Page 6 - aruba-today-20210130

A6 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 30 January 2021
Dutch court orders Shell Nigeria to compensate farmers

By MIKE CORDER its Nigerian subsidiary must
Associated Press fit a leak-detection system
THE HAGUE, Netherlands to a pipeline that caused
(AP) — In a victory for envi- one of the spills.
ronmentalists and Nigerians The decision, which can
whose land was polluted be appealed to the Dutch
by oil leaks, a Dutch ap- Supreme Court, is the lat-
peals court ordered energy est stage in a case that is
giant Shell’s Nigerian sub- breaking new legal ground
sidiary Friday to compen- in how far multinationals
sate farmers in two villages in the Netherlands can be
for damage to their land held responsible for actions
caused by leaks in 2004 of their overseas subsidiar-
and 2005. ies.
Friends of the Earth Nether- In a written reaction, Shell
lands director Donald Pols Petroleum Development
hailed the ruling as a vic- Company of Nigeria Lim-
tory for small communities ited expressed disappoint-
hurt by huge companies. ment, saying it continued
“Up until this morning, to believe that sabotage
Dutch multinationals could caused the spills in the vil-
act with impunity in devel- lages of Oruma and Goi.
oping countries ... and this “Sabotage, crude oil theft
has changed now,” Pols Friends of the Earth supporters unfold a banner outside the district court in The Hague, Netherlands, and illegal refining are a
said. “From this moment on- Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, where the court is delivering its judgment in a long-running case in which four major challenge in the Ni-
wards, Dutch multination- Nigerian farmers are seeking compensation and a cleanup from energy giant Shell for pollution ger Delta,” the compa-
caused by leaking oil pipelines in the Niger Delta.
als will be held account- Associated Press ny said. “Indeed, in 2019
able for their activities and around 95% of spill incidents
their actions in developing an area of a total of about One of the farmers in- another village; howev- from our operations there
countries. And that’s an 60 football pitches (soc- volved in the case, Eric er, it said that the issue of were due to such criminal
enormous victory for the cer fields) in two villages, Dooh, called the decision a whether Shell can be held acts. Regardless of cause,
rights of law globally.” saying that it could not be victory “for the entire Niger liable “remains open” and we clean up and remedi-
The amount of compensa- established “beyond a rea- Delta region. The victory is the case will be continued ate, as we have done with
tion paid to three farmers sonable doubt” that sabo- for the Ogoni people. Vic- as the court wants clarifica- the spills in this case.”
in the villages will be estab- teurs were to blame. Under tory for all that stood by tion about the extent of the The Nigerian subsidiary
lished at a later date. Nigerian law, which was our side, both Blacks and pollution and whether it still added: “Like all Shell-oper-
The Hague Court of Ap- applied in the Dutch civil whites.” has to be cleaned up. ated ventures globally, we
peal held Shell’s Nigerian case, the company is not The Hague appeals court The court also ruled that are committed to operat-
subsidiary liable for two liable if the leaks were the ruled that sabotage was Dutch-based mother com- ing safely and protecting
leaks that spewed oil over result of sabotage. to blame for an oil leak in pany Royal Dutch Shell and the local environment.”q

China derecognizes British National Overseas passport

BEIJING (AP) — China said over a plan to allow mil- throws up new uncertainty “This move seriously infring- biometric information with-
Friday it will no longer rec- lions of Hong Kong resi- around the plan just hours es on China’s sovereignty, out having to been seen
ognize the British National dents a route to residency after the U.K. said it would grossly interferes in Hong visiting the British visa of-
Overseas passport as a and eventual citizenship. begin taking applications Kong affairs and China’s fice.
valid travel document or The announcement by for what are called BNO vi- internal affairs, and seri- The BNO passport was orig-
form of identification amid Foreign Ministry spokesper- sas beginning late Sunday. ously violates international inally a disappointment
a bitter feud with London son Zhao Lijian on Friday Under the plan, as many law and the basic norms of for Hong Kongers when
as 5.4 million Hong Kong international relations,” he it was first offered ahead
residents could be eligible said. of Hong Kong’s handover
to live and work in the U.K. “China will no longer rec- to Chinese rule in 1997. At
for five years then apply ognize the so-called BNO the time, it offered only the
for citizenship. Demand passport as a travel docu- right to visit for six months
soared after Beijing last ment and proof of identity with no right to work or
year imposed a sweeping starting from Jan 31st, and become a full citizen. Ap-
new national security law reserves the right to take plicants had to have been
on the former British colony further measures.” born before the handover
following months of pro- Many Hong Kongers carry date.
democracy protests. multiple passports and However, pressure grew
“The British side’s attempt it is unclear what if any- to expand such privileg-
to turn a large number of thing the Chinese govern- es as China increasingly
Hong Kong people into ment could do to prevent cracked down on civil and
second-class British citizens people entering the U.K. political life in Hong Kong
A British National Overseas passports (BNO) and a Hong has completely changed through the BNO visa plan. in what critics say violates
Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic the nature of the two sides’ As a further protection of China’s commitment to
of China passport are pictured in Hong Kong, Friday, Jan. 29, original understanding of personal privacy, a cell- maintain the city’s sepa-
2021. BNO,” Zhao told reporters phone app will allow ap- rate way of life for 50 years
Associated Press at a daily briefing. plicants to download their after the handover.q