Protestors picket Shell in Southend |
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Norman Traub |
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On September 5, twenty activists from Southend Stop the War Coalition staged a demonstration and picket at a local Shell Oil garage during the early morning rush hour. Banners proclaiming “Hands Off Iraqi Oil” were hung from a pedestrian bridge above the busiest road leading out of the town. Below, protesters picketed the Shell Oil garage and handed out leaflets to motorists and pedestrians. The leaflet warned that a new oil law presented to the Iraqi parliament for ratification in May 2007 proposes to fundamentally restructure Iraq’s oil industry, to give the primary role in oil development to multinational companies, under contracts of up to 30 years. Yet most Iraqis firmly believe that oil production should remain in the public sector. The law is opposed by all of Iraq’s trade unions, by over 60 senior Iraqi oil experts and by other civil society, political and religious groups. Shell has worked closely with the British and US governments as military occupation powers, to create the framework for multinational companies to take control of Iraqi oil In 2007 the US government took the lead in pushing for the passage of the law. It became the most important of President Bush’s “benchmarks ”–political developments which he demanded that the Iraqi government fulfil. Shell has worked tirelessly to ensure that the oil law is in place to confirm the rights of the multinationals to Iraqi oil. In September 2006, Shell’s chief executive announced that things were on course for his company. “we have done all our homework for Iraq. I’m not going to speculate on the timing, but we are ready to move.” The Iraqi Minister of Oil met multinational oil companies at the beginning of this month in Dubai ahead of the reopening of Iraq’s parliament on September 5 when the controversial oil law was back on the table. The Southend demonstrators received a good response from motorists as well as pedestrians. Both Essex radio and the local daily paper gave publicity to the demonstration. The campaign against the multinational oil companies taking control of Iraqi oil is being spearheaded by “Hands Off Iraqi Oil” a coalition in Britain that includes Corporate Watch, Iraq Occupation Focus, Jubilee Iraq and War on Want. Their website is www.handsoffiraqioil.org Over 100 MPs have signed an early day motion warning the British government ‘that decisions on the Iraqi oil industry should be made by the Iraqi people without outside interference’. Other MPs can still sign the motion until the end of October and readers are urged to write to their MP now. |
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