(From our press release issued 25 Nov. Further details and photos from the various protests will be posted soon.)
On Saturday 24 November, protests were held at 36 Total petrol stations across the UK. The protests called upon Total Oil to pull out of Burma and stop financing the Burmese military regime [1]. Protest locations included Bradford, Brighton, Chatham (Kent), Cardiff, Guernsey, London, Manchester, Oxford, St Albans and Virgina Water (Surrey).
Blockades occurred at some stations, with several lasting for an hour or more. In Camden 10 protestors blocked the York Way Total station for an hour, while 15 students in Surrey blockaded the Virginia Water petrol station for more than 2 hours. Throughout the UK the protests received support from motorists and pedestrians alike. Many drivers turned away from the petrol stations upon seeing the protests, some informing protestors that they would not to buy from Total again. At all the targetted petrol stations business was noticeably slow, and in some cases virtually non-existent, during the protests.
Paul Golding, one of the protestors, said, "Total’s investment in Burma is the largest in Europe. By paying millions of dollars to the Burmese dictatorship every year they are helping keep it in power. If the West wants to help end the oppression and ongoing human rights abuses in Burma, then quite simply, we must stop our companies from funding the oppressors."
In London, protests took place at 14 Total petrol stations during the course of the day. The final protest in London attracted over 30 supporters and took place at the Baker Street petrol station on Marylebone Rd, NW1, from 4pm to 6pm. In Guernsey, campaigners protested at all 14 Total stations on the island, and picketed the main station on the island for 3 hours. [2]
More photos can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/toastyoneuk
Contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
The day of action was part of a growing global campaign calling on French oil company Total to stop funding the Burmese junta:
- Boycott: Last week, the global internet advocacy website Avaaz.org launched a global boycott of Total, as well as US oil company Chevron, for their presence in Burma – with nearly 50,000 signing up in ten days [3].
- Divestment: European pension funds withdrew almost £110m in investments from Total in a matter of days in protest at the company's involvement in Burma. [4]
- Popular protests: Since October weekly protests have taken place in London outside Total Oil's offices. Other spontaneous protests have occurred outside Total garages around the UK. [5]
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
[1] Total Oil has had a joint business venture with the Burmese government since 1992. Its major project is the Yadana gas project in southern Burma, which earns the military regime hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democracy leader, has said that “Total is the biggest supporter of the military regime in Burma.” For more information about Total Oil's investment in Burma see the Burma Campaign UK website: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.php.
[2] A full list of protests on 24 November, plus further information about the campaign, can be found on this blog.
[3] See http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_corporate/. Total’s products in the UK include its network of petrol stations, as well as such brands as Bostik (makers of Blu-tack) and Spontex cleaning products.
[4] See http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2204744,00.html
[5] See reports on this blog.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Totally Out of Order: A Day of Action
Friday, November 23, 2007
Day of Action- Sat 24 Nov (updated)
DAY OF ACTION
SATURDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2007
Join the protests at TOTAL petrol stations around the UK calling for TOTAL to pull out of Burma. TOTAL's investment in Burma is earning the dictatorship hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy leader, has said that "TOTAL is the biggest supporter of the military regime in Burma".
Please show your support by attending one of the protests listed below. All those listed ARE due to take place. You are welcome to just turn up. Banners, placards and leaflets will be provided.
Information below:
1. Confirmed protests on Sat 24 November (updated 23 Nov)
2. Details of how to get involved and how to organise your own protest
If you have any queries please email us.
The Total Out of Burma Team
totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------
1. Confirmed protests on Sat 24 Nov (updated 23 Nov)
--------------------------------------------------------
BRADFORD
Vigil against Total
5.00pm - 7.00pm
Centenary Square, Bradford
contact: Chris on 01274 727 034
BRIGHTON
Kemp Town Total station
Meet at the Pavillion Bus Stop at 11.30am
CARDIFF - Cathedral Road
Cathedral Road Total station, 34 Cathedral Rd, Cardiff CF11 9HA
11.00am - 1.00pm
contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
CARDIFF - Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay Total station, 235 Corporation Rd, Grangetown, Cardiff CF11 7AS
11.30am - 5.30pm
contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
GUERNSEY
Protests will be happening at Total stations across the island.
contact: Kev on burma[at]landofkev.com or 07911 770 017
LONDON - Baker Street
4.00pm - 6.00pm
Dorset House Total station, 170-172 Marylebone Rd, Westminster NW1 5AR
nearest tube: Baker Street
contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
(note: this is the final London protest of the day - all welcome)
LONDON - Camden
11.30am - 1.00pm
Camden Town Total station, 109-113 York Way, Islington N7 9QE
nearest tube: Caledonian Rd or Kentish Town
contact: Jonathan on jjjstevenson[at]fastmail.fm or 07818 651 124
LONDON - Chiswick
2.00pm - 4.00pm
West Four Total station,137 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick W4 2ED
nearest tube: Turnham Green
contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
LONDON - Hammersmith
11.00am - 2.00pm
Raven Total station, 372 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith W6 0XF
nearest tube: Stamford Brook
contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
LONDON - Kensal Green
1.00pm - 3.00pm
Kensal Total station, 904 Harrow Rd, Kensal Green NW10 5JU
contact: Steph at fifth_state[at]yahoo.co.uk
LONDON - Kilburn
12.30pm - 1.45pm
Kilburn Total station, 409 Kilburn High Rd, Kilburn NW6 7QG
nearest tube: Kilburn
contact: Dan at dviesnik[at]yahoo.co.uk
LONDON - Manor Park
1.00pm - 3.00pm
Manor Park Total station, 893 Romford Rd, East Ham E12 5JT
nearest tube: East Ham or (rail) Manor Park
contact: Paul on paul[at]riseup.net or 07939 975 085
LONDON - Newham
10.30am - 12.30pm
High St North Total station, 409-419 High St North, Newham E12 6TL
nearest tube: East Ham
contact: Paul on paul[at]riseup.net or 07939 975 085
LONDON - Southwark
2.00pm - 4.00pm
Thomas Beckett Total station, 233-247 Old Kent Road, Southwark SE1 5LU
nearest tube: Elephant & Castle or Borough
contact: Danae on papakura2000[at]hotmail.com or 07731 956 415
LONDON - Whitechapel
10.00am - 12noon
Vallance Total station, 112 Vallance Rd, Tower Hamlets E1 5BW
nearest tube: Whitechapel
contact: Danae on papakura2000[at]hotmail.com or 07731 956 415
LONDON - Willesden
11.00am - 12.15pm
Willesden Lane Total station, 290 Willesden Lane, Willesden NW2 5HS
nearest tube: Willesden Green
contact: Dan at dviesnik[at]yahoo.co.uk
OXFORD
from 9.30am
Cowley Total station, 44 Garsington Road, Cowley, Oxford OX4 2LG
contact: Dennis at dhambridge[at]btinternet.com or 07804 433 602
ST ALBANS
meets outside Barclays Bank, St Peters Street at 11.00am
moving on to Total garage at 12noon.
contact: totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------------
2. Details of how to get involved
--------------------------------------------------------
There are two ways to take part in the day of action:
1. Join a garage protest (see list above). You can get in touch with the contact listed or you can just turn up on the day and offer your support.
2. Organise your own action - there are several hundred TOTAL petrol stations in the UK to choose from. Follow these three easy steps:
a. Find out where your local TOTAL garage is by using the handy Service Station Finder at http://www.total.co.uk or check the google map of UK TOTAL garages being created at http://tinyurl.com/2ftvdf.
b. Get some simple visual materials together, plus some leaflets or petitions, and publicise it to your friends, contacts and local press. If you want the details listed publicly (e.g. by email and on the blog) email them to totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com or call Paul on 07939 975 085.
c. Hold the protest! Take some pictures, post a report on Indymedia.org.uk and send the link to totaloutofburma[at]gmail.com. Plus write to TOTAL's head office telling them what you've been up to.
Basic placard designs, petitions, leaflets and a model press release are available via this blog (see right column).
Thursday, November 22, 2007
TOTAL ‘given the boot’ at Wembley
Two people held up a banner reading “TOTALitarian Oil Out of Burma NOW”; whilst another circled around the perimeter of the garage, holding up a large placard featuring a machine gun, reading “TOTALitarian Oil – fuelling the oppression in Burma”. Their protest aroused the curiosity of the throngs of England and Croatia football fans who had gathered near Wembley Park tube for their teams’ final Euro 2008 qualifier, as well as passing motorists. The demonstration passed off peacefully, lasting around 1 ½ hours. Police were in the area, but did not approach the protesters.
The weekly demo at TOTAL’s head office at 33 Cavendish Square, near Oxford Circus - ongoing for nearly two months now - also took place as usual that morning, with some of the protesters continuing on to the daily lunchtime demo outside the Burmese embassy in Mayfair, attended by around a dozen people, mostly Burmese.
The purpose of the demonstrations is to highlight French company TOTAL’s continued involvement with Burma’s oppressive military regime. This is opposed by the country’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for the past 12 years. The regime is thought to earn hundreds of millions of pounds annually from TOTAL, the fourth largest oil company in the world, due to its operation of the Yadana natural gas pipeline to Thailand. It is thought that France continues to block tough EU and UN sanctions against foreign investment in Burma under the military junta because of a desire to protect the interests of TOTAL.
One of the Wembley protesters commented: “I feel for the Buddhist monks and ordinary people of Burma. They have again peacefully risen up against their oppressors after over four decades in power; yet to date there seems to be little improvement, despite the immense courage they have shown. The world mustn’t forget their plight.
“Despite spurious arguments defending the position of companies like TOTAL and Chevron/Texaco, I personally find it unacceptable for foreign companies to continue to profit from this brutal regime so long as it continues to defy the will of its own people and the international community, which demand as a minimum basic human rights and respect for the democratic process.”
The regular Thursday evening demo at the Total garage near Baker St tube station will continue this week (5-7pm, Dorset House, corner of Marylebone Rd (north side) and Gloucester Place).
This weekend (Saturday 24th November) will see a National Day of Action against TOTAL, supported by Burma Campaign UK, with protests set to take place at TOTAL garages all around the UK.
See also:
Burma Campaign UK's info on Total Oil
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6833508763
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Picket at Wrexham garage
Wrexham Women for Peace and supporters held a demonstration at a local TOTAL petrol station in support of the people of Burma (Myanmar) this morning in advance of a national day of action against TOTAL next Saturday 24 November. Campaigners targeted the petrol station on the A483 Ruabon by-pass to draw attention to the links between French-owned TOTAL Oil and the Burmese military junta.
Banners were hung on nearby bridges, placards displayed on the roadside and leaflets handed out to motorists on the petrol station forecourt in a peaceful action designed to raise awareness of this issue and to encourage a boycott of TOTAL petrol stations until the company severs its links with Burma.
Burma's democratically-elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi - who has been under detention or house arrest for the past 12 years - has said that TOTAL is the biggest supporter of the Burmese junta and should pull out of Burma immediately. There is also a call for TOTAL to give up its interest in the Yadana natural gas pipeline to Thailand, constructed using forced labour, which it operates in conjunction with another oil giant: Chevron-Texaco.
Less than two weeks ago, European pension funds withdrew over £100 million of investments in TOTAL following protests over the company's involvement in Burma.
( http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/nov/04/oilandpetrol.news)
A spokesperson for Wrexham Women for Peace said:
"Burma is a country rich in natural resources, yet its people are poor and hungry. Almost half of government spending goes on the military; very little is spent on health and welfare. There are more child soldiers in Burma than in any other country. Rape is used as a weapon of war. Many of Burma's political prisoners are tortured by the regime.
"Meanwhile, companies like TOTAL profit from links with this oppressive military dictatorship which has recently been guilty of violent suppression of peaceful actions by Buddhist monks and pro-democracy activists, and the military regime in turn profits from Total.
"We support the Burmese people in their peaceful struggle for self-determination and call for Total to pull out of Burma and end its support for the regime now."
The demonstration comes one week before a national day of action against Total's involvement in Burma on Saturday 24th November.
People can pledge their support for the campaign by signing a postcard to Total asking it to pull out of Burma. Visit this website:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.html
To contact Wrexham Women for Peace or to join in the national day of protest in the Wrexham area, email: wrexhamwomen[at]yahoo.co.uk.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Wrexham protest - Sat 17 Nov
There will be a peaceful action on Saturday morning 17 November near Wrexham in support of the Burmese people in advance of the "TOTAL Out of Burma" national day of action on 24 November, when it is hoped to do another.
If possible wear something red (no obligation) and bring your own placards, banners etc. although don't let it put you off going along. This action is being organised by Wrexham Women for Peace. Men and women are welcome.
Call Genny on 0845 330 4505 or email wrexhamwomen@yahoo.co.uk for more info.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Total garage in Manchester blockaded
From UK Indymedia - http://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/385756.html
Max 13.11.2007 14:44
Yesterday, up to 20 human rights campaigners blockaded a TOTAL garage on Oxford Road, Manchester. This was in protest at Total Oil's investment in the military regime of Burma.
The activists, many of them students, blockaded the entrances to the petrol station successfully with the aid of 3 arm tubes. A large banner was displayed reading "Totally Out of Order - Fuelling oppression in Burma". Leaflets were given out resulting in a number of supporting comments from people walking past.
Police attended the protest but had made no attempt to remove those who were locked to each other with arm tubes by the time I left. There was also some mainstream media attention, notably from the Manchester Evening News.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Weekly Brighton Total demo
Reposted from Indymedia:
There is a weekly action outside the Total Garage in Kemp Town, Brighton as part of the Total out of Burma campaign. Come down and join us. 11.30 PAVILLION BUS STOP EVERY SATURDAY MORNING
Tux
Protests in London this week
Please join the weekly protests against Total Oil's involvement in Burma, at Cavendish Square and Marylebone Road in London. All welcome.
Wednesday 14 November
8.30am - 10.30am
Protest at Total Oil HQ, 33 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PW
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus. Map
Thursday 15 November
5.00pm - 7.00pm
Protest at Total petrol station, 170-172 Marylebone Rd, London NW1 5AR. Nearest tube: Baker Street. Map
Londoners join global Total protest - Wed 7 Nov
Wednesday's die-in outside Total Oil's London headquarters in Oxford Circus was part of a global day of action against Total called by the Burma Global Action Network.
It took place on the day Total's third quarter profits were announced, with net profits rising 29 per cent to £2.17 billion.
Demonstrators in Cavendish Square dressed in blood-soaked bandages and displaying a giant globe held placards reading: “Total out of Burma now" and "Free Burma".
They also unveiled some alternative 3rd Quarter Results for the company, detailed the impacts of its support for the Burmese regime. It comes ahead of a UK-wide day of action outside TOTAL forecourts on Saturday 24th November.
Friday, November 9, 2007
US oil workers call on Total, Chevron to withdraw
Delegates to the United Steelworkers (USW) national oil bargaining conference unanimously approved a resolution this week calling upon USW employers, CHEVRON and Total, to pull out of Burma and denounce the military dictatorship.
"It is unethical and immoral for CHEVRON and Total to continue doing business with the brutal military dictatorship that has run Burma for over 40 years," said USW International Vice President Gary Beevers.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and represents over 1.2 million workers and retirees. In the oil sector, the USW represents 30,000 workers in the U.S., Canada and Aruba. Full story
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Edinburgh students criticise Total link
From BBC News online:
Students have voted in favour of a motion calling on the University of Edinburgh to withdraw its investments in an oil company with links to Burma.See also the Ethical Investment Ediburgh blog
The university owns 16,640 shares in Total, which account for less than half of one per cent of its investment fund.
The motion was passed by 360 votes to three at the student AGM. They hope it will put pressure on the university to end its involvement with the firm.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Protests in London this week
This Wednesday Total Oil announce their third quarter financial results. Please join the weekly protests at Cavendish Square and Marylebone Road to help highlight Total's continued funding of the Burmese junta.
Wednesday 7 November, 8.30am-10.30am
Protest at Total Oil UK headquarters
33 Cavendish Square, London W1. See map.
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Thursday 8 November, 5.00pm - 7.00pm
Protest at Total petrol station
Dorset House, 170-172 Marylebone Rd, London NW1. See map.
Nearest tube: Baker Street
TOTAL Out of Burma Day of Action - Sat 24 Nov
On Saturday 24th November there will be a UK day of action against TOTAL oil. Petrol stations around the country will see protests calling for TOTAL to pull out of Burma and stop funding the Burmese junta.
There are two ways to get involved:
1) Organise your own demo: use the handy store finder at www.total.co.uk to find your local Total garage, make some leaflets and visual materials (or download them from the right), and go along on the day. For a map of TOTAL garages within the M25, see http://tinyurl.com/2ftvdf. Let us know when and where you're going to hold the protest and we'll add it to this site and other publicity.
2) Register your interest: email totaloutofburma@googlemail.com with your location and we'll let you know where your nearest garage protest is taking place. For Londoners, if you're able to commit to coming and don't mind where you go, let us know that too and we'll allocate you to a garage. The more people express an interest the more garages we can cover!
You can now also register your interest in the event and this campaign via Facebook:
Day of action event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5910458217
Get TOTAL OIL out of Burma group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6833508763
Activists in attack on financiers' profits from Sudan and Burma
From the Observer:
"It seems a new phase of campaigner activism is making headway. Two weeks ago, European pension funds withdrew almost £110m in investments from French oil company Total in a matter of days in protest at the company's involvement in Burma. The boycott is being led by pension funds in Denmark, which acted after Danish foreign affairs minister Per Stig Moller called for European Union sanctions on investment into the country." Full article
Waltham Forest Council ‘invests in junta’
BURMA'S repressive military regime is being supported by Waltham Forest Council, according to campaigners.
Information obtained by the Green Party shows that in the past three months the council has invested an undisclosed portion of its employees' pension fund, which has net assets worth £496m, into oil company Total, Europe's biggest investor in Burma. Full Story
Friday, November 2, 2007
London protest shackles Total station
During Thursday rush-hour a dozen protestors caused a 24-hour Total petrol station in central London to close.
The peaceful protest, at the Marylebone Road petrol station, consisted of banners, placards, leaflets and a petition. One protestor wore shackles to signify the oppression of the Burmese people. Within 10 minutes of the protest beginning staff closed the station, blocking off the forecourt and switching off the lights. Even the accompanying shop was shut. The police were called and protestors were instructed to remain off the forecourt or risk arrest.
After an hour the station re-opened. The protest continued for a further hour. Report and pics on Indymedia