One of the most disturbing — and atypical –stories of global corporate complicity in torture and murder
of the past 10 years remains the under-reported media story of Chevron and its human rights abuses in Nigeria:
In one particularly serious incident on January 4, soldiers using a Chevron helicopter and Chevron boats attacked villagers in two small communities in Delta State, Opia and Ikenyan, killing at least four people and burning most of the villages to the ground. More than fifty people are still missing. Chevron has alleged to a committee of survivors of the attack that this was a “counterattack” resulting from a confrontation between local youths and soldiers posted to a Chevron drilling rig. Community members deny that any such confrontation took place. In any event, the soldiers’ response was clearly disproportionate and excessive.
http://hrw.org/english/docs/1999/02/23/nigeri804.htm
Chevron’s moral response to their allegiance with a brutal government has been to use their billion-dollar might to amass a giant legal team to keep any of this from reaching the courts and trial. I actually know somebody who works for them in a legal capacity and while he is personally a great soul, he’s been reduced to justifying systematic abuses as part of a village smear campaign against the benevolent corporation, who just want to make an honest buck…like most big oil companies. But that dog never did hunt too well…dangerous as he is.
However, sometimes justice will out.
From the story on Earthrights.org:
August 15, 2007, San Francisco, CA: In a series of rulings issued late yesterday, United States District Court Judge Susan Illston rejected Chevron Corporations final attempts to avoid trial for its involvement in brutal attacks on Nigerian villagers.
Nine Nigerian plaintiffs are suing Chevron in federal court in San Francisco for deaths and other abuses in two incidents in 1998 and 1999, in which Nigerian military and police paid by Chevron and using Chevron helicopters and boats tortured and shot protestors and destroyed two villages allegedly associated with opposition to Chevron’s oil activities in the desperately poor Niger delta. The plaintiffs assert claims ranging from torture to wrongful death.
Judge Illston found “evidence that CNL [Chevron Nigeria Limited] personnel were directly involved in the attacks; CNL transported the GSF [Nigerian government security forces], CNL paid the GSF; and CNL knew that GSF were prone to use excessive force,” concluding that the evidence would allow a jury to find not only that Chevron knew the attacks would happen and assisted in them, but also that Chevron actually agreed to the military’s plan.
http://www.earthrights.org/legalfeature/chevron_to_stand_trial_for_human_rights_abuses_in_nigeria.ht
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This is a potentially landmark ruling and we’ll see what develops in an actual legal trial. Yet this is an old story and one the media finds undesirable to report on, primarily since Chevron is a sponsor of big tv and radio…and sadly, a few “progressive” websites, who have justified advertising for Chevron with the odd caveat of having no say in the matter.
It’s time to stop this pimping of these corporate abusers. The only way to hold them accountable is to boycott their product and their ads until they answer these charges. Money is their ticket to ride; the image of a team of college educated lawyers working against people whose yearly salary wouldn’t equal a month of business lunches is repulsive.
Chevron is certainly not the only abuser. And we are all connected to this pipeline since we contribute to their vast wealth and success. One can’t do everything. But there should be more vocal opposition to their global tactics.
At this point, any so-called liberal or progressive site that promotes Chevron is complicit.
