Hundreds of activists belonging to the STOPEACOP Campaign lobby group descended on the Chinese Embassy in Pretoria on Wednesday morning to deliver a memorandum of grievances against Chinese companies that are involved in the construction of a crude oil pipeline project in countries like Uganda and Tanzania.
But as was the case last year, officials of the Chinese Embassy again refused to come out and receive their memorandum.
Coordinator of STOPEACOP Campaign in South Africa Zaki Mamdoo, told Tshwane Talks that STOPEACOP Campaign is an international organisation established with the sole aim of stopping Chinese state-owned companies from continuing with their devastating oil extraction project on the African continent as a whole.
He said their march to the Chinese Embassy was to stand in solidarity with communities that have already been affected by the devastating effects of the crude oil extraction project in Uganda and Tanzania.
“Our march to the Chinese Embassy is also part of a Global Day of Action whereby activists will be taking to the streets in twelve countries across the world including Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, DRC and also in France, UK and Denmark,” he said.
Mamdoo said this was an effort to put forward a united front and make it clear to various Chinese state-owned institutions, especially the leading Chinese insurance corporations Sinusure, the China Export Credit Agency and China Exom Bank to withdraw their support of the East Africa Crude Oil project and prioritise investment into sustainable renewable energy projects across the African continent.
“We believe that the said institution’s involvement in the EACOP project is wrong in terms of South to South developmental partnerships and also in terms of the type of partnership that China could have with African countries.
“We want them to realign their own developmental approach with the aspirations and needs of our communities and our people by prioritising projects that meaningfully uplift the wellbeing and substantive freedoms of our people across Africa,” said Mamdoo.
He said it was the second time that they were approaching the Chinese Embassy to take geed of their demands because last year on 20 November they tried submitting the selfsame demands to the embassy but were rebuffed by the Embassy officials.
Mamdoo said their memorandum includes numerous documents by independent experts and research reports which outline the devastating impacts of the EACOP project.
“We also have petitions signed by about 5000 people in countries like Uganda and letters from civil society organisations,” said Mamdoo.
“When we gathered here outside the Chinese Embassy we were met with arrogance as the embassy officials refused to come out and receive our memorandum of grievances, they refused to engage us, they told us to go through correct channels by submitting our memorandum via email, which we did but still we have not received any response at all,” lamented Mamdoo.
“We have now organised more similar protest actions in more countries around the world to make sure that we are heard,” he said.
Mamdoo said he and his fellow activists from STOPEACOP Campaign will return to the Embassy again in the future with more numbers, until their demands are heeded.
Different South African lobby groups from places like Soweto, Carltonville Orange Farm and Daveyton also attended the protest march in support of STOPEACOP.
Member of Sisonke Revolutionary Movement in Orange Farm Lucky Thwala told Tshwane Talks that he supports the efforts of STOPEACOP because Chinese companies that extracting oil in the aforementioned African countries are taking all the profits to their own countries while local communities from which the oil is extracted get nothing and remain poor.
He also blamed oil exploration activities for damaging the environment and leading to climate change.
“I am here to support this cause as we feel that the Chinese are coming to African countries to destroy the environment and proof of this is one community in Limpopo, Venda where the livelihoods of the residents is dependent on the environment and extracting oil from that area will destroy their means of survival,” said Earth Life Africa Programmes Coordinator Sbongile Ndlovu.
A lady picketer at the Chinese Embassy told Tshwane Talks that the Chinese have stolen wealth from Africa and exported it to their home country, which is something that is very hurtful in her opinion.
A male picketer told the protesting crowd that local communities from which resources were extracted by foreign-owned companies must benefit from the wealth that is taken from their communities.
Another lady picketer told the crowd that African forefathers have fought for the independence and freedom of the continent yet they as their descendants are presently not benefitting from the wealth of the continent as it only benefits Chinese companies.
“Enough is enough, we are supposed to make a noise to the Chinese Embassy and government until our demands are heard,” said yet another lay protestor as she urged the crowd to stand firm in their resolve to get a response from the Chinese authorities.
The following attachment is a copy of memorandum: