The World Bank-IFC sits spectre like, tentacles wrapped lovingly round the world's dirtiest oil and gas projects. Claiming "respect for human rights" and "sustainability" it leaves in its wake a trail of human rights abuses and evironmentnal devastation. It exists to use public money to foster private profit. Over $24 billion of World bank financing has poured into 229 projects designed to extract, transport, process and burn fossil fuels mined from developing countries from 1992-2002. Natural resources are requisitioned by private multinational companies- aiding and abetting economic disparity, repression, political insstability and global climate change.

BP has applied for public money to finance a huge new oil pipeline from its Caspian Sea oilfields, through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to the Mediterranean.

This pipeline will cause serious human rights abuses. US troops are already stationed in Azerbaijan to "protect" the pipeline. Regional wars could be reignited by the consequent militarisation of and pressure on the region. local people are, as I type, being robbed of their land and livelihoods. And all for what? All to aid the US governments' desire for a "secure" oil supply, and to fuel our collective oil-addiction. The pipeline legal agreements give BP the effective governing power over a strip of land 1,750 miles long, overriding all local, national, social, human rights and environemtal laws now and for the next 40 years.

BP, like our UK government, is no longer a national concern, it is part of a US-UK group (corporation) governed by vested interests to such an extent that even this PR disaster in waiting is given serious attention. BP alone will not put the mopney up for it- far too risky a deal is this. Yet taxpayers money used by influential international financial organisations are probable funders.

DfID boss Baroness Amos sits on the board of the World (and other) abnks and will decide in the next few months whether or not to use our money for this crime of crimes.

And it looks like she (and others) will come up with the cash unless we make some serious noise about it. So don't let BP's greenwash blind you to the gorrific truth! There's stilltime to stop the pipeline, and, acting together we will make a difference!

Get active now in whatever way you are able!

www.risingtide.org.uk

More details on the pipeline from: www.baku.org.uk