Magazine Issue 2 - Winter 1996
Campaign Updates

Campaign against opencast mining
Opencast mining on a massive scale poses one of the greatest threats to environmental health and to our countryside today. Across the UK, there are literally thousands of opencast sites, imposed with government backing in many cases against the will of communities and the decisions of local authorities.

Alongside the butchery of Britain's nationalised coal industry, the threat of opencast has been on the increase, as the privatised utilities and profiteers with Government support look to dangerous and costly sources of energy instead of cheap deep-mine coal.

Opencasting is a health hazard on an epic scale - the pollution, dirt, widespread dust and threats to wildlife that surround opencast sites are appalling, but they are only part of a greater horror.

Surveys and studies are exposing links between the dust generated by opencast mining and diseases such as asthma and other lung complaints, to which children can be especially vulnerable.

In response to this health-and -environmental nightmare, campaigns against opencast are springing up all around the country.

No OPENCAST is one of these campaigns, involving the National Union of Mineworkers, Women Against Pit Closures, Justice For Mineworkers and miners' support groups (all fighting for the regeneration and rebuilding of Britain's deep-mine coal industry), environmental and community organisations, brought together by shared opposition to the horrors of opencasting.

We believe that by pooling experience and co-ordinating activities, anti-opencast campaigns throughout the country can stop this environmental nightmare.

NO OPENCAST, c/o Miners' Offices, 2 Huddersfield Road, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2LS
Contact: Sylvia 01925 221181, Mike 01924 864451, Steve 0181 672 1883
McDonald's rocked by continuing protests and McLibel trial"
250 of McDonald's UK stores were leafletted as part of the second Day of Solidarity With McDonald's Workers on 12th October, and the 12th World Day of Action on 16th October. There were protests in approx 25 countries (from Japan to Argentina). 30 cities in North America were covered, including two rooftop demos where activists locked themselves on and unfurled banners.

Meanwhile, Closing Speeches in the McLibel Trial are due to be finished by 18th December, and the judge's personal verdict is expected in early 1997.

The last 6 years have seen a sustained and determined campaign to expose McDonald's practices in defiance of the company's attempts to silence its critics. Over 2 million leaflets have been handed out in this country alone since the writs were served on Helen & Dave (the 'McLibel Two'), and pickets and protests continue to grow. The A5 "What's Wrong With McDonald's?" leaflet is based on widely available information and has been 100% confirmed by the evidence given in court (often by McDonald's own witnesses). The campaign has been a roaring success and is clearly unstoppable. A fully referenced version of the current leaflet is available from the McLibel Support Campaign, so you can see for yourself that all the facts and opinions in the leaflet have been validated in the McLibel Trial.

Please 'Adopt-a-Store' now to assist in the co-ordinated leafletting of all 700+ McGarbage outlets on the Saturday after the verdict (expected in early 1997) and on other future days of action. The aim is to have a group or individual campaigner associated with every branch. Where a town or city is blighted with more than one McNasty, a contact is needed for each one. Let us know the specific branch that you will be at. 'Adopt-a-Store' forms for completion can be obtained from the address below. Please send donations and/or requests for information to the address below.

From: McLibel Support Campaign, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, UK Tel/Fax 0171 713 1269 E-mail & Listserver: dbriars@world.std.com Cheques to "McLibel Support Campaign

The global supermarket
Over a quarter of the imported food and drink sold by the big British stores comes from Third World countries. Many of the farmers producing it suffer unacceptably low wages, few rights and worked in dangerous and degrading conditions.

Some products on sale are traditional commodities like tea from Kenya, coffee from Brazil and sugar from Jamaica. Others are newer: tinned tuna from Ghana, frozen prawns from Thailand, fresh asparagus from Peru. On a typical day a pineapple plantation worker in the Dominican Republic gets up at 5am for the long journey to work on a truck with no seats into which the workers are crammed like cattle. They work long hours with no protection from the sun and many with no protection from the pesticides. Normal pay is less than £2.50 a day.

Low wages among coffee workers in Brazil often mean that whole families, including children as young as six or seven, are forced to work on plantations. Pesticide poisoning is common among Brazilian grape pickers; and yet from a bunch of grapes selling for £1.42 in a British supermarket, less than 3p goes to the plantation workers.

Christian Aid believes the major supermarkets have the money, the muscle and the mechanisms to put things right. It has launched Change the Rules, a campaign to get a better deal for poorer countries - including a better deal from Britain's biggest stores. The top ten supermarkets have an annual turnover equal to the combined income of the world's poorest 35 countries. Sainsbury alone uses 6,000 suppliers around the world stocking 14,000 own brand products from five continents.

Suppliers in Third World countries are already closely monitored to make sure that food quality comes up to scratch. Rigorous checks and safeguards for working conditions could just as easily be applied, showing the same kind of concern for producers which is shown for consumers. Sainsbury and the Co-operative Wholesale Society have made a start by launching a pilot project to look into Third World pay and conditions.

Christian Aid wants supermarkets to work with existing suppliers to improve conditions, and establish a Supermarket Charter for the Third World, implementing an ethical code of conduct for all Third World suppliers by the year 2000 and agreeing to independent inspections to make sure they are sticking to it.

The supermarkets are very sensitive to consumer pressure. One put the value of an individuals lifetime customer loyalty at £90,000. Christian Aid is asking supermarket shoppers to emphasise this economic clout by writing to local supermarket managers enclosing a till receipt from their weekly shop and asking for positive change. Others might prefer to dress up as pineapples and chat to customers, or take the message to the supermarkets more directly.

Contact PO Box 100, London SE1 7RT, 0171 620 4444, caid@gn.apc.org, http://www.oneworld.org/Christian_Aid/

People against RTZ mining
Partizans (People against RTZ-CRA) was formed in 1978 in response to the company building the world's biggest bauxite mine in Australia.. This year RTZ wants to begin a vast zinc mine on aborigine land in Queensland, Australia. At this years RTZ AGM one of the communities representatives, Wadjularbinna, told the company in no uncertain terms that it would be committing "genocide of my people" if the project went ahead. Resistance in the last few months has stalled the scheme but the mine has the potential of supplying 10% of the world's zinc requirements. Backed by the Federal Australian government (ignoring it's historic 1993 Native Title Act) the company looks likely to win. The question is now what concessions will RTZ be forced to make?

In August 1996 the Czech government announced that it had refused to grant RTZ-CRA a license to explore the banks of the legendary Vltara river. A small victory can be celebrated at least until the new government settles into power.

In the same month a waste dam in the mining region of Potosi, Bolivia burst its banks, causing 400,000 tonnes of sludge and heavy metals to cascade into the Rio Porco and onto farmland used by 50,000 campesinos. The New Scientist (23/11/96) called it "one of the worst environmental disasters to strike Latin America." RTZ holds a third of the project's finance and management.

Meanwhile in West Papua, Indonesia, the Amungme and Komoro peoples fight to stop the expansion of the world's biggest copper and gold open cast mine, Grasberg. RTZ holds 12% of the mine with an option to buy more from it's US partner Freeport. Confronted by international criticisms of human rights abuses and environmental devastation, RTZ is proposing a paltry compensation package (about $500,000) for displaced peoples, in return for the indigenous communities agreeing to forfeit land claims in the future. A fair deal? I think not.

According to Mining Journal (2/8/96) RTZ-CRA is to begin a 35 year gold exploration and mining venture in northern Hungary.

Last year RTZ-CRA subsidiary Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) was stopped from mining titanium-rich sands in the St. Lucia bay area of Natal, South Africa. After seven years of protest and lobbying, the South African cabinet unanimously rejected the mining option, suggesting that eco-tourism would instead bring investment and employment to the area. Weeks ago RBM launched an aggressive new campaign to revive the project. In a 48-page special supplement in the Financial Mail it rejects the cabinets decision, with backing from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (who incidentally receive a huge grant from RBM).
RTZ-CRA has spent £1m sponsoring the world's biggest exhibition in praise of "planet earth" at the London Natural History Museum. The exhibition slogan is ironically apt: RTZ-CRA has created many an "earth-shattering experience" and for many communities it does "turn the world inside out and upside down."
PARTiZANS, 218 Liverpool Road, London N1 1LE. tel. 0171 700 6189.

CAAT update
DTI Action. December 2nd-7th saw a week of action outside the DTI in London focusing on the continued sale of Hawks to Indonesia despite the genocide and repression in East Timor. Actions also targeted the Indonesian Embassy, MoD, BAe offices and Parliament.

COPEX '96. 500 people arrived at Sandown Park racecourse on November 5th to protest at the COPEX Arms fair, a marketplace for torture equipment which has recently been attended by Indonesia, China, Iran, Columbia, Turkey, Singapore, Mexico, Israel and Saudi Arabia - all known to be torturing states. Protesters came together to remember those who have died as a result of torture and oppression all over the world. The entrance was blockaded and a petition of 5,500 signatures was presented to the Sandown management. There were 5 arrests.
David Mellor, BAe Consultant!

David Mellor has been acting as a consultant for BAe since 1994, for a fee of £100,000. BAe owns Heckler and Koch, which makes and exports handguns throughout the world, including to countries with appalling human rights records. Meanwhile, Mellor is calling for an all-out ban on handguns following the Dunblane massacre. Is this position not somewhat hypocritical?

Argentina: Arms for Oil. Rolls-Royce has admitted it was told by the government to resume sales of banned naval spares to Argentina. In return for secretly re-equipping the Argentine navy, the UK government has been granted a deal to explore for oil around the Falklands. According to senior Rolls-Royce execs, the DTI allowed them to reclassify the engine parts as "non-military".
CAAT, 11 Goodwin Street, Finsbury Park, London N4 3HQ.
tel 0171 281 0297 fax 0171281 4369
The real toy story
75% of the world's toys are produced in Asia, particularly China and Thailand. Toys are mainly produced by women (believed to be more nimble and controllable than men), who are often overworked and underpaid, and in appalling conditions.

In 1993 there were 28,200 cases of factory fires, killing 1,480 people in China. Plastic toys, which make up over 70% of the market, are particularly dangerous to produce. Toy workers are often exposed to harmful toxins leading to a range of health problems such as headaches, nervous system disorders, leukaemia and even death. Workers are rarely provided with protective gear and in China only 26.9% of foreign-invested factories investigated had protective systems against dangerous chemicals in place.

The companies operating in Asia are either transnationals (TNCs) or sub-contractors appointed by the TNCs to make the toys for them. The TNCs have moved their manufacturing from Europe and the US to Asia to take advantage of its plentiful supply of cheap labour and less stringent health and safety regulations. TNCs play countries off against each other to get the best tax breaks, cheapest materials and most lax labour laws.

The key players in the toy industry are Sega (video games), Mattel (Barbie dolls), Fisher-Price, Tomy, Nintendo, V-Tech, Hasbro (Action Man figures), Bluebird (Polly Pocket) and Bandai (Power Rangers).

Toy manufacturers have already signed codes of conduct. These must be extended to cover responsibility for checking health and safety in all toy factories, with independent monitoring.
Ask your local toy shop to raise your concerns with their suppliers.
From: Trócaire, 12 Cathedral St, Dublin 1. tel.: (01) 874 3875 Also contact: World Development Movement, 25 Beehive Pl., London SW9 7QR. tel 0171 737 6215; fax 0171 274 8232 (see flier insert)

Movement for Survival of the Ogoni People
The Ogonis, who live on the north-east delta in Nigeria, surviving through subsistence farming and fishing.

Since Shell discovered oil in Ogoniland in 1958 by , $30 bn worth has been carted away, generating 80% of Federal budget revenues for the Nigerian government.

Oil exploration has destroyed the Ogoni's land, livelihood and environment. The land is federal property and thus the oil companies are exempt from any responsibility to the communities. The Ogoni have no mains water, no electricity, ill-equipped schools, no proper housing, no health care and no employment opportunities. Land and water are polluted, the atmosphere is saturated with hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide and many villages experience infernal gas flares which have been burning 24 hours a day for 36 years.

In 1990 the Ogoni Bill of Rights was presented to Shell and the Nigerian government but received no positive response. In 1993 the Ogoni outcry finally won international attention following the launch of the case at the United Nations by Mr Ken Saro-Wiwa. Since then, the MOSOP has been driven underground and most of its leaders murdered. Ken Saro-Wiwa was hanged in 1995, while Shell refused to use its influence to prevent it. The famous Ogoni 19 and others still languish in prison.
However, the resolve of the Ogoni people will not be broken. The Ogoni people would like to join in a truly democratic federal Nigeria where every person or tribal group enjoys equal rights to determine their own destiny, with their resources used for their own development and with respect for the environment.
From: MOSOP-UK, Suite 5, 3-4 Albion Place, Galena Road, London W6 0LT. tel 0181 563 8614 fax 0181 563 8615

Change the script: Get Pepsi out of Burma
Burma is one of the poorest countries in the world. One in seven children die before their 5th birthday, many families turn to opium growing in desperation and each year 10,000 girls are sold as sexual slaves to brothels in Thailand. Meanwhile, the country is under a ruthless dictatorship -the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Citizens are tortured; slavery is widespread - over 2 million people have been forced to work building roads and railways and many die or are shot by soldiers when they collapse of exhaustion. Many people are held as political prisoners for offences such as writing poems or letters supporting democracy and may then be abused in prison. Prisoners are often kept in tiny cells intended for dogs and denied visits.

In 1990 the Burmese people elected the National League for Democracy (NLD) with 81% of the seats. But SLORC refused to hand over power, placing the NLD leader Suu Kyi (a Nobel PeacePrize winner) under house arrest for 6 years and jailing hundreds of NLD members. It then prescribed 20 years in jail for the "crime" of expressing political views in public.

In order to put economic pressure on the dictatorship, Suu Kyi has asked companies to stay out of Burma, with some success: Heineken, for example, has halted all exports, abandoned a half-built plant and is removing all billboards. Pepsi however refuses. It does business in Burma through a local franchise-holder, Thein Tun. Their presence benefits the country's elite thus giving financial support to the oppressive regime at the same time as giving it an air of credibility. Thein Tun, in June 1996, actually gave a speech supporting the regime and attacking the democracy movement. If all foreign companies were to pull out of Burma, the economy would falter and the regime would be put under a lot pressure.

Write to Pepsi to tell them that you are boycotting them and why; and to your MP and to the Foreign Secretary saying that you want Britain and the EU to impose sanctions banning investment and trade with Burma.

Third World First, The Old Workshops, 4a East Avenue, Oxford OX4 1XW tel. 01865 245678. e-mail: twf@gn.apc.org

The struggle for Survival Continues
Indonesia: The World Bank had agreed to investigate the world's largest goldmine - the Grasberg mine in West Papua (owned by US mining company Freeport McMoRan and RTZ) - following protests from the local tribal people against humans rights violations and environmental damage. Indonesian troops have been killing and torturing tribal people around the mine and the Government's own National Human Rights Commission has admitted that 16 people were murdered (including women and children who were gathering for prayer) and four have "disappeared". Freeport,however, has managed to avoid an investigation by cancelling its insurance provided by the World Bank, thus confirming that the mine does not stand up to international human rights or environmental standards.

Survival is now calling for people to write to the Indonesian government to demand an end to the human rights abuses, halt current mining operations and recognise the tribal peoples' right to ownership of their land and resources. (see Partizan's update)

Guyana: In issue one we told you about the situation in Guyana in which the Carib people of the Baramita region and other Amerindians are seeing their land divided up and their future threatened by mining companies prospecting for gold and diamonds without consultation. What we didn't tell you was the name of the companies, so here are some of the culprits: Canarc and Exall Resources (both Canadian-based), Coast Mountain, Roraima Gold Corporation and Golden Star Resources. Also worth noting is that the Caribs sent a petition in March 1995 to Guyana's President requesting that the government recognise their land rights and remove foreign companies acting without consent.

Survival International 11-15 Emerald Street London WC1N 3QL. Tel 0171 242 1441; fax 0171 242 1771

Pressmennan under attack!
Pressmennan, the last stronghold of oak trees in East Lothian, Scotland, is under attack from A&J Scott Ltd, which wants to sell the wood to BMW for its dashboards. The council originally agreed to protect 80% of the ancient wood, until A&J Scott's £1000/hr lawyer persuaded them to remove all protection.

The Forestry Commission is also ignoring the fact that these ancient oaks are protected by European law.

Pressmennan is located 1 mile behind the village of Stenton (turn left after the school) near Dumbar, 22 miles east of Edinburgh. Locals are now building tree houses, walkways and other "tree defense" measures. More people, equipment and skills are urgently required. Contact WAND on 01368 850 630.

A&J Scott might also like to hear people's views on this issue: write to them at Station Sawmills, Wooperton, Alnwick, Northumberland. Tel 01668 217 228.

Lloyds and Midland Boycott
University freshers weeks around the country were filled with joy, leafletting, banner dropping and die-ing in at local branches of Lloyds and Midland banks.

Visit to "The Listening Bank" On Tuesday 12th November, LAMB decided that "the listening bank" needed a hearing aid, so paid a visit to their Head office. The anniversary of the Dili massacre in East Timor highlighted Midland's role in funding Hawk aircraft to Indonesia. Midland Bank claim that they "do not fund weapons or items of an offensive nature", yet since the 1980s have funded arms and "defence" equipment to, among others, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey.

Inside the bank LAMBers locked on to turnstiles to prevent the lifts being used, read out eye witness accounts of the Hawks bombing civilians; had a die in; blocked the entrances and caused a scene for five hours - during which time the people at the top were curiously "not available for comment". The pressure still goes on as long as Midland are prepared to let millions of pounds of British taxpayers' money prop up arm sales at no risk to the bank.

The LAMB Gathering.
The gathering was held on 30th November - 1st December. Along with workshops focussing on aspects of the campaign, the gathering was a time to look at how far we've come over the past five years, and the future direction of the campaign. As we've been reactive in the last few years, focussing upon examples of irresponsible lending decisions by the banks (e.g. financing arms), we felt it was high time to look at what was and wasn't acceptabele in terms of lending, urging banks to take responsibility for future lending decisions. Groups from around the country were involved in setting the future direction of LAMB, which essentially involves being more proactive in setting the agenda for banks.

Next year will see more action, and of course the AGMs. If you want to "oustrip the ethical streak", then we want to hear from you!
From: LAMB, Manchester University Student Union, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PR tel. 0161 274 4665

Corporations, law and democracy
Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD) have been organising workshops and debates across the US encouraging people to rethink the position of corporations in their area and the world. Concerned citizens are researching company histories, policies and structures with the intention of limiting corporate authority.

A growing network is emerging that is addressing the fight against corporate dominance along several key strategies:
* Dismantle especially harmful corporations.
* Reduce the size of corporations.
* Establish worker production units within corporations to safeguard worker rights.
* Influencing state corporate laws to cap management salaries.
* Organizing referendum campaigns to strip corporations of "personhood" rights.
* End corporate subsidy abuse.
* Prevent corporations from funding electoral campaigns or lobbying.
* Prohibit a corporation from owning another corporation.
* Cultivate debate and action on alternative ways of working -eg cooperatives.

Communities Against Toxics
Following heavy lobbying by the plastics industry, the government is recommending that local councils allow the building of huge municipal solid waste-to-energy (MSW) facilities in most major cities. The government is calling this latest round of incinerators "recycling facilities" and is undergoing a massive £10 million public relations campaign to convince the general public that incineration is the only way to deal with the mountains of waste created by today's throw away society so encouraged by industry.

The introduction of a "landfill levy" is pressurising authorities to plum for incineration rather than landfill. Hampshire, Kent, Hertfordshire and Manchester are the latest in a long line of authorities to fall for the promise of (envisaged) cash savings.

There are also proposals for incinerators to burn cattle infected with BSE in Northants , Dorset, Worcestershire and Cornwall. "The danger here is that these facilities amazingly come under the same regulations as clinical waste incinerators, some owners are now applying for licences to burn hospital waste in preparation for when all the cattle are destroyed." Ralph Ryder.

CATs is a non-profit organisation with no money. All inquiries for information must be accompanied by a A4 (31p) sae. CATs Po Box 29, Ellesmere Port, S. Wirral, L66 3TX. Tel: 0151 339 5374

Babymilk boycott against Nestle
Breastfeeding is always the best start in life for a child, but in the poorer parts of the world it can be a lifesaver. UNICEF estimate that reversing the decline in breastfeeding could save the lives of 1.5 million children every year. UNICEF calculate a bottlefed child in an area with unsafe water is upto 25 times more likely to die. In addition, the expense of baby milks to poor families affects the health and well being of all members of the family. Formula is often over-diluted which causes malnutrition.

Baby Milk Action is an independent non-profit organisation which campaigns to protect breastfeeding and to halt the promotion of artificial feeding. The organisation raises awareness of the dangers of artificial infant feeding and campaigns for improvements to the labelling and composition of artificial feeds. Baby Milk Action works for the implementation of the World Health Organisation/UNICEF International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in national laws and trading standards and for its adoption by companies in policy and practice. If the Code were followed many lives could be saved and much suffering prevented.

Nestle, the world's largest food company and influential in the baby milk business, is subject to a consumer boycott for its continued violations of the International Code. The boycott is coordinated by Baby Milk Action and active in 17 countries.

Earlier this year Save the Children Fund (SCF) went to the Financial Times to report its attempt to obtain a satisfactory response from Nestle over the free and subsidised supplies of 'Lactogen' infant formula they had found in 6 hospitals in Kunming, China. The prevalence of supplies caused breastfeeding rates to fall while Lactogen sales increased. SCF said in the report, "Nestle are currently aiding and abetting the wholesale breach of the international code by inappropriate selling and distribution policies". Free and subsidised supplies are one way Nestle and other babyfood companies attempt to promote artificial infant feeding.

From: Baby Milk Action, 23 St. Andrew's Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AX; tel (01223) 464420. For further information contact Mike Brady.