New York – Protesters on Thursday tried to meet with the management of investment group Sanford Bernstein/Alliance Capital to urge the company to divest its shares of oil company Occidental Corp. (NYSE:OXY – news), which they say is drilling on sacred indigenous lands in Colombia.
Activists from environmental groups Rainforest Action Network and Amazon Watch say Occidental is drilling on ancestral territory and risks destroying the culture of the traditional U’wa people.
The U’wa, a semi-nomadic tribe from northeastern Colombia, have in the past threatened mass suicide if Occidental does not cease drilling. They believe “oil is the blood of mother earth,” and have been fighting Occidental for eight years.
On Thursday, about 60 protesters drummed on oil barrels painted with Occidental logos and carried a 15-foot-tall puppet outside of Sanford Bernstein’s Manhattan headquarters. The protesters say the investment group is the single largest investor in Occidental, following Fidelity Investment’s divestiture of 60 percent of its 18 million shares worth more than $500 million. Fidelity was the target of protests last year by U’wa supporters.
Company officials at Fidelity, Sanford Bernstein/Alliance Capital and Occidental did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Last week, Roberto Perez, a leader of the U’wa people, sent a letter requesting a meeting with Roger Hertog, a Sanford Bernstein vice chairman.
Adam Weissman, activist at the Wetlands Preserve in New York, said investment company management later refused Perez entrance to management offices, but a representative came down to meet with the U’wa leader.
Fidelity last year claimed that its divestment had nothing to do with the U’wa protests, although the action came just weeks after Perez visted their offices.
“We’ve tried to work with Occidental and they’ve shown no desire to leave U’wa lands. Therefore, we are appealing to their investors,” said Weissman.
