Protectors fail to move Talisman
CALGARY, AB - Protests by shareholders, demonstrators and a prominent evangelist failed to change the hearts and minds of oil executives gathered for Talisman Energy's annual general meeting May 3. But those who are troubled by Talisman's involvement in Sudan say the company hasn't heard the last from them.
Evangelist Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan's Purse, whose hospital in Sudan has been bombed seven times in the last couple of months, pleaded with Talisman president Jim Buckee in a private meeting two days earlier to intervene on behalf of the people of southern Sudan and work for peace.
"I believe Jim Buckee can be used to bring peace to this land once again," Graham told The Calgary Herald. "I'm praying that he will do this because Canada could take the lead in bringing peace."
The Calgary oil company has been the target of a campaign by church and humanitarian groups since it started pumping oil from Sudan last August. And earlier this year, a report by federally-appointed envoy John Harker stated that the 17-year-old war in Sudan is only made worse by the presence of an oil operation.
Despite public pressure and divestment by some groups, however, Talisman enjoys continued success. The company's profits in the first quarter of this year increased by 5,000 percent over the same time last year.
Burned to death
Natalina Yoll became a proxy shareholder so she could tell her story to other shareholders at the meeting. In a 1998 raid, she explained, she lost her father and brother, who were tied up when they couldn't escape from their village and were put into a hut with other men. "The hut was put on fire, and they were burned to death."
Other family members, including her grandmother, were taken as slaves. "I am alive only by the grace of God, who enabled me to escape by running into the bush," she said.
Yoll said Talisman's activities in the oil-rich fields of southern Sudan are leading to more suffering in terms of forced displacement, slavery and abduction by government forces, which Talisman is supporting through its revenues.
"Since Talisman arrived in my country, the situation has gotten worse, not better," Yoll said.
"I am here today to beg you, in God's name; in the name of all that is good and just, to stop your activities in Sudan. Please end your partnership with the brutal Sudan government. Please stop supporting the genocide of my people."
Challenged claims
Shareholder Merv Schafer, representing several church groups, told Talisman the government leaders in Sudan should be treated as war criminals rather than business partners.
Schafer also challenged several of Talisman's claims of development work in the country. The company reports that it built a hospital at Heglig, for example, but failed to mention the Samaritan's Purse hospital has been bombed repeatedly. Talisman boasts about building roads, he said, but neglects to mention that "Khartoum uses them to transport their forces and equipment to displace more people and open up more oilfields."
Khartoum no longer needs Talisman, Schafer added. "Talisman needs Khartoum. Who else will protect your people and your assets?"
Several groups, including representatives from U.S. pension funds, tried to pass a resolution requiring Talisman to develop an independent human-rights monitoring program within six months.
The resolution, presented by Anglican Archbishop Barry Curtis of Calgary, was defeated by 73 percent. Shareholders instead voted 91 percent in favour of a less-restrictive proposal that would give Talisman more time to audit its conduct in Sudan.
But a 27 percent vote in favour of the proposal is a positive step, says Peter Chapman, who represents the Taskforce on Churches and Corporate Responsibility (TCCR). The vast majority of those voting in favour were shareholders outside the collection of groups making the proposal, he explains. "That sends a very strong message to the company."
Shareholders will continue to pressure Talisman, Chapman says. "The response of the company truly was not adequate."
Demonstrators outside the meeting distributed information to shareholders, including a recent Amnesty International report summary, letters from concerned Canadians, reports of recent bombs and a notice about impending legal action by the American Anti-Slavery Group.
The demonstration went smoothly, says organizer Mel Middleton of Freedom Quest International, except for an incident where a shareholder insulted Sudanese protestors. "When I challenged him on some of his facts, he threatened to be violent, but eventually moved off," says Middleton.
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