.03
Ý ëBP has been warned by a
panel of expertsÖthat it could trigger human rights abuses
if it proceeds with a $2bn gas scheme in Indonesia.' Guardian
on Tangguh, West Papua, 12.3.03.
Should a company like BP be associated
with the National Portrait Gallery, (or the Ecology section
of the Natural History Museum, for that matter)? Should a
company like BP exist at all?
We donít believe that itís possible for
an oil company to be a force for good in the world, regardless
of how many cultural events in sponsors in the hope of sanitising
its domestic reputation. If youíre an artist, or connected
in any way to the National Portrait Gallery, we ask you to
consider BPís record, as well as the existence of corporate
sponsorship of the arts in general, and to try to raise whatever
concerns you may have in any way that you feel comfortable.
This leaflet is just a snapshot of a company where profit
is the only real bottom line, and where public relations tricks
conceal a far more destructive reality. BP, like all companies,
exists to generate maximum profits. Currently a ëgreení image
is required to increase those profits. Thatís it. Capitalism
itself relies on our unquestioning acceptance of its air-brushed,
greenwashed version of the truth. As environmental crises
loom larger, ending this profit-and-exploitation system is
central to our survival. Replacing capitalism with other goals
in society, such as food, health and freedom for all, is the
only long-term solution for a socially just and ecological
future.
Donít be fooled by oil company public relations
that the only people opposing their destructive agenda are
privileged western environmentalists. In fact, resistance
to Big Oilís constant need to find new oil-rich frontiers
is most determined amongst some of the worldís poorest people.
People in places as far-flung as Colombia, West Papua, Angola,
Azerbaijan and Alaska have come together to say no to BP.
After all, the wealth from their lands flows straight into
the pockets of western investors. Perhaps they should be the
ones to control their own resources, instead of being displaced,
polluted or even murdered?
What can you do? Possibilities include
discussing the issue with friends and colleagues, distributing
critical material, raising your concerns in public (especially
if you win the prize!), or maybe even refusing to participate
in such events in the future. (Anyone want to help organise
a fossil fuel-free portrait award in 2004, by the way?) Having
said that, itís not really the job of this leaflet to tell
you what action to take, except to say that contrary to popular
opinion, we can make a difference.
Contacts and further information This
leaflet was written and distributed by London Rising Tide
(LRT). LRT, part of the Rising Tide UK and international networks,
takes direct action to confront the root causes of climate
change, and to promote local, community-run solutions to our
energy needs.
At the moment we are focussing on stopping
BPís planned Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, as well as removing 4x4ís
from the streets of London, and raising awareness about the
real price of oil.
Email: london@risingtide.org.uk Address:
62 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1ES www.burningplanet.net
Rising Tide UK: www.risingtide.org.uk
(for info about combating climate chaos with local action)
See also: www.bpamoco.org.uk
(not the official BP site!) On resistance to BP in West Papua:
http://www.eco-action/opm/
Colombia Solidarity Campaign: www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk/
www.burningplanet.net
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