African Oil Conference in London…‘White’ protestors call for end to ‘Oil Colonialism’ in Africa

Jun 08, 2022 News

…demand cancellation of all debts, compensation for losses and damages

Extinction Rebellion protestors demonstrating at the May Fair Hotel in London (Photo Credit: DailyMail)

Kaieteur News – Two weeks ago, the African Energy Conference was hosted at the Mayfair Hotel in London, England, where delegates were met by vociferous protest demonstration against the oil companies represented there along with the leaders of at least 12 African nations.
The group of primarily Caucasian protestors—against the economic and other exploitation of African citizens in the oil producing regions—were calling for four primary objectives to be met, namely the cancellation of the debts of those countries, for oil companies to pay compensation for damage caused over the years, greater investments in renewable energy and the departure of those companies from the African shores.
During the protest activity it was pointed out that the conference is being held in that country and not Africa because 60 percent of the oil and gas producers operating in Africa are from the global North.
Additionally, of that 60 percent of African oil being produced by Northern companies it was pointed out that four companies control half of this production. Those are ExxonMobil, Total, Shell and ENI.
Chanting slogans such as ‘Justice for Africa’ and ‘end oil colonialism’ the protestors managed to prevent at times, delegates from entering the venue.
Some of the protestors subsequently made their way into the lobby the hotel in a bid to state their case.
Some, having gained entry into the five-star central London hotel, secured themselves together in the lobby and sprayed black paint across the front in fresh anti-oil protests.
They were later evicted from the premises and the hotel later used makeshift shutters to prevent them from seeing into the hotel through the glass window panes.

Two members of the group were seen lying down inside the hotel in central London beside a suitcase saying ‘Just for Africa’ (Photo Credit: XR)

Some of the protestors even managed to make their way onto the entrance of the hotel’s canopy where a “end oil colonialism’ banner was strung.
Organised by Extinction Rebellion, the protest saw presentations by a number of stakeholders, including some from the affected communities in Africa who had been adversely affected by the operations of oil oligarchs on the continent.
According to organisers, failing to reach the demands could see as many as 700 million people on the continent at risk of being displaced as refugees as a result of the impacts of climate change.
One such stakeholder on the protest line remarked that at present “Africa is a world where the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must” in reference to discriminatory practices perpetrated on the poor and vulnerable on the continent.
One of the organisers, Cathy Allen, from Extinction Rebellion said, “what’s happening here is unregulated oil companies signing exploitative new oil deals with debt-burdened African nations. This is not a conference, it is a crime scene disguised as a party.”
According to the event’s website, the summit aims to ‘bring together Africa’s upstream industry for a unique event shaped for companies active in Africa’s oil and energy game’.
Representatives from a dozen African governments attended the event, while speakers included Somalian resources minister, Mohamed Hashi Arabey Abdi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Africa Oil Corp, Keith Hill, and representatives from oil giant Shell.
US energy giant ExxonMobil and French petrol firm Total Energies are listed as sponsors for the summit, which had cost as much as £500 to watch remotely with an online ticket.
Police taped-off an area around the hotel’s entrance during the protest, with Scotland Yard and the Met Police later reporting that six persons were arrested.

The group has also unfurled a banner with ‘End Oil Colonialism’ across of the front of the May Fair Hotel on Stratton Street. (Photo Credit: DailyMail)

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