forwarded by Michael Hoover > Published on Friday, June 30, 2000 in the Washington Times [via > http://www.commondreams.org ] > > Gore Resists Calls To Halt Oil Drilling in Colombia > by Bill Sammon > > Vice President Al Gore, who controls at least $500,000 worth of stock in > Occidental Petroleum, has ignored pleas from environmentalists to fight the > company's plan to drill for oil on sacred Indian land in Colombia. > > The Gore family stands to benefit substantially if Occidental finds the 1.5 > billion barrels of oil it estimates are buried beneath the pristine forest > inhabited for centuries by the U'wa Indians. > > The 5,000-member tribe is threatening mass suicide if Occidental goes > forward with drilling. > > But the Clinton-Gore administration is pushing more than $1 billion of aid > to Colombia that Occidental says will help protect its oil interests. The > money will be used in part to fight guerrillas who have often attacked the > company's pipeline, spilling more crude than the Exxon Valdez. > > Gore supporters inside and outside the administration are pushing hard for > the Occidental project. > > Scott Pastrick, the former treasurer of the Democratic National Committee > who in 1996 prepared "call sheets" for the vice president's use in > fund-raising solicitations, was hired the next year by Occidental to > promote the project. > > The Clinton-Gore administration, in turn, hired a former Occidental > lobbyist who was pressing the Energy Department to back the drilling. > Lobbyist Theresa Fariello was hired last year by Energy Secretary Bill > Richardson. > > "There has been a lot of back-room negotiations between the Clinton > administration and the Colombian government on behalf of Occidental," said > environmentalist Stephen Kretzmann of Amazon Watch. "Occidental is a > favorite of the Clinton-Gore administration, particularly Gore." > > In recent weeks, violence has escalated between the Colombian military and > U'wa Indians who have been blockading a road to the Occidental drilling > site. U.S. and Colombian environmentalists are growing more frustrated at > what they consider the willful inaction of Mr. Gore. > > "You have an imminent, unfolding, tragic situation in Colombia being > perpetrated by a corporation with direct ties to the vice president and he > won't do a . . . thing," Mr. Kretzmann said. "He has remained silent, and > he hasn't pulled his money out." > > Environmentalists are particularly appalled by the vice president's recent > campaign to link George W. Bush with skyrocketing gasoline prices by > portraying him as a puppet of Big Oil. > > "It takes somebody who is independent from Big Oil to take on Big Oil, and > I'm independent from them," the vice president thundered Wednesday. > > But Mr. Gore controls between $500,000 and $1 million worth of stock in > Occidental. > > "Mr. Gore cannot pretend to be any better than Bush when his hands have the > blood of the U'wa on them," said Sharon Wright of the Rainforest Action > Network. > > Gore spokesman James Kennedy said the standoff in Colombia "is an internal > domestic matter and the United States does not have the unilateral > authority to intervene in it." Asked why the vice president doesn't use his > bully pulpit as a presidential candidate to articulate a moral stance on > the controversy, Mr. Kennedy said: "I'll just leave it at that." > > Although Mr. Gore lists Occidental on his financial disclosure forms, his > aides insist he does not control the shares because they belong to a trust > for his mother, Pauline. > > But according to the last will and testament of Mr. Gore's father, Albert > Gore Sr., the vice president - as executor of the [Gore] estate - is vested > with the same control as Pauline Gore, who is named in the will as trustee. > > "The executor shall at all times during the administration of my estate be > vested with all the powers, duties and authority of the trustee," the elder > Gore wrote,"and shall be authorized to make payments in the same manner and > to the same extent as if he were acting as testamentary trustee." > > Thursday night, a Gore spokeswoman said: "The intent of the language is to > ensure that the executor can distribute income before the trust is set up. > But once the trust is set up, only the trustee has the authority to make > the decisions regarding the trust." > > Asked to reconcile this with the will's stipulation that the vice president > retains full authority "at all times" Gore spokesman Kennedy said: "I'm > not a lawyer. And when laymen try to interpret the law, they usually screw > up." > > He added: "The vice president does not have stock in Occidental and does > not benefit from any stock in Occidental." > > But the elder Gore stipulated in his will: "Upon the death of my wife, the > trust shall terminate and all the assets thereof shall be distributed > absolutely to my son." > > Mr. Kennedy added: "If any are left. So it's entirely speculative and > inappropriate to suggest that he will in fact ever benefit. Because No. 1, > it is not known whether any funds will be left at that time. And No. 2, it > is not known if that stock will still be in the trust" then. > > Occidental Vice President Lawrence Meriage defended his company's plans, > saying the oil is vital to the impoverished nation, which will get 85 > percent of the revenue. He added that the Colombian government last year > tripled the size of the U'wa reservation to 850 square miles, with the > drill site outside the reservation. > > "You know, it gets down to a question here of whether you have a > democratically elected government that should be able to set policy for 40 > million Colombians or having a bunch of noisy activists in the U.S. trying > to dictate to the Colombian government," he said. > > Mr. Meriage, who testified before Congress in favor of the $1 billion aid > package to Colombia, said the drilling will go ahead. > > "There is a potential here of a billion barrels of oil," he said. "Whether > it's Occidental . . . or somebody else that controls this project, it's > going to go forward."