Total Denial
Last night I saw a powerful documentary called Total Denial. It’s about the construction of a UNOCAL/Total oil pipeline in Burma, and the human rights violations committed as a result of a partnership with the Burmese military for pipeline security. 15 Burmese villagers, with the help of EarthRights International, filed a lawsuit against UNOCAL using the Alien Tort Claims Act, a law that allows US companies to be prosecuted for human rights violations committed overseas.
Information about screenings is available here.
I watched this film with Liberia and Mittal Steel in the back of my mind. The Liberian army barely exists, and certainly doesn’t have power comparable to Burma’s 400,000-strong army. But still, it’s not such a stretch to imagine Mittal (or Arcelor Mittal, as it’s called now) using the power structures that rebel groups solidified during the war to provide security for the railroad they will be rehabilitating from Nimba County iron ore mines to Buchanan, the port in Grand Bassa County. And let’s hope that Liberian civil society organizations (such as the creativy and savy group Green Advocates) make sure Mittal knows they are being watched and will be held accountable for violations of their revised Mineral Development Agreement.
The photo above is a controversial helipad constructed in the middle of the Burmese jungle next to the UNOCAL oil pipeline. Lawyers for UNOCAL made the almost comical claim that the helipad was not constructed for the staff working on the pipeline.
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