Boston, MA – Today, Roberto Perez, the President of the 8,000-member U’wa tribe of Colombia, will arrive at Fidelity Investments’ Boston Headquarters to seek support for the cancellation of Occidental Petroleum’s oil project which is located on the tribe’s sacred ancestral lands. Last Thursday, a Colombian court ordered the Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) to halt all construction work on its Gibraltar 1 well site on the grounds that the drilling would violate “fundamental rights” of the U’wa people including their right to life.
Mr. Perez, along with local, national and international supporters are confronting Fidelity Investments, because the company is one of Oxy’s largest shareholders holding some 30 million shares valued at over $500 million. At the press conference today, a national divestment campaign will be launched to step up pressure on Fidelity. Several Fidelity clients are expected to publicly withdraw their funds.
“As the largest mutual fund company in the world, and one of Occidental’s most powerful institutional investors, Fidelity has an unparalleled opportunity to exert pressure on Occidental to cancel their project on U’wa ancestral territory,” said Lauren Sullivan from the Rainforest Action Network.
For the past 7 years, the U’wa people have been engaged in an intense struggle to stop the oil project. In the past two months since Oxy began construction of the drill site, Fidelity has seen over 40 demonstrations and direct actions at their investment centers across the world namely in Portland, Boston, Denver, San Francisco, and Manchester, UK. In addition, over one thousand letters have been sent to the CEO of Fidelity, Edward Johnson, demanding that he take action to support the U’wa or dump the company’s holdings in Oxy.
The situation on the ground in Colombia remains tense. Over 2,700 people, including members of the U’wa community, unions, students and NGOs, have been preventing Oxy’s construction works through peaceful protests. Mr. Perez states that they are collectively working to “defend their lives, culture and territory” in what the U’wa call a “global crusade to defend life”. Mr. Perez will be in the United States through the week.. For more information or interviews, contact Lauren Sullivan (415) 305-7246 or Atossa Soltani (202) 256-9795.
WHO: Roberto Perez, President of the U’wa Traditional Authority Ken Scott, Walden Asset Management Hildebrando Vélez, Director of Colombian Group, CENSAT Agua Viva Leaders from the following organizations: Rainforest Action Network, Amazon Watch, Boston Global Action Network, Colombia Support Network, Colombia Vive, Friends of the Earth-Colombia, Amnesty Just Earth Network, Amnesty Chapter 133
WHEN:11am, Monday April 3rd, 2000
WHAT: Press Conference and Rally to Kickoff Fidelity Divestment Campaign
WHERE: Fidelity Investment Center in Boston 155 Congress Street, Boston, MA (near Downtown Crossing and State T stops)
