Thursday 13th November 2003 saw BP Chairman Peter Sutherland and BP CEO John Browne out and about on a full-on charm offensive. Could this have been to counteract the bad publicity the company had been getting over the approval of public funding for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline? In response, London Rising Tide and its new alter ego the Foundation for the Advancement of Big Oil (or FABO) decided to hijack the slick BP green(wash) machine.
LRT-ers protest outside RCS as BP chair is disrupted within
In the evening, radical oily right think-tank FABO was present at the Royal Albert Hall, where BP boss John Browne was due to address the centenary annual black tie dinner of the Institute of Directors. But first, a report from the lunchtime Sutherland gig:
There was a surprise in store for the Royal Commonwealth Society private members (club) last week when protesters arrived to express their disgust that Peter Sutherland – chairman of BP, ex-WTO boss and all-round neoliberal cheerleader - was to be there that day giving a lecture called 'Access to World Markets: Tackling Poverty, Creating Equity'. Those being things he’d know lots about since his days setting up the WTO.
Recognised as subversives, two people were turned away (having bought tickets in advance), but one cleverly outwitted the club’s receptionist/security and made it into the ‘light lunch’ and lecture. Sutherland was duly castigated during his lecture for his company’s many unethical social and environmental activities, to which he reacted with a smirk and a shuffle but was unable to scramble out of the hole that he was rapidly digging for himself.
Eventually, the agitator was escorted from the room although security seemed a little baffled because they had to physically remove someone who refused to neither shut-up nor leave! Maybe they don't get much of that from their private members!
Outside there were six policemen (needed to combat the four protesters quietly holding a banner and offering leaflets to passers by), although their team eventually dwindled to three and then none; only, of course, after an hour or so of gentle but persistent intimidation with video cameras trained on each protestor for long periods of time. Were they hoping one might suddenly do something illegal that they could catch on film?!
It was discovered afterwards that there were indeed friendlies in the room after chats with a few people who attended the lecture (those willing to talk to us). Sutherland apparently denounced the heckler as one of those that you always get at these things to which one attendee replied, “actually that one person represents a lot of voices”. At the end of the lecture there was an invitation to ask questions at which the issues raised by the ousted dissident were again brought up by attending NGO and other representatives and Sutherland had to do a lot more squirming.
He later scurried away from the scene of the crime via the back entrance, although witnesses say he did encounter large quantities of dog dirt as he made his escape from several 'autograph-hunting fans'.
There was a surprise in store for the Royal Commonwealth Society private members (club) last week when protesters arrived to express their disgust that Peter Sutherland – chairman of BP, ex-WTO boss and all-round neoliberal cheerleader - was to be there that day giving a lecture called 'Access to World Markets: Tackling Poverty, Creating Equity'. Those being things he’d know lots about since his days setting up the WTO.
Recognised as subversives, two people were turned away (having bought tickets in advance), but one cleverly outwitted the club’s receptionist/security and made it into the ‘light lunch’ and lecture. Sutherland was duly castigated during his lecture for his company’s many unethical social and environmental activities, to which he reacted with a smirk and a shuffle but was unable to scramble out of the hole that he was rapidly digging for himself.
Eventually, the agitator was escorted from the room although security seemed a little baffled because they had to physically remove someone who refused to neither shut-up nor leave! Maybe they don't get much of that from their private members!
Outside there were six policemen (needed to combat the four protesters quietly holding a banner and offering leaflets to passers by), although their team eventually dwindled to three and then none; only, of course, after an hour or so of gentle but persistent intimidation with video cameras trained on each protestor for long periods of time. Were they hoping one might suddenly do something illegal that they could catch on film?!
It was discovered afterwards that there were indeed friendlies in the room after chats with a few people who attended the lecture (those willing to talk to us). Sutherland apparently denounced the heckler as one of those that you always get at these things to which one attendee replied, “actually that one person represents a lot of voices”. At the end of the lecture there was an invitation to ask questions at which the issues raised by the ousted dissident were again brought up by attending NGO and other representatives and Sutherland had to do a lot more squirming.
He later scurried away from the scene of the crime via the back entrance, although witnesses say he did encounter large quantities of dog dirt as he made his escape from several 'autograph-hunting fans'.
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Sutherland leaflet
16.11.2003 23:21
TACKLING DISSENT, CREATING POVERTY, OIL WARS, CLIMATE CHANGE, HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, GREENWASH, INCREASED FAT CAT PAY, SLASHED WORKER’S RIGHTS, TAX EVASION SCHEMES ETC…'
How much do you know about BP? 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 world’s climate, (also known as global warming).
More climate chaos; less social justice -
9 issues Peter Sutherland would rather you didn't raise today:
* BP's 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 world's climate.
(More info: www.baku.org.uk)
* Sutherland pulled in £335,000 plus share options from BP alone in 2001-2.
* BP has bankrolled Colombian paramilitary death squads in exchange for
the 'protection' of its oilfields.
* BP invests less than 1% of its annual budget on solar and other renewable energy sources, much less than what they spend on ads and PR.
* 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.
* 'BP and Shell have discussed with the government the prospect of claiming a stake in Iraq's oil reserves in the aftermath of war', FT, 11.3.03
* '$319m US lawsuit accuses BP of pollution offences and lying', FT 14.3.03
* 'Alaska cites and fines BP over death of worker', FT, 28.5.03
* 'BP has been warned by experts…that it could trigger human rights abuses if it proceeds with a $2bn gas scheme in Indonesia.' Guardian on Tangguh, West Papua, 12.3.03.
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 ‘green’ image is required to increase those profits. That’s it. Capitalism itself relies on our unquestioning acceptance of its airbrushed, 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 priorities such as food, health and freedom for all, is the only long-term solution for a socially just and ecologically sustainable future.
What can you do? Possibilities include minimising your oil & gas use, and taking action against the companies involved (eg. disinvestment, direct action). And tell The Royal Commonwealth Society how you feel about Sutherland's visit, tel: 7766 9202;
Contacts and further information
This leaflet was written and distributed by London Rising Tide (LRT). LRT is part of the Rising Tide UK and international networks, and takes direct action to confront the root causes of climate change, and to promote local, community-run solutions to our energy needs.
www.burningplanet.net Rising Tide UK: www.risingtide.org.uk
Suds
FABO at the Royal Albert Hall
17.11.2003 12:17
To cries of "Who needs human rights - all we need is rights to OIL!" and "One less Columbian - One less problem" "Thats what BP thinks and ts good enough for me" and exhortations to end concern for environemtal and social welfare to hike that share price up a notch or 2, the delgates streamed in to the Royal Albert Hall. Cheered by our "rightthinking" world view, and my advice for BP to be more like Petrel (whose company report states "Strange to tell, but war has been good for Petrel" and who went into Iraq with a private military force to secure the oilfields before the formal end of full scale combat operations) many of the DJ'd delegates couldnt believe their luck.
One poster read: "FABO demand more- death, more corruption, more money, more profit, more oil, more abuse and more pollution" while another listed BPs glorious achievements: from Columbian death squads to squalid financial dealings...
Impressed by FABO members one delegate wobbled over to me and demanded a kiss. Well, how could any self respecting FABO-ette refuse the advances of Big Business?
The kilted men and tottering wimmin lapped up the leaflets with the transatlentic contingent being particularly grateful for our interest and support.
lill miss FABO
Foundation for the Advancement of Big Oil leaflet text
17.11.2003 22:18
empire-creating,
tax-evading,
workers' rights-eroding,
greeny-hoodwinking,
global-warming…
Lord Browne -
we salute you!
And here, in an echo of BP’s slogan for its Ultimate petrol, is our message to the good Lord:
More profits please,
less of the sandal-brandishing green waffle
Let’s give Lord Browne a (globally!) warm welcome as he arrives to address the Institute of Directors at their centenary dinner. Here are 9 issues our Lord and his team have done a superb job in keeping away from the gaze of shareholders, many NGO’s and most of the public:
* BP's planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil & gas pipelines will be a human rights disaster and produce over 150 million tonnes of CO2 every year for 40 years, causing untold damage to the world's climate;
* John Browne’s salary in 2001-2 came to over £3 million.
* BP has bankrolled Colombian paramilitary death squads in exchange for the 'protection' of its oilfields.
* BP invests less than 1% of its annual budget on solar and other renewable energy sources, much less than they spend on ads and PR.
* 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.
* 'BP and Shell have discussed with the government the prospect of claiming a stake in Iraq's oil reserves in the aftermath of war', FT, 11.3.03
* '$319m US lawsuit accuses BP of pollution offences and lying', FT 14.3.03
* 'Alaska cites and fines BP over death of worker', FT, 28.5.03
* 'BP has been warned by experts…that it could trigger human rights abuses if it proceeds with a $2bn gas scheme in Indonesia.' Guardian on Tangguh, West Papua, 12.3.03.
What can you do? Possibilities include maximising your oil & gas use, signing our petition for the erection of a statue of Lord Browne in Madingley village green, and taking action against the campaigners currently maligning our Lord, BP and Big Oil.
Contacts and further information:
This leaflet was written and distributed by the Foundation for the Advancement of Big Oil; (aka FABO, coincidentally also celebrating its centenary this year):
On the site you can send us a donation, sponsor a climate sceptic or subscribe to our competively-priced daily 32-page in depth email update.
FABO is an entirely independent, free-thinking think tank; please get in touch to find out about sponsorship opportunities.
Ab Fabo
e-mail:
bigoilisbrill@yahoo.co.uk