Occidental Set to Drill on U-wa Land in Colombia

ACTION ALERT

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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1/5/00

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

The gross exploitation of indigenous peoples and their lands, largely

for the short-term profit of aggressive outsiders, continues.

Occidental Petroleum is proceeding with a massive oil project in the

traditional territory of the U'wa of Colombia. Please take the time

to assist them and Rainforest Action Network in halting this violation

of human rights and ecological integrity. More information on the

U'wa campaign can be found on Rainforest Action Network's web site at:

http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/beyond_oil/index.html

g.b.

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Title: Occidental Set to Drill on U'wa Land

Action Alert 147: December 1999

Source: Rainforest Action Network, http://www.ran.org/

Date: December 1999

Occidental Petroleum is moving forward with a massive oil project on

the traditional territory of the U'wa, a five thousand member

indigenous community in Northeastern Colombia. The U'wa are adamantly

opposed to the Samore, Block project, as it is known in the oil

industry, believing that it will bring violence and environmental

devastation to their homeland.

The U'wa grabbed international headlines in 1996 when they vowed to

commit collective suicide if the Samore, Block project is not halted.

Their message is clear: In the words of the U'wa, "We would rather

die, protecting everything that we hold sacred, than lose everything

that makes us U'wa."

So far, Occidental has failed to hear the U'wa's message. Despite

overwhelming local and international support for the U'wa, the project

is closer than ever to becoming a reality. One of the final legal

hurdles to the project was removed in September when Colombia's

Minister of the Environment granted Occidental a permit to begin

exploratory drilling on U'wa territory.

In November, hundreds of U'wa Indians marched on the site of

Occidental's first planned drill site, establishing a permanent

settlement to block the drilling slated to begin in the coming weeks.

The drill site is located less than six hundred yards from the

legally-recognized U'wa Unified Reserve and clearly falls within the

U'wa's larger traditional ancestral territory. The U'wa community of

Santa Marta inhabits the area adjacent to the well site, putting them

at clear risk from the impacts of the oil project.

Occidental's Cano Limon pipeline in Arauca, Colombia, just north of

the U'wa's territory, has become a national symbol of the link between

oil, violence, and environmental devastation in Colombia. Once

peaceful and sparsely-populated, Arauca has been torn apart by

violence since the construction of the pipeline. The pipeline itself

has been bombed nearly six hundred times and has spilled close to two

million barrels of oil into nearby rivers, lakes, and soil.

Oil-related violence has already begun to spread to the heart of the

U'wa community. In 1997, an U'wa leader was assaulted by hooded men

who threatened to kill him if he didn't sign an "authorization form."

In March, three American activists were murdered while in Colombia

working with the U'wa. The U'wa fear that the assault and murders are

a harbinger of things to come if an oil project goes forward on their

land.

The U'wa's campaign to halt the project has been steadily gaining

momentum. Last year, Occidental's original partner in the Samore,

Block, Royal Dutch/Shell, pulled out of the project citing human

rights and public relations concerns. And at Occidental's Annual

General Meeting this year, shareholders representing over forty

million shares and eight hundred million dollars worth of stock voted

in favor of a resolution asking Occidental to re-evaluate the project.

Although Occidental is poised to begin its destructive project on the

U'wa's sacred homeland, the U'wa are standing firm and support for

their position has never been stronger. In the words of the U'wa, "We

are all children of the Earth. Help us to defend her."

What You Can Do!

Fidelity Investments is one of the single largest shareholders of

Occidental Petroleum stock. As a major owner of Occidental, Fidelity

has the power to influence Occidental's business decisions. Please

write to Fidelity's Chairman and urge him to use Fidelity's power and

influence to bring an end to the oil project on U'wa territory. Write

to Edward Johnson III, Chairman of Fidelity Investments. If you have

investments through Fidelity and would like to get more involved,

please contact our Beyond Oil Campaign Director at (415) 398-4404.

You can send a message for free to Edward Johnson III, Chairman,

Fidelity Investments from our site at:

http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/aa/aa147.html

Here is the information for sending alerts on your own:

Edward C. Johnson III

Fidelity Investments

Chairman and CEO

Telephone: 800-544-6666

Facsimile: 617-476-4164

Subject: Stop Occidental's Samoree Block project!

Dear Mr. Johnson,

I recently learned that Occidental Petroleum is moving forward with

the Samoree Block oil project on the traditional territory of the U'wa

in Colombia. As you probably know, the U'wa are adamantly opposed to

the project and have vowed to commit collective suicide if it goes

forward against their will.

Fidelity is one of the largest shareholders of Occidental stock, and

as such has unrivaled power to influence Occidental's decisions. I

urge you to do everything in your power to stop this human and

ecological travesty before it takes place.

If the Samoree Block project goes forward, it will jeopardize the

lives of five thousand people and the health of a fragile forest

ecosystem. The project will also have repercussions that extend far

beyond Colombia, as the U'wa have overwhelming international support.

As one of Occidental's primary shareholders, Fidelity has a

responsibility to take a stand on this highly controversial and

potentially deadly project. Please let me know what steps you plan to

take to resolve this issue.

Sincerely,

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