Andrew C. Asmus, Arts and Sciences (going to transfer to the Jackson School next winter)(

Contact acdiggit@u.washington.edu

Coal, Corporate Corruption, and the Destruction of the Community of Tabaco

I am conducting research on human rights violations at the hands of
multinational corporations, specifically ExxonMobil, with the local,
non-profit organization called Pressurepoint.  Through the UW Society and
Justice program, I am interning with Pressurepoint during the 2002 Spring
quarter, and currently focusing on the destruction of the town of Tabaco
in the Guajira Province of Colombia.  Tabaco was located on the edge of
ExxonMobil's 50% coal mine, El Cerrejon Norte, and was destroyed by
company bulldozers with complicity from local legal officials in order to
expand the mine.  I have been working closely with representatives and
residents from Tabaco, and have recieved a video recording of the August
9th and 10th attack on the community.  Already, I have had the content of
the video tape translated from Spanish into English, and now must enter
subtitles, and cut the length of the video down from 100 to 40 minutes.  
After completion by mid April, I, through Pres! surepoint, will distribute
the finished film internationally to spread awareness about the human
rights violations committed by and for multinational corporations like
ExxonMobil, and their legal impunity for such offences.