I will not be part of "Profits uber Alles"
Chevron is right smack in the middle of the violent oppression the peaceful Burmese people are suffering.
Because of their longterm support of a military dictatorship that is now viciously oppressing these people, I cannot spend one more penny in any Chevron station ever again and I wish to encourage others to consider doing the same.
More on the flip.
Chevron supports Myanmar's brutal regime
Fueling the military junta that has ruled for decades are Burma's natural-gas reserves, controlled by the Burmese regime in partnership with the U.S. multinational oil giant Chevron, the French oil company Total and a Thai oil firm. Offshore natural-gas facilities deliver their extracted gas to Thailand through Burma's Yadana pipeline. The pipeline was built with slave labor, forced into servitude by the Burmese military.
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The original pipeline partner, Unocal, was sued by EarthRights International for the use of slave labor. As soon as the suit was settled out of court, Chevron bought Unocal.
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Chevron's role in propping up the brutal regime in Burma is clear. According to Marco Simons, U.S. legal director at EarthRights International: "Sanctions haven't worked because gas is the lifeline of the regime. Before Yadana went online, Burma's regime was facing severe shortages of currency. It's really Yadana and gas projects that kept the military regime afloat to buy arms and ammunition and pay its soldiers."
Now, with the news being frontpaged around the world, Chevron's links to Burma stir critics to demand it pull out
Chevron Corp. of San Ramon is drawing harsh criticism for its business ties to Burma, the Asian nation conducting a brutal military crackdown.
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The company owns part of a natural gas project in Burma, where soldiers crushed pro-democracy protests last week and killed at least 10 people.
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U.S. sanctions prevent most U.S. companies from working in Burma, but Chevron's investment there existed before the sanctions were imposed and continues under a grandfather clause. As a result, the company is one of the few large Western companies left in the country.
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Now Chevron faces pressure to pull out.
If and when they do pull out AND condemn the violent oppression of the people (which ain't gonna happen) maybe I will change my mind.
Of course, and in all fairness, Chevron ain't alone. It would appear that oil companies in general are all gung ho for this sort of oppression because it protects their profits, plain and simple.
investing in Burma has brought accusations that petroleum corporations offer economic support to the country's repressive junta, and in some cases are complicit in human rights abuses. Last week's bloody clampdowns on protests have escalated the activists' calls for energy companies to pull out of the country.
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"They are funding the dictatorship," said Marco Simons, U.S. legal director at EarthRights International, an environmental and human rights group with offices in Thailand and Washington. "The oil and gas companies have been one of the major industries keeping the regime in power."
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Burma's proven gas reserves were 19 trillion cubic feet at the end of 2006, according to BP PLC's World Review of Statistics. While that's only about 0.3 per cent of the world's total reserves, at current production rates and Thailand's contract price for gas, the deposits are worth almost $2 billion (U.S.) a year in sales over the next 40 years.
France is in on it as well as the US-based Chevron.
Of course, The French Company defends it's actions
French oil group Total says it has not made any new acquisitions or investments in Burma since 1998, after French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday urged the company to freeze investments in the southeast Asian country.
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Total defended its business in Burma, saying companies that would take their place in the country may be less ethical.
You can see the projected reserves of petroleum and gas.
As always, it's Profits over People, Profits uber Alles. Nothing more, nothing less.
Therefore, I am formally boycotting Chevron, their stores, and their products to the best of my ability and I think it is high time for all who are upset by the ugliness in Burma to cease providing that company money.
Many of us have boycotted Exxon since the Valdez Spill - I still do. I'll risk running out of gas before I spend a dime at an Exxon and now Chevron is on that list too.
Please consider including Chevron on YOUR "boycott list".
If you don't have a boycott list - now's a fine time to consider starting one.
Please.....Don't be part of "Profits uber Alles"
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