The North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee Blog

[from Avi: The Dutch join the Danish!]

UPDATE 2-Utilities shun
Drummond after Colombia union murders 

(Reledes, adds union comments, details of suit)

  LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Two European power companies have
halted new coal purchases from Drummond Coal Co. until a case
alleging the U.S. company conspired with paramilitaries
to kill Colombian mining union leaders is settled.

  Denmark's DONG and Netherlands power generator Essent said
they would not sign new supply contracts with Drummond.

  Drummond declined comment on the case.

  "We have an ongoing supply agreement with Drummond, which
expires at the end of this year. After that, we will not be
signing any new agreement with Drummond until after the court
case is closed," a DONG press officer said on Wednesday.

  Three union leaders who worked in Drummond's Colombian mine
were pulled off buses and executed by right-wing paramilitaries
in the northern province of Cesar in 2001, said Daniel Kovalik,
a lawyer with the Pittsburgh-based United Steelworkers.

  "The lawsuit alleges that Drummond conspired with the
paramilitaries to carry out the killings," Kovalik, who filed
suit against Drummond in 2002 on behalf of the victims'
families, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

  Essent also said it would not buy coal directly from
Drummond until the case was resolved.

  "We don't do business directly with Drummond at present -
we have just decided not to do so in future until the court
case is finished," an Essent spokeswoman said.

  Drummond is asking a federal judge in Alabama to dismiss
the case while the plaintiffs are asking the judge to hear it
in 2007, Kovalik said.

  Colombia is in a 42-year guerrilla war in which leftist
rebels say they are fighting for social justice. The
paramilitary groups were organized as private armies in the
1980s to fight the rebels, but soon branched out into extortion
and drug trafficking.

  DONG consumes around 4.5 million tonnes of coal a year,
only a small part of which is sourced from Drummond, traders
said.

  Drummond said DONG had informed the company of its decision
but that the U.S. company had heard nothing from Essent.

  "As far as actual physical contracts affected (are
concerned), the impact is zero - deliveries will continue to be
made under existing contracts," a Drummond source said.

  U.S. court officials told Reuters the court documents
relating to the case against Drummond were sealed. Drummond
sources declined on Wednesday to comment specifically on the
case.

  The Drummond sources said the company is always concerned
about how it is perceived by its customers.

  This was the reason Drummond invited a group of its key
Atlantic customers to a dinner in London last week, attended by
the vice president of Colombia, the sources said.

  "The vice president was very, very strong in his
endorsement of Drummond and its activities in Colombia," a
Drummond source said.

  Major European customers of Drummond's who attended last
week's dinner said the court case would have no impact on their
buying of Drummond coal, regardless of the case result.

  Drummond's is one of the highest quality coals available to
Europe for power generation, buyers said.

  Drummond expects to produce 21 million to 22 million tonnes
of high quality coal in 2006 from its mines in Colombia.
Drummond also produces metallurgical coal in Colombia and
low-sulphur coal in the U.S. for supply to U.S. power
generators.

  Drummond is privately owned by the Drummond family, who
founded the company in 1935.

  (Additional reporting by Hugh Bronstein in Bogota)

((Reporting by Jackie Cowhig, editing by Christian Wiessner;
44 207 542 3470, jacqueline.cowhig@reuters.com))

Keywords: ENERGY COAL DONG

posted by Alan  # 11:51 AM