THE Government will not take unilateral action against the Shell oil company in spite of a call by the Minister of State, Mr Pat Rabbitte, that a boycott be implemented.
Mr Rabbitte, in an address to a public meeting on Monday which was organised by Democratic Left to highlight ongoing human rights abuses in Nigeria was severely critical of the activities of the military junta there and "their associates in the oil industry".
Shell's ventures in the Ogoni lands in Nigeria became the subject of major international scrutiny last year when the human rights activist, Mr Ken Saro Wiwa, was hanged by the military junta.
Mr Rabbitte, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment, has also written to the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, asking him to press the case at EU level for the imposition of a comprehensive oil embargo against Nigeria until all outstanding human rights concerns have been addressed.
However, the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, told the Dail that, while the Government had been involved in EU expressions of concern over "serious infractions" of human rights in Nigeria, it was not in a position to make a unilateral decision on the matter.
Mr Rabbitte's comments were yesterday criticised by the chief executive of Irish Shell, Mr Pat Lynch, who claimed a boycott would only serve to put jobs at risk in the company in Ireland and do nothing for the people of Nigeria, particularly Ogoni. The basis of this boycott was "wrong" as Shell conducted its business in Nigeria in a responsible and professional manner, he added.
Another spokesman for Shell, Mr Declan Fallon, said the company was surprised that Mr Rabbitte had not contacted it before expressing his views.
Shell stopped working in the Ogoni lands in 1993 "when we could not protect our staff or ensure their safety". The company had stated that it would not return until "invited to do so by the Ogoni people". Shell has since sought talks with "all the Ogoni people" in order to pave the way for a return to production in their territories.
The company had offered to clean up all the pollution in Ogoni land, "irrespective of who caused it", and would complete community projects that where terminated when Shell pulled out three years ago, he added.
Efforts to contact a spokesperson at the Nigerian embassy in Dublin were not successful yesterday.
Fianna Fail's spokesman on the environment, Mr Noel Dempsey, said Mr Rabbitte's "crocodile tears for the Ogoni people are outrageous hypocrisy and opportunism". He demanded to know if Mr Rabbitte was enunciating Government policy and asked when the Coalition would be making the necessary Order to permit the boycott of Shell that Mr Rabbitte advocated.
"The Government of which Mr Rabbitte is a member appointed the managing director of Shell Ireland to the board of CIE one of the largest semi states. Not even the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa prompted Mr Rabbitte or the Government into action. Last December, the Government ignored my call for action and took no meaningful steps to protest to the Nigerian authorities on Mr Saro Wiwa's behalf," Mr Dempsey said.
In spite of the reproaches from Shell and the Opposition, Mr Rabbitte said his speech was about the concept of responsive consumerism.
It seems to me that I am perfectly entitled, as a separate party in this Government, to advocate the views of my party on a major Rabbitte added.
In "driving by" Shell, Mr Rabbitte said he hoped that Irish consumers would not only send a clear message to the oil company and the Nigerian government but would also sound a political warning to EU governments that activities of the military regime and their associates in the oil industry were unacceptable.
Mr Spring, he said, took the view that, if action was not Coordinated at European level, it was likely not to have the required influence over "the ravages of the Nigerian junta" against their citizens and the Ogoni people in particular.
