httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zciWUOrIUqo&feature=player_embedded
Today, Royal Dutch Shell is holding back the tears no more. Shell apologises to all inhabitants of Nigerias Niger Delta for the many years of human rights violations, for which Shell takes full responsibility.
Confronted with massive evidence of human rights violations that can only be attributed to its operations in the Niger Delta, Royal Dutch Shell is extremely proud to be the first international petrochemical company to publicly say:
We are sorry.
Since Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 1956, the company has ravished the land and polluted the environment. We thought these people didnt know what was good for them, explains Bradford Houppe, Vice-President of Shells newly established Ethical Affairs Committee. We never knew that we were bringing them impoverishment, conflict, abuse and deprivation. Now we know. Shell acknowledges that it is responsible for large-scale oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring. Each year, hundreds of oil spills occur, many of which are caused by corrosion of oil pipes and poor maintenance of infrastructure. Our failure to deal with these spills swiftly and the lack of effective clean-up greatly exacerbate their human rights and environmental impact, says Houppe. And that is wrong. Its just really wrong.
More than 60 per cent of the people in the Niger Delta depend on the natural environment for their livelihood. But due to the oil pollution, many of them use polluted water to drink and to cook and wash with, and eat fish contaminated with oil and other toxins. Oil spills and waste dumping have also seriously damaged agricultural land.
The destruction of livelihoods and the lack of redress have led people to steal oil and vandalise oil infrastructure in an attempt to gain compensation or clean-up contracts. Armed groups engage in large-scale theft of oil and the ransoming of oil workers. Government reprisals frequently involve excessive force and the collective punishment of communities, thus deepening general anger and resentment.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Nigerian government received around $36 billion in taxes and royalties from Shell. They have never, not in the slightest, held us to account for all the wrong we did, says Houppe. So without taking back any of our apologies, by all means: blame them too!
A comprehensive Plan of Action, featuring general apologies, detailed apologies, apologies in Braille and apologies in rhyme that Shell employees will hang on the walls in their offices, will be presented at Shells Annual General Meeting on 18 May 2010 in The Hague.
http://shellapologises.com/statement.html
RELATED EMAIL SENT TO SHELL ETHICS BOSS RICHARD WISEMAN
From: John Donovan <[email protected]>
Date: 13 May 2010 08:46:25 BST
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Shell Apologises for Human Rights Violations in Nigeria. Is this a hoax or a ploy?
Dear Mr Wiseman
Is this a hoax or a ploy?
Shell Apologises for Human Rights Violations in Niger Delta
We will of course publish any reply on an unedited basis.
Kind regards
John Donovan
REPLY FROM MR WISEMAN
From: [email protected]
Date: 13 May 2010 09:31:45 BST
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Shell Apologises for Human Rights Violations in NIgeria. Is this a hoax or a ploy?
Dear Mr Donovan,
The statement you refer to is not Shells. Our position is set out most recently in our 2009 Sustainability Report which can be found on line at:
http://sustainabilityreport.shell.com/2009/servicepages/welcome.html
You can order a hard copy from:
Regards
Richard Wiseman
Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA
Registered in England and Wales number 4366849
Registered Office: Shell Centre, London, SE1
Headquarters: Carel van Bylandtlaan 30, 2596 HR
The Hague, The Netherlands
RELATED POSTINGS ON SHELL BLOG
- Regularbrowser
on May 13th, 2010 at 10:24 amDear John, I can save both Richard Wiseman and yourself the time, the video of the Niger Delta apology is a fake done by the Yes Men activist group.
Outsider
on May 13th, 2010 at 10:08 amA quick search of the web for the name Bradford Houppe reveals that the date of the press release is April 1st.
RELATED WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yes_Men#Niger_Delta_Hoax
FROM THE YES MEN website:
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.Impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Our targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
