Just Stop Oil members entered TotalEnergies’ offices in Canary Wharf this morning, painting the lobby black, while others painted the outside orange.
Just Stop Oil was working with Students Against EACOP. The protest targeted Total highlighted opposition to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The link will run from oilfields in western Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. It will be the longest heated oil pipeline in the world.
© Supplied by Just Stop OilJust Stop Oil, in a statement, said it was demanding an end to new oil, gas and coal projects in the UK.
The Just Stop Oil supporters sat down to be arrested after carrying out their protest. Another 60 students gathered outside to talk about the “crimes perpetrated against the people of Uganda by the EACOP project”.
The statement noted a protest was also taking place in Kampala this morning. A group of 50 students plan to march to the Ugandan Parliament.
A representative of Students Against EACOP said Total was “involved in grave human rights violations. Thousands of people have lost their property and many have been evicted from their land with little or zero compensation.”
The spokesperson said the Ugandan government had silenced those opposed to EACOP. Police have arrested journalists and some people kidnapped.
“Many financial institutions have refused to underwrite this project and if TotalEnergies backs off, the government of Uganda would have a hard time funding this project, so we can win.”
Court case
The action comes as 26 community members in Uganda have filed for compensation in a Paris court. Amis de la Terre said the case was seeking reparations for human rights violations, under the duty of vigilance law.
The NGO said Total had failed to identify the risks of serious harm linked to the Tilenga project, the upstream oil development that will feed EACOP. The French company could “have easily” identified the risks “in advance, as the company chose to locate these projects involving massive evictions in countries where civil liberties are often violated”.
Updated at 10:09 am with court case.
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