Guardian Comment: Shell must clean up its act in Nigeria
Dec 4, 2009
Niger Delta activist and lawyer Chima Williams writes in The Guardian Comment is Free section today, revealing some of the ugly details of the Shell oil spills case in The Hague and placing Shell’s appalling environmental record under scrutiny: As Nigerian villagers take Shell to court over huge oil spills, it’s time for the group...
Remember Saro-Wiwa Newsletter: December 2009
Dec 2, 2009
View original. Today, a court in the Hague will consider for the first time whether Royal Dutch Shell can be held liable for destroying the livelihoods of four villagers in the Niger Delta. Among the plaintiffs is Chief Barizaa, an Ogoni elder, who spoke of how oil spills from a Shell pipeline devastated his land...
The Last Weekend
Dec 1, 2009
We had a barnstorming weekend. Really very good, and although a bit by the seat of our pants, we more than got away with it. Very good spirit among everyone. ‘C Words: where are we going?’ worked pretty well. Difficult to really reflect and evaluate when it’s all still so recent, but the discussions were...
Four Nigerian Farmers Take Shell to Court in the Hague
Dec 1, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oil Multinational Charged in the Hague For Pollution in Nigeria Tuesday 1 st December Amsterdam & London – A unique court case, brought by four Nigerian victims of Shell oil spills, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands, begins on Thursday 3rd December in the court at The Hague. This is...
Sound Recording of PLATFORM’s Tour of Bush House
Nov 27, 2009
Global Witness slams EU for cosying up to Turkmen dictatorship
Nov 23, 2009
The European Commission is turning a blind eye to corruption, lack of transparency and poor human rights in the repressive police state of Turkmenistan in a bid to secure future gas supplies, according to a new illustrated briefing paper from the campaign group Global Witness, launched on the eve of the 2009 oil and gas conference...
PLATFORM leaks Uganda’s oil contracts – not such a rosy deal after all
Nov 22, 2009
Held secret by the Ugandan government and oil companies Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil, PLATFORM today is revealing the terms of the contracts for oil operations by Lake Albert on the Uganda-Congo border, and their economic implications. For the first time, one of Uganda’s Production Sharing Agreements is available to the public to read, after...
Prepare the Agitpod
Nov 22, 2009
On 1st December PLATFORM’s Agitpod mobile cinema will set off on it’s return journey from Bristol to London, why not join us? The Agitpod has been projecting in gallery three at Arnolfini since C Words opened in October and the unique machine has been much admired, but it is on the open road that this...
Thoughts on Radicalism
Nov 19, 2009
The last time I was in Bristol, a series of conversations and events brought this into sharp focus for me. The first was Friday’s Critical Tea Party. There were two visitors who’d been tempted upstairs by the offer of tea and cake. The conversation began with Pete and the Institute reflecting on the week, which...
Finding space to critique C Words
Nov 14, 2009
As one of five C Words Co-Realizers one of my jobs is to reflect on the events which take place in the gallery. Yet, within the walls of Arnolfini I find it hard to find intellectual space or critical distance from the work. Fortunately, I shan’t be based in Bristol for the whole of our two month run of events. Each...
Killing T.I.N.A, Embracing T.A.B.O.O – The Writings on the Walls #6
Nov 14, 2009
Dorothea Smartt, one of the two commissioned poets from African Writers Abroad, today releases a beautiful, inspiring poem created out of the 7th November creative writing workshop: Killing T.I.N.A, Embracing T.A.B.O.O (see below). The ink is still wet but Dorothea’s willingness to share this piece is testament to the amazing Creativity, Connections & Co-creations that...
The Writings on the Walls # 1
Nov 13, 2009
To capture the essence of C Words, African Writers Abroad have released a constant stream of poetry online and offline, on physical and virtual walls. A leaflet will also soon be made available in the Arnolfini for visitors to take away which features this poetry together with newly commissioned work, contributions from participants on the...
