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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