Press Release
May 4, 2005
Groups Call on ExxonMobil to be Transparent about its Relationship
with Indonesian Military in Aceh;
Urge Pension Fund Industry & Institutional Investors to Vote
“Yes” on XOM Shareholder Resolution
Washington, D.C. – Thirteen organizations have joined
the Boards of Trustees of the New York City Pension Funds in urging
ExxonMobil (XOM) management to publish what it pays the Indonesian
military (TNI) to “protect” the company’s liquefied natural gas
(LNG) operations in the Indonesian province of Aceh. In a full-page
ad in the May 2 issue of Pensions & Investments magazine,
an influential industry publication, the groups encourage XOM
investors to vote “YES” on NYC’s shareholder resolution calling
on XOM management to report to shareholders about the potential
investor risks and liabilities resulting from corporate payments
to the TNI. Shareholders will vote on the resolution at ExxonMobil’s
May 25 Annual General Meeting in Irving, Texas.
The groups specifically target TIAA-CREF, which
as a major institutional investor managing $330 billion in pension
funds from educational, medical, and other non-profit professional
communities, wields enormous clout with the companies in which
it invests. To encourage TIAA-CREF fund managers to vote “YES”
on the upcoming NYC resolution, fund shareholders are encouraged
to call TIAA-CREF CEO Herbert Allison at 1-800-842-2733 or 212-490-9000
or e-mail to [email protected]
As documented by the U.S. State Department and other
sources, the Indonesian military consistently has committed serious
abuses of human rights. ExxonMobil currently faces a lawsuit representing
families and victims of torture and murder by the Indonesian military
stationed at ExxonMobil’s facilities. The TNI also has used ExxonMobil
facilities to torture its victims and used company equipment to
dig mass graves for burial of murder victims. ExxonMobil reportedly
makes annual payments of $6 million for "protection"
of its LNG operation in Aceh.
The 13 organizations are CorpWatch, Earthrights
International, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, Friends
of the Earth U.S., Global Exchange, Greenpeace USA, Indonesia
Human Rights Network, International Forum for Aceh, International
Labor Rights Fund, Make TIAA-CREF Ethical Coalition, Oil &
Gas Accountability Project (a project of EARTHWORKS), Pacific
Environment and the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human
Rights.
The ExxonMobil “Transparency” ad and NYC shareholder
resolution are available at: www.stopexxonmobil.org.
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