From johnseed1@ozemail.com.au Thu Jun 12 02:23:31 2003 Friends, I'm sending this out to everyone on my OCP campaign lists. Apologies for cross postings. If you wish to be removed from this list please reply with "remove" in the subject line. I am presently returning from Sydney where I screened Juan Pablo Barragan's video "Amazon Oil Pipeline-Pollution, Corruption & Poverty" to a meeting organised by "AidWatch". We have several other screenings scheduled here and have also written articles for 5 Australian university student newspapers (as well as such papers in the US, Canada and England). There is also a major article coming out in The Ecologist, please let me know if you would like a copy of this issue of The Ecologist. If you haven't yet seen the video, it is available by donation or free to anyone who'll host a screening for family or friends, please specify language: Spanish, German, English, Italian, Portuguese, French. Volunteers are shipping these videos There are several developments in the campaign, the most important of which is the decision of major international banks to adopt voluntary rules for development finance. See the appended June 3 article from the Wall Street Journal and news from Italy. Some of us who have been working on this campaign for years may feel discouraged that we have not been able to stop the pipeline (not yet anyway!). This development shows the far-reaching effects that we HAVE achieved. This decision is a direct result of pressure on WestLB, Citi and BNL by the OCP campaign. Also heartening is the continuing actions by Greenpeace Germany keeping the pressure up on WestLB. In mid May Greenpeace did two WestLB Actions. On day one they protested in front of the "Staatskanzlei" which is the seat of the=20 North-Rhine-Westfalian Government, the largest shareholder in WestLB, the=20 largest public bank of Germany.=20 GP served drinking water in crystal glasses to the responsible minister carried to Germany from Quito's water supply contaminated on April 8th by an oil spill=20 caused by OCP construction. They also offered (plastic) fish with oil to passers-by.=20 The next day WestLb had its annual press conference to present its annual report. GP presented "the true WestLB report" and rolled out a red carpet in=20 front of the main entrance and poured about 150 litres of=20 oil from Quito's drinking water reservoir onto it. Everybody who wanted to enter the building had to stalk around it. It stank like hell.=20 Another interesting development is the reply that the IMF is sending to people who write to them protesting OCP. Their reply includes the following sentence: <>=20 An interesting confession we think! We should point out how the head of IMF in Ecuador has been vocally pushing for the OCP to not be delayed even when adequate due diligence was not being carried out. He was quoted a number of times in Ecuador newspapers saying that the project could not look at alternative routes and had to come on line as planned. If you would like to see the rest of their reply, go to http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/ocp/imf.htm We also have a reply from EnCana at http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/ocp/encana.htm It would be great if anyone felt like writing a letter refuting these replies. Please send it to me so that I can forward it to people who receive their replies and wish to continue the conversation. There is a proposal being discussed for an OCP international day of action on or around the 10th of July. Please contact Jens Elmer vamos@muenster.de is you are interested to organise something in your country. for the Earth John Rainforest Information Centre Box 368 Lismore NSW 2480 Australia www.rainforestinfo.org.au johnseed1@ozemail.com.au 61 2 66213294