Oiling a Fascist Coup -- Chevron's aid to Myanmar junta protested
A young Burmese girl knelt in protest, holding a sign that read, “If I don’t die today, I will come back tomorrow.”
She did not come back. She became one of hundreds killed by the military forces that took control of Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021. And while a coup that happened thousands of miles from the East Bay may seem unfortunate, but unrelated to local lives, protest is swelling against money flowing to support the junta from a major local corporation: Chevron.
Operating in more than 180 countries, the oil and gas giant with headquarters in San Ramon has been the target of protests for years over its involvement in places such as Brazil, Ecuador and Nigeria. The 2012 Richmond refinery fire that sent 15,000 people to hospitals ignited a yearly protest at the refinery gates that will happen again this year on May 21. But the images coming out of Myanmar, showing unarmed protestors being beaten and shot in the streets, is drawing both worldwide and national demand for accountability from Chevron.
The basic facts are these: France-based Total and the military-controlled Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) are stakeholders in Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC), which owns the pipeline linking Myanmar’s Yadana gas field and Thailand. But although Total is the operator and majority shareholder of the Yadana field, its partners include Chevron, 28.3 percent, and MOGE, with 15 percent.
Read more: https://eastbayexpress.com/oiling-a-fascist-coup/