Amazon Watch: Chevron Condemned for Human Rights Abuses, Activists Arrested

This press release was put out today by Amazon Watch. Read on:

Chevron Condemned for Human Rights Abuses, Ecuador Disaster at Annual Shareholder Meeting Today

Activists Arrested Inside and Outside Chevron's Meeting
Community Leaders Barred, Ejected from Annual Meeting for Exposing the Truth about Chevron

Amazon Watch
26 May 2010 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Brianna Cayo-Cotter, Rainforest Action Network, 415-305-1943 or brianna [at] ran.org
Paul Paz y Miño at 510-773-4635 or paz [at] amazonwatch.org

Houston, TX – At Chevron's shareholder meeting today the company faced outrage for its continued lies, deception, silencing of critics, and human rights abuses. Concerned community leaders from several nations including Ecuador and Nigeria traveled from around the world yet were refused entry to Chevron's annual meeting.

One of the few community members allowed inside the shareholder meeting was Mariana Jimenez, a 71-year-old grandmother from Ecuador. She spoke directly to Chevron's CEO and Board and demanded an end to Chevron's lies about the massive oil contamination in Ecuador that is destroying her community in the Amazon rainforest.

"In 1976, I lost two young children. In 1979, one of my daughters became very sick with an unknown illness on her throat and lost her voice for three months. People are still getting sick every day. There are children born with birth defects. I want him [Watson] to take responsibility for the crime that his company committed in my country."

Rather than showing Ms. Jimenez and the 30,000 other Ecuadorean people the respect they deserve, Chevron CEO John Watson chose to mock the community's suffering and disingenuously claimed that, "My predecessor (former CEO David O'Reilly) showed great empathy and I will do the same."

"We don't need empathy from Chevron, we need them to accept full responsibility for the pain and suffering they have caused our people and clean up Ecuador now," said Guillermo Grafa, an Indigenous leader from Ecuador who was denied access to Chevron's shareholder meeting after traveling from his home in the rainforest.

Chevron's Board also felt the heat inside the shareholder meeting. During the Board re-election process, shareholders challenged Chevron's Board of Directors to intervene in the company's failed strategy of covering up its massive liability.

"While Chevron's management systematically deceives regulators, shareholders, and the public about its liability in Ecuador, the Board of Directors has been asleep at the wheel," said Maria Ramos, Change Chevron Campaign Director at Rainforest Action Network.

"Since taking the helm at Chevron, we have seen Mr. Watson continue to endorse this company's long running, expensive and dead-end strategy with respect to the dire situation in the Amazon -- a strategy which has cost both the company and the people of the Amazon dearly."

Meanwhile outside, Chevron arrested four shareholders and representatives who refused to leave Chevron property after they were denied access to the meeting. Those arrested were trying to voice their concerns about environmental destruction and human rights abuses in Ecuador, Richmond, CA, Houston, TX, and around the world. The people arrested were Han Shan and Mitchell Anderson of Amazon Watch; Juan Parras of TEJAS in Houston; Rev Ken Davis from Richmond. Antonia Juhasz of the True Cost of Chevron coalition was arrested while trying to make a statement inside the shareholder meeting after being admitted with a valid proxy. None of the arrested had been released as of 3:30 pm CT.

Amazon Watch staff Han Shan and Mitch Anderson participated in the "sit in" before their arrests. "More than 20,000 [Chevron] proxy shareholders have been barred from the meeting for no valid, legal or legitimate reason, but simply because they come from communities in Ecuador, in Burma, in Nigeria, in Richmond, CA like Rev. Davis here. And they want to deny those people speaking out about their concerns. It's appalling," said Han Shan. Mitch Anderson added, "We are not leaving the premises. They have disenfranchised our voices and they are going to have to drag us out of here."

Shelley Alpern, Vice-President at Trillium Asset Management Corporation was also outraged at Chevron's actions, stating, "I attend several shareholder meetings every year and I have never seen a company deny entry to legal proxy holders. This is outrageous and reflects very poorly on our company's respect for the laws that govern our proxy process. The shareholders in attendance today should stand forewarned not to say anything critical or it could be you next year."

More information at www.chevrontoxico.com.

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RAN’s Maria Ramos to Chevron CEO: You are Hiding the Truth about Egregious Human Rights and Environmental Abuses

Maria Ramos, the campaign organizer for the Rainforest Action Network's (RAN) "Change Chevron" campaign confronted Chevron CEO John Watson at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Houston today. While Chevron barred the majority of the individuals that were brought with various environmental groups, despite their having legal proxies, the company could not bar Ramos from being speaking during the meeting. Her comments are below.

Ramos' comments to the Board during the board re-election process:

I would like to echo outrage for disenfranchising legal shareholders from entering this meeting. These people have travelled from around the world from Angola, Nigeria, the Philippines, Ecuador, to speak about egregious human rights and environmental abuses. You are not letting shareholders hear the truth. That is not the Chevron way. I would like to speak directly to your nomination to the board Mr. Watson.

Highlighted as a qualification in the 2010 proxy statement for Mr. Watson's election to the Chairmanship of the Board of Directors of Chevron is Mr. Watson's role in leading Chevron's integration effort after its acquisition of Texaco Inc. Whether or not Mr. Watson's leadership in the merger with Texaco represents a qualification, or rather a poor lack of judgment is another question. Since taking the helm of Chevron, we have seen Mr. Watson continue to endorse this company's long running, expensive and dead-end strategy with respect to the dire situation in the Amazon -- a strategy which has cost both the company and the people of the Amazon dearly.

A particularly important question for shareholders is whether or not Mr. Watson, as architect of the Chevron-Texaco merger, adequately vetted Texaco before purchasing the company in 2001 for $31 billion -- a sum which is just $4 billion more than its current financial exposure in the Ecuador lawsuit. It strikes us that Chevron's management overpaid for Texaco by billions of dollars and thereby diminished shareholder value through its own negligence.

And an even more important and urgent question is -- given the position that Chevron is in, with the cloud of Ecuador threatening its stock price, and causing grave political and reputational risk -- are you Mr. Watson ready to take charge of this company, put an end to the days where lawyers and public relations officials are running the show, and come to an honest, fair, and equitable resolution with the people of Ecuador?

Mr. Watson, the question to you is if you have the courage to change Chevron?

Ramos' comments seconding the shareholder resolution requiring that at least one board member have "significant" environmental experience:

Maria Ramos again with Rainforest Action Network. I would like to second Stockholder proposal regarding the appointment of an independent director with environmental expertise - Item #4 on the proxy card.

It is disconcerting that your board has recommended a No vote on this proposal - by just looking around this room and having seen the protest outside and the many people from around the world who were not allowed in with legal proxies - it is clear that Chevron's track record is riddled with environmental abuses. It is neither some mass global conspiracy nor coincidence that has brought people from as far as Nigeria, Australia, Angola, Ecuador, Alaska Canada and Richmond California - all with accounts of environmental pollution, all supported by a broad body of evidence. The California Air Resources Board has found Chevron's Richmond refinery to be the biggest single source polluter in the state. Chevron blatantly continues the illegal practice of gas flaring in the Niger Delta. And in Ecuador, Chevron is on trial for widespread oil contamination, facing a possible $27 billion liability. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced his office would be launching inquiry to determine if the company is misleading shareholders over its Ecuador liability - this at the request of New York shareholders.

Shareholders should know that this proposal has received high level of support from investors, representing billions in Chevron stock - including the support of RiskMetrics - because there is a broad concern that Chevron's board has failed to comply with their governance obligations and has failed to address serious environmental risks.

On the Ecuador case: there is no evidence that Chevron board members ever visited Ecuador to understand the potential environmental liability. There is no evidence that Chevron board members have vetted the company's Ecuador liability independent of senior management.

Why the board would not want to better position Chevron to deal with the profound environmental challenges that the company is facing is troubling. The board's negative response to the proposal -- citing that board members should not be selected on the basis of a single criterion - is myopic, when faced with an onslaught of legal and public relations debacle. The board's negative response citing that the board already includes directors with experience on environmental matters -- well, If Chevron believes it already has this level and caliber of expertise, then shareholders should be told now - who that is, and what makes them experienced.

Some of the members of Chevron's board of directors have been on the board for 2, 3 decades -- Mr. Armacost, Chair of the Governance Committee has been on the board for 29 years. And I want to direct my comments to you -- it's a different world from when many of you started your positions on the board. The public's environmental values are deepening, their support for companies to take responsible action is growing.

Chevron is an oil company. It is inconceivable -- even as the oil spill off the Gulf is fresh on the mind -- that the board would not deem it important for an oil company to have adequate environmental oversight. It's only sensible to vote in favor of this proposal.

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Alternate Annual Report on Chevron’s Human Rights Problem Around the World

Apparently we're not the only ones paying attention to Chevron's human rights problems. An "alternate annual report" has been posted about the impact of Chevron's operations on communities worldwide. We linked to it in an earlier post, but wanted to make it more easily availabe to you. Take a look after the jump: True Cost of Chevron.

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