Tweet
Tony Blair will advise on controversial gas pipeline from Azerbaijan to Italy
The project was initiated by the autocratic Azeri president, Ilham Aliyev
Jamie Doward
The Observer, Saturday 2 August 2014 11.09 BST
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/02/tony-blair-gas-pipeline-italy
Farm workers harvest olives in Puglia. Photograph: Alamy
On one side are Tony Blair, a powerful consortium of energy interests,
including BP, and the autocratic ruler of a former Soviet bloc
country. On the other are the olive growers of Puglia and a comedian
turned political maverick.
News that Britain's former prime minister is to advise the consortium
behind the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the final leg of a
2,000-mile gaspipeline that will run from Azerbaijan across much of
central easternEurope, has sparked uproar among people living close to
its ultimate destination in the heel of southern Italy.
Anger towards the pipeline - the pet project of Azerbaijan's
controversial president, Ilham Aliyev - has been building up in Puglia
for several years, with thousands attending public meetings and
demonstrations opposing the project, which is due to start in 2016.
Plans for the pipeline to come onshore in Brindisi were ditched
following local opposition. The new route will strike land in the less
populated municipality of Melendugno.
However, environmentalists claim that Puglia, which boasts two Unesco
world heritage sites, will still suffer as a result of the pipeline's
rollout. There are fears - which are rejected by the consortium - that
the pipeline will contaminate fresh water supplies.
Other critics warn that the beach where the pipeline is due to come
ashore will be turned into a building site, while the habitat of the
local Mediterranean monk seals - one of the most endangered mammals in
the world - will be threatened.
But TAP says it will not work on the beach in the summer months and
that construction work will cease during the seals' mating season. It
has also pledged to replant the olive groves belonging to some 150
families in the region. But because some of the trees are up to 2,000
years old, the olive-growers fear the groves will not survive
replanting.
"The plan to build such a pipeline in one of the most pristine areas
of the Mediterranean is absurd," said Elena Gerebizza from Re:common -
an Italian organisation opposing the pipeline. "Tony Blair is standing
against communities that want to protect their land, sea, natural
resources, and leave a future to their children."
"This idea is crazy, it makes no sense," said Maria Mancini, a
resident of Melendugno. "It is going to ruin the landscape. The people
who live here don't want this. We will get dumped with it because we
are not rich enough to get listened to when we say no."
Blair, who is keen on holidaying in Italy, may have to think twice
before visiting parts of Puglia, it appears. "I was there in January
and people are very angry," said Emma Hughes, energy policy officer
with the campaign group Platform. "Some people told me they would
drive stakes into the rocks and chain themselves there if the company
tries to build the pipeline."
The decision to bring in Blair as an adviser on the "reputational,
political and societal challenges" associated with the pipeline -
along with the former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher
and Peter Sutherland, a former BP chairman - puts the ex-Labour leader
on a collision course with the Italian comedian Beppe Grillo, whose
Five Star Movement (M5S) has been largely responsible for mobilising
opposition to the project.
TAP's supporters claim that Grillo's movement ignores the views of the
silent majority of people in Puglia. They point to a recent opinion
poll commissioned by TAP that found the vast majority of people in the
region do not believe the pipeline will have a harmful impact on their
landscape. Many also believe it will help to drive down gas prices in
Italy, where there is little competition in the energy market.
But the prospect of a David and Goliath battle with the olive growers
in one of Italy's poorest regions threatens to be a PR headache for
the consortium. Last December, senior TAP employees had to be escorted
by 50 Italian military police when they addressed a packed meeting of
angry people. Anti-TAP graffiti has appeared on walls in the region.
In a bid to enhance its image, this summer TAP sought to sponsor
several festivals in Puglia's coastal region of Salento. "The company
spent EURO 365,000 sponsoring these festivals over many weeks," Hughes
said. "People were furious when they realised what was happening and
many artists - including famous names in the region like Roi Paci, a
trumpet player - pulled out saying they would not play an event with
TAP's name attached to it."
Building the pipeline is a key ambition for Aliyev. Analysts say he
needs to start exporting Azeri gas to replace his country's rapidly
declining oil income. Europe, in turn, will benefit by being less
dependent on Russia for its energy supplies.
"This project is critical for Europe's energy diversity," said a
spokesman for the consortium.
Blair's decision to take up the position has also proved controversial
with human rights groups, who claim the pipeline will help to entrench
the position of the Aliyev family, who treat Azerbaijan as their
personal fiefdom.
The US State Department's human rights report for Azerbaijan last year
noted that there have been "increased restrictions on freedoms of
expression, assembly and association, including intimidation, arrest
and use of force against journalists and human rights and democracy
activists online and offline".
Requests for comment from Blair's office went unanswered.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
The project was initiated by the autocratic Azeri president, Ilham Aliyev
Jamie Doward
The Observer, Saturday 2 August 2014 11.09 BST
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/02/tony-blair-gas-pipeline-italy
Farm workers harvest olives in Puglia. Photograph: Alamy
On one side are Tony Blair, a powerful consortium of energy interests,
including BP, and the autocratic ruler of a former Soviet bloc
country. On the other are the olive growers of Puglia and a comedian
turned political maverick.
News that Britain's former prime minister is to advise the consortium
behind the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the final leg of a
2,000-mile gaspipeline that will run from Azerbaijan across much of
central easternEurope, has sparked uproar among people living close to
its ultimate destination in the heel of southern Italy.
Anger towards the pipeline - the pet project of Azerbaijan's
controversial president, Ilham Aliyev - has been building up in Puglia
for several years, with thousands attending public meetings and
demonstrations opposing the project, which is due to start in 2016.
Plans for the pipeline to come onshore in Brindisi were ditched
following local opposition. The new route will strike land in the less
populated municipality of Melendugno.
However, environmentalists claim that Puglia, which boasts two Unesco
world heritage sites, will still suffer as a result of the pipeline's
rollout. There are fears - which are rejected by the consortium - that
the pipeline will contaminate fresh water supplies.
Other critics warn that the beach where the pipeline is due to come
ashore will be turned into a building site, while the habitat of the
local Mediterranean monk seals - one of the most endangered mammals in
the world - will be threatened.
But TAP says it will not work on the beach in the summer months and
that construction work will cease during the seals' mating season. It
has also pledged to replant the olive groves belonging to some 150
families in the region. But because some of the trees are up to 2,000
years old, the olive-growers fear the groves will not survive
replanting.
"The plan to build such a pipeline in one of the most pristine areas
of the Mediterranean is absurd," said Elena Gerebizza from Re:common -
an Italian organisation opposing the pipeline. "Tony Blair is standing
against communities that want to protect their land, sea, natural
resources, and leave a future to their children."
"This idea is crazy, it makes no sense," said Maria Mancini, a
resident of Melendugno. "It is going to ruin the landscape. The people
who live here don't want this. We will get dumped with it because we
are not rich enough to get listened to when we say no."
Blair, who is keen on holidaying in Italy, may have to think twice
before visiting parts of Puglia, it appears. "I was there in January
and people are very angry," said Emma Hughes, energy policy officer
with the campaign group Platform. "Some people told me they would
drive stakes into the rocks and chain themselves there if the company
tries to build the pipeline."
The decision to bring in Blair as an adviser on the "reputational,
political and societal challenges" associated with the pipeline -
along with the former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher
and Peter Sutherland, a former BP chairman - puts the ex-Labour leader
on a collision course with the Italian comedian Beppe Grillo, whose
Five Star Movement (M5S) has been largely responsible for mobilising
opposition to the project.
TAP's supporters claim that Grillo's movement ignores the views of the
silent majority of people in Puglia. They point to a recent opinion
poll commissioned by TAP that found the vast majority of people in the
region do not believe the pipeline will have a harmful impact on their
landscape. Many also believe it will help to drive down gas prices in
Italy, where there is little competition in the energy market.
But the prospect of a David and Goliath battle with the olive growers
in one of Italy's poorest regions threatens to be a PR headache for
the consortium. Last December, senior TAP employees had to be escorted
by 50 Italian military police when they addressed a packed meeting of
angry people. Anti-TAP graffiti has appeared on walls in the region.
In a bid to enhance its image, this summer TAP sought to sponsor
several festivals in Puglia's coastal region of Salento. "The company
spent EURO 365,000 sponsoring these festivals over many weeks," Hughes
said. "People were furious when they realised what was happening and
many artists - including famous names in the region like Roi Paci, a
trumpet player - pulled out saying they would not play an event with
TAP's name attached to it."
Building the pipeline is a key ambition for Aliyev. Analysts say he
needs to start exporting Azeri gas to replace his country's rapidly
declining oil income. Europe, in turn, will benefit by being less
dependent on Russia for its energy supplies.
"This project is critical for Europe's energy diversity," said a
spokesman for the consortium.
Blair's decision to take up the position has also proved controversial
with human rights groups, who claim the pipeline will help to entrench
the position of the Aliyev family, who treat Azerbaijan as their
personal fiefdom.
The US State Department's human rights report for Azerbaijan last year
noted that there have been "increased restrictions on freedoms of
expression, assembly and association, including intimidation, arrest
and use of force against journalists and human rights and democracy
activists online and offline".
Requests for comment from Blair's office went unanswered.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress