A new campaign to persuade Amerada Hess to sell its 25 percent shareholding in Premier Oil is launched in London today.
The new campaign is aimed at increasing pressure on Premier Oil to pull out of Burma. In the first stage campaigners will use the internet to flood Hess’s UK and US offices with emails demanding they sell their stake in Premier Oil.
Amerada Hess has come under increasing pressure since it invested in Premier Oil in 1999. In the United States its petrol stations are subject to a boycott campaign and trade unions are raising questions about whether Hess’s investment in Premier breaches US investment sanctions against Burma.
“By investing in Premier Oil Amerada Hess are indirectly supporting Burma’s brutal military dictatorship,” says John Jackson, Director of Burma Campaign UK. Premier Oil have been condemned by pro-democracy leader Aung San Su Kyi and by the UK government for their investment in Burma.
“We are going to make sure Amerada Hess don’t get a moments peace until they sell their stake in Premier Oil,” says John Jackson.
Burma Campaign UK has a strong track record of persuading companies to pull out of Burma, including Triumph International, Burton, River Island and BHS.