National Day of action
against the privatisation of Iraq's oil - Sat 23 Feb
Some KPC members plan to join with staff & students
from Kingston University in a Hands Off Iraqi Oil protest which we
hope will take place on Saturday 23 February at a local BP or Shell petrol
station, probably around midday. This is part of a
national Day of Action (called by Hands Off Iraqi Oil www.HandsOffIraqiOil.org and
supported by the Stop the War Coalition) to prevent Western interests imposing
contracts on the Iraqi people which in effect siphon off the country's oil wealth.
For the Iraqi people, the ongoing war and occupation have led to
hundreds of thousands of deaths, relentless insecurity and deepening poverty.
But for foreign oil companies, the desperate situation in Iraq is
an opportunity to make massive profits. In
February last year, the Iraqi cabinet approved a draft oil law which, if passed
by Iraq's parliament, would allow the likes of Shell, BP and Exxon to take over
control of most of Iraq's oil reserves, depriving ordinary Iraqis of scores of
billions of dollars. Shell and BP, with the help of the UK Government, have
been actively pushing for this law and these contracts since 2003.
One year on, despite five US- and IMF-imposed deadlines, the law is
still being contested at every level of Iraqi society. Nevertheless, the Iraqi
government has declared its intention to press on and sign deals with foreign
oil companies under Saddam-era laws. The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions is at
the forefront of grassroots campaigning against the privatisation of Iraq’s oil
industry and has threatened strike action should the law go ahead. Oil experts,
lawyers, academics, trade unionists, and students are rejecting the
occupation-imposed oil law and the economic occupation it serves.
Who should decide the future of Iraq’s economy
and resources? The people of Iraq, or Shell and BP?