Thread: Burma : Total Chief : Critics Can ‘Go to Hell’

The fact that it's his job and that it's not illegal doesn't make it right or acceptable. We have responsibilities which go beyond picking up our monthly pay check.

Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

Look at his big fat face.

Look at his big,fat,rich face!

^Refreshing to see a poster who actually looks a bit deeper than an emotive response here.

Originally Posted by Panda

^Refreshing to see a poster who actually looks a bit deeper than an emotive response here.

Thank you very kindly, it is a very interesting and compelling topic raised by Mid, but as I have said I think this is the wrong way to tackle it.

Go after the enablers, not the enabled imho.

It's morally wrong for him to be involved. It's also wrong for other employees of Total to be involved. It's wrong to be a shareholder of a company which is involved. It's wrong to be a beneficiary of the products or wealth of a company which is involved. These wrongs probably aren't all of equivalent intensity. Whether attacking this bloated prick is a good way to instigate change within Burma is a separate issue to whether he should be picking up a pay cheque. I agree that it might not be the best way and that governments are, clearly, failing to act sufficiently but that doesn't affect the morality of his job.

Originally Posted by Dan

It's morally wrong for him to be involved.

It is not about him, it is about the company. As CEO he *has* to spout the company line that the shareholders demand, his personal morals do not come into it. If they do then he will be deemed an ineffective CEO and fired. He'll probably get dumped now that he opened his trap, but don't think his replacement will be better.

I just wonder who Slakula employers are, tell us more about yourself

Originally Posted by slackula

It is not about him, it is about the company. As CEO he *has* to spout the company line that the shareholders demand, his personal morals do not come into it. If they do then he will be deemed an ineffective CEO and fired. He'll probably get dumped now that he opened his trap, but don't think his replacement will be better.

No. We have obligations which take precedence over our work and I'm quite sure both you and I would have no problems thinking of examples to support this. Profiting from a regime as odious as that which the Burmese suffer under seems to be a fairly clear case where this principle comes into play.

Originally Posted by Dan

It's morally wrong for him to be involved. It's also wrong for other employees of Total to be involved. It's wrong to be a shareholder of a company which is involved. It's wrong to be a beneficiary of the products or wealth of a company which is involved. These wrongs probably aren't all of equivalent intensity. Whether attacking this bloated prick is a good way to instigate change within Burma is a separate issue to whether he should be picking up a pay cheque. I agree that it might not be the best way and that governments are, clearly, failing to act sufficiently but that doesn't affect the morality of his job.

This is an interesting approach. I take it you've done a moral inventory of yourself and all your purchases over the past few years and come up smelling roses? You're a TEFLer living in a shack and walking 50k to work every day and therefore not complicit in this? How do you "pick up" a pay check?

Sort of. I work only very occasionally and am thus fairly poor (probably very poor by the standard of some on this board). I don't buy stuff so I'm less complicit in this than I would otherwise be. Of course, living in a complex society, which is pretty much unavoidable, I am entangled in relationships which are suspect (for all I know the gas I cook with comes from Burma) and I also don't live the life of an ascetic so on that count I can be judged. But I don't think that there's any equality or, indeed, any relationship between my failings and those of Mr Total.

Firstly.....Wow, what a 'tasche' the whole facial thing is explosive just like his fuel...and gob!

Originally Posted by Mid

The CEO of the French energy giant Total said critics of the company’s operations in Burma “can go to hell,”

How very French of him....I feel an invasion coming on..

Originally Posted by Mid

Bangkok is clean now.

The man's obviously mad as a hatter...or in his case a..
more apt one feels..sorry Butterfly.

Originally Posted by Mid

Total and its partners have long been accused of turning a blind eye to serious human rights abuses committed by Burmese security forces guarding the pipeline, including forced labor, land confiscation, forced relocation, rape, torture and murder.

Bonjour....PROFITS....

Originally Posted by Mid

“Or ask the government of India why they have companies investing in Burma, when we froze investment. Why is South Korea, ally of the United States of America, investing in Burma? Why Total?” he added.

Got a bloody good point there...Frenchie...but stop tying to divert attention from you...we'll get to them...later..probably much later...

Originally Posted by robuzo

And I'd like to know, how many chins can one man have?

He's got just the one however...he doesn't seem to have a neck...it's an all in one affair..

Originally Posted by Warwick

Any man who would grow a moustache like that obviously doesn't give a flying fork for anyone's opinion of him.

Originally Posted by slackula

Originally Posted by Dan

The fact that it's his job and that it's not illegal doesn't make it right or acceptable. We have responsibilities which go beyond picking up our monthly pay check.

Agreed! But unfortunately the fact that it is his job and not illegal does make it the right thing for him to do, he's probably contractually obliged to do it in fact.

If he gets up in front of the AGM and announces that he's dumping the Burma operation because (although very profitable) he thinks it is morally wrong the shareholders will have him out of the door in a flash, going after this idiot is not an effective way to attack the problem.

It is counter-productive; he will be seen as a liability by the company and replaced by somebody who does the exact same thing but keeps his mug away from microphones and reporters. The protesters will then claim victory because the guy is gone while it will be business as usual at Total.

That's an old argument for doing nothing. Totally defeatist, and a lame excuse. By that reasoning nothing would ever change in the world.

Originally Posted by gjbkk

I just wonder who Slakula employers are, tell us more about yourself

Not sure why you think it is relevant, FWIW I own a small business now but spent most of my life working in a corporate environment.

Originally Posted by FlyFree

That's an old argument for doing nothing. Totally defeatist, and a lame excuse. By that reasoning nothing would ever change in the world.

You missed my point Totally ( ).

I am not saying nothing should or could be done, I am just saying that this guy is not the one we should be holding to account. The CEO of a publicly held company has a lot less power over company decisions and policy than many people think.

He is an easy target for us, and certainly isn't doing himself any favours on the PR front but trying to hold him responsible for anything in Burma is ultimately pointless imo.

He just needs a couple of coolies behind him, wafting him with fans.

He really looks like something out of the "Burma Days" book by Orwell.

Originally Posted by kmart

He just needs a couple of coolies behind him, wafting him with fans.

lol, I can just see him sitting on his porch at sunset, drinking Ricard and shooting tigers (and the occasional coolie).

Ah, the good old Colonial days....just ask the Cambodians, Laotians etc...maybe he's still got land there!!!?????

responsible for anything in Burma is ultimately pointless imo.

not quite cart blanch , he IS where the buck stops re Total

France’s Total Faces New Forced Labor Claims
WILLIAM BOOT
Saturday, August 22, 2009

Allegations have resurfaced that forced labor is used in connection with the pipeline that carries gas from French energy giant Total’s Yadana gas field production through Burma into Thailand.

The allegations were made by the human rights group EarthRights International (ERI), which is compiling a new report on labor coerced by Burmese army and police units guarding the pipeline.

ERI is quoted by The Independent newspaper in London as saying it interviewed Burmese villagers this year who gave new evidence that they were recently forced to work on a camp structure for state security personnel guarding the pipeline.

The new allegations are being compiled for a report to be published in September, the paper quoted ERI as saying.

Total, which has slipped through European Union sanctions against Burma to maintain its offshore gas production, which is mostly bought by Thailand, continues to deny persistent reports of pipeline-linked forced labor.

On its Web site, the French giant complains that its Yadana field is a “favorite target of activists who opposed the current [Burmese] government.”

It adds: “Wherever we operate, we are dedicated to developing economically viable projects while adhering to national and international laws and ensuring compliance with our code of conduct.”

irrawaddy.org

^

The CEO of the French energy giant Total said critics of the company’s operations in Burma “can go to hell,”

quite good at condemning folks to hell ain't you

QUOTE OF THE DAY



"She [Aung San Suu Kyi] never asked me to leave Myanmar.”
— Total CEO Christophe de Margerie

irrawaddy.org

Total Defends its Business in Burma
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, September 11, 2009

PARIS — The chief of Total has defended the oil giant's presence in Burma and says detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi never asked him to pull the company out of the country.

Christophe de Margerie responded after the environmental group Earth Rights International (ERI) issued a report on Thursday that accused Burma's military junta of hiding about $4.8 billion in unreported earnings from natural gas projects with Total and Chevron.

Some critics say Total should withdraw its business in support of human rights. De Margerie said he doesn't believe a withdrawal would make a difference, and that some NGOs want Total to stay.

In the interview published Friday in Le Parisien daily, he said he spoke with Suu Kyi and, "She never asked me to leave Myanmar."

In a recent interview with Newsweek magazine, de Margerie said that critics of Total can “go to hell.”

ERI alleged that Total and Chevron companies are linked to forced labor, killings, high-level corruption and authoritarianism in Burma.

The report examined how revenue from the Yadana gas project sustains military rule in Burma and undermines Western sanctions.

The report said that Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council has earned almost US $5 billion from the gas pipeline project.

irrawaddy.org

Oil giant Total's presence in Myanmar is "positive": CEO
Sep 11, 2009

Paris - The head of French oil giant Total defended his company against charges it was supporting the junta in Myanmar, claiming instead that the firm's presence in the country was 'positive.'

'I believe... that what we do (in Myanmar) is positive for a part of the population,' Christophe de Margerie said in an interview published Friday in the daily Le Parisien.

'The fatal argument is to say that the money from the gas profits the junta,' he added. 'But if the gas is not produced by Total, it would be produced by others, and that would change nothing regarding the revenues for the junta.'

Margerie was responding to a report published Thursday by the human rights group EarthRights International (ERI) alleging that Myanmar's ruling junta is hiding billions of dollars in revenue in natural gas sales from the Yadana gas pipeline, which was built by Total and the American oil firm Chevron.

'Total's mission is not to restore democracy in the world. That is not our profession,' Margerie said in the interview with readers of the daily. He also said that Total had no plans to leave Myanmar.

But ERI did not call on Total and Chevron to divest from Myanmar, but to publish all their payments to the country's authorities since 1992, when the contract was signed.

Margerie did not respond to that demand. Nor did he address another demand by ERI, to acknowledge that forced labour was used with the pipeline, which passes from the Andaman Sea over 65 kilometers of Myanmar into Thailand.

He claimed, however, that Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi prefers to work with Total rather than other oil companies.

'She never demanded that we leave (Myanmar),' he said.

monstersandcritics.com

But ERI did not call on Total and Chevron to divest from Myanmar, but to publish all their payments to the country's authorities since 1992, when the contract was signed.

Margerie did not respond to that demand. Nor did he address another demand by ERI, to acknowledge that forced labour was used with the pipeline, which passes from the Andaman Sea over 65 kilometers of Myanmar into Thailand.

France’s Total Distorts its Role in Burma, Rights Group Alleges
Saturday, December 19, 2009
WILLIAM BOOT

The French energy resources company Total is distorting its role in Burma and has failed to refute allegations that a pipeline pumping its gas through the country uses force labor, a human rights group says.

“The company has in effect kept complaints of forced labor from reaching the International Labour Organization and other parties,” alleged EarthRights International (ERI).

“In the last few years we’ve documented hundreds of instances of forced labor ordered by the Burma Army securing Total’s pipeline, and the cases are continuing,” ERI Program Coordinator Naing Htoo said in a statement this week accompanying a new report by the group.

ERI published a detailed report in September about continuing human rights abuses by military regime soldiers guarding the pipeline, which pumps gas from an offshore field in Burmese waters through Burma and into Thailand.

The US-linked group said Total rejected the allegations but this week ERI said “a close reading of Total’s response makes it abundantly clear the company hasn’t refuted our research and documentation on the human rights and financial impacts” of their business activities inside Burma.

“Total continues to try to distort perceptions of its role in Burma, undoubtedly at the expense of effecting real change around its presence there,” said ERI’s Burma Project Coordinator Matthew Smith.

irrawaddy.org