OCTOBER 24 - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO PERSUADE WESTLB TO STOP FUNDING THE OCP PIPELINE IN ECUADOR
Actions were held in at least 15 cities around the world - Milan, Dublin, Prague, New York City, Quito, Washington DC, Barcelona, Zurich, London, Munich, Muenster, Dusseldorf, Los Angeles, Warsaw and Canberra,
Here are the reports that have come in by 6AM 25/10 Sydney time. I will be incommunicado for 6 days so hopefully the rest of the reports and photos will be posted to www.amazonwatch.org and/or www.regenwald.org
for the Earth - John Seed
PRAGUE: The demo/street theatre in Prague was organized a bit at the last
minute, (we read the mail less than a week before about the
international action) but on the day it went really well.
We decided to build a pipeline through the bank's office in Prague.
There were only 15 or so people but they included a big tree (me!)
two birds (with wings and tails!) a jaguar, a squirrel, a butterfly, a
frog and a monkey. Then people dressed as workers came in to
clear the area (with signs), and I was chopped down by someone
with a chainsaw. They then started to build the (cardboard)
pipeline towards the office and we asked if the office workers could
leave as the pipeline would go straight through it (they didn't.)
Leaflets were handed out (by the animals, birds and the tree), a
banner was unfurled (by the frog and the monkey) and information
was written on the pipe by the various animals present.
The tree and the chainsaw woman exausted themselves in chasing
each other around, but luckily we were able to regrow the tree for
future actions.
A letter signed by 12 environmental groups in the Czech Rep. was
handed in to the office, along with petitions from passer-bys. One
TV camera and even the police showed up at the end (8 of them).
But after one threatened something horrible they decided not to
bother as we were leaving anyway.
Joe CarbustersSYDNEY: We had a great day in downtown Sydney, about 50 people showed up including the Atomic Oz street theatre troupe, drummers, dancing girls, the works, as we unfurled our banners outside the downtown skyscraper wherein lurks WestLB. Reuters cameraman was there, I've done 4 radio interviews including Radio National and everyone had lots of fun. We tried to deliver a letter of protest to WestLB head office on the 29th floor but were turned back by security.
LONDON: Our "action" here in London was not really spectacular (in a visual way), so we
havn't got any fotos: we handed out leaflets to the employees of West LB in
London with info on the pipeline, asking them to discuss with their managers to
discontinue support for the OCP pipeline.
The leaflet is attached
Also attached is the press release we released yesterday
We have also started an email action on our website to ask WestLB to stop
financing the pipeline. This can be found (when it is online later today) on
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/press_for_change/email_westlb/index.htmlNEW YORK CITY: Sorry for the very last minute notice on this, but we will be doing a
very small West LB leafletting today, Wednesday from 10:30AM-2PM at
West LB at 1211 Avenue of the Americas between 47th and 48th Street.
Adam WeissmanWARSAW:
We've managed to do an action in Warsaw. Had a few banners and gave the leaflets to clients, where we wrote, that their bank is involved in building such a dangerous construction. We asked them to boycott this bank, because its politics isn't responsible and fair. We gave also a letter to the manager, that came to us (we were outside, bodyguars did't let us come in). This man told, that polish branch of WestLB does not found pipeline in Ekwador (of course) and has nothing to do with it (of course). He told us, that head office claims, that everything is legal, they have permission, the government in Ekwador wants this pipeline e.s.o.There were some journalists with us, so mayby this problem will be tomorrow in newspapers.The action lasted for an hour, but we've made phonecalls, sent mails and fax to bank all day and I think - they had hard day, because we asked for doing that our friends from another NGOs.Greetings!We are waiting for some information from another countries. Now I am on my vacations, so please, if you would answer, write to: wapienica@pnrwi.most.org.plAsia MatusiakWorkshop for All BeingsPolandDUBLIN:
A group of us leafletted the business area in Dublin close to WESTLB Bank, and delivered a letter to MD Thomas Kaiser, who refused to meet us.
His PA had a discussion with us in the hallway, and presented us with a one page press release issued on August 28, 2001 which referred to the EIA and committments to do more if necessary.
We requested a meeting with the MD or other decision-maker. All 23 members of staff refused to meet with us. The PA denied the company had any knowledge of the project until this morning, said they had received orders not to speak to anyone about the OCP project and all queries should be directed to HQ in Dusseldorf. When questioned about the need of Irish investers to know if they were supporting unethical investments, among the responses received was that they were very busy sifting out terrrorist accounts and dealing with customer concerns and would not investigate the situation in Ecuador on foot of our concerns and would not release information as to the level of involvement of the WestLB office in Dublin.
We have also written to the German ambassador to Ireland.
Dusseldorf - Great actions by Greenpeace - click hereHamburg
From: Rettet den Regenwald e.V., Reinhard Behrend, <info@regenwald.org>15 People from the groups FIAN, GfbV, Rettet den Regenwald and Save the Planet demonstrated this afternoon before the WestLB in Hamburg, Germany and showed a banner and handed in a petition. They had animal masks like tapir, Macaw and tucans.
Best
Reinhard Behrend
MÜNSTER
From: Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker (GfbV), <gfbv.reg.muenster@gmx.de>hi,aqui unas quantas fotos de nos accion de muenster.muchas saludas de alemania.asta luego.
hi folks,i prefer writing in english.we delivered many brochures to the people in muenster.we stood in front of the
sparkassen-building(a part of west-LB) and a friend of us an artist from columbia(jorge hidalgo)and his son were performing.as attachment we send some pictures
