drillers_in_the_mist

22 Drillers in the mist | September 2014“WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUTA FUCKING MONKEY?”Soco officials see park for its mineral bounty,dismiss its wildlifeSoco’s official line is that it wants to protectVirunga’s biodiversity but company officials andagents have repeatedly denigrated the park, inpublic and in private.Roger Cagle, Soco Deputy CEO, told theFinancial Times in 2011 that most of Soco’sblock was “burnt-out savannah”. 135 Rui de Sousa,Soco Chairman and part-owner of its Congolesebusiness through an offshore company QuanticLimited, 136 said in July 2013, that Virunga “hasbeen in decline for many years.” 137In private, the statements are more blunt.Journalist Mélanie Gouby recorded Soco’soperations supervisor in Congo, JulienLechenault, and a Soco security contractor,“John”, having a frank conversation aboutVirunga.“It’s just a fucking mine, this park,” saidLechenault. 138 “It’s crazy, the money youcould pull out.”“Fuck me, it’s a monkey,” chimes in John. “Whogives a fuck about a fucking monkey?Soco said in a statement that Julien andJohn “no longer work for Soco” and that thecompany “will never seek to have operations inthe mountain gorilla habitat”. 139 Soco’s oil rightsabut the area where the gorillas live.Soco’s attacks on the park come as politiciansand the company’s local allies moot thedeclassification of the park. An August 2012letter from Congo’s current environmentminister says that the Congolese governmentmay opt for the “partial or total declassificationof Virunga National Park for oil exploration”. 140A Soco spokesman did, however, confirm to GlobalWitness that Lechenault and John were workingwith the company: “We admit that we did contracthim,” the spokesperson said of Lechenault, addingthat John appeared to work for an “organisationcontracted to provide medical services”.The prospect of oil money in eastern Congo had alsoattracted the attention of the M23 rebels. ColonelVianney Kazarama, a prominent M23 spokesperson,told Gouby in a 2012 interview that “we are asking fora percentage. They [Soco] cannot exploit without us.” 133He also said that Vunabandi - the local MP, ministerand one-time consultant to Soco – asked him tocounter local opposition to oil drilling.“There have been people among the population thatdo not like Soco doing its work here,” he said. “It’sVunabandi who asked me to calm those people.”“I told the people, it’s better to work with Soco thanwith the ICCN.” 134SHOCKING SOCOThere is strong evidence of misbehaviour by Soco andits allies. A Soco official has been filmed admittingto financing a fake demonstration and appearing toacknowledge that subcontractors have been makingpayments to rebels. Soco’s Military Liaison Officer,along with its “focal point” in the Congolese wildlifeauthority, have been filmed going out of their wayto push Soco’s agenda, and telling people they willget rich if they cooperate with the company. In onecase Major Feruzi - the liaison officer who serves inCongolese military intelligence and collaborates withSoco’s security subcontractors - has been covertlyfilmed offering a senior ranger thousands of dollarsto spy on the head of Virunga. Soco should try toexplain why state officials are trying so hard to pushthe company’s agenda, and promising those whocollaborate riches.When you consider that Soco has made substantialdirect payments to its focal point in the national