Questioning Gores Integrity
Vice President Criticized for Betraying Environmental Cause
Vice President Al Gore speaks to supporters about health issues at the Lutheran Medical Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Monday. (Robert Mecea/AP Photo)
By Terry Moran
L O S A N G E L E S, March 6 Al Gore says hes
the environmental candidate. He wrote a best-selling book on it,
and its a central part of his presidential campaign.
I will not let you down, stated Gore when he
spoke at the League of Conservation Voters in New York on Feb.
24. I will fight with everything Ive got to protect
the environment here in New York, all through our country, and
around the world.
But all along the campaign trail, Gore is greeted by demonstrators
who say he has betrayed the environmental cause when it comes
to protecting native peoples.
The story begins in a remote region of Colombia, where the
Uwa people have threatened to commit mass suicide if U.S.-based
Occidental Petroleum goes forward with plans to drill for oil
on what the tribe claims are its traditional lands.
The Uwa oppose the drilling because they fear it will
violate the rain forest, which they consider sacred.
Making It a Personal Issue
Last month, a violent confrontation between villagers and police
led to at least one death. What has all this got to do with Al
Gore? Money.
Theres probably no company in America today,
says Charles Lewis of the Center for Public Integrity, that
is as close personally and financially to the vice president than
occidental petroleum.
After Gores late father left the U.S. Senate, he was
named to the board of Occidental Petroleum. Financial records
show the vice president is the executor of his fathers estate,
which holds as much as $500,000 worth of Occidental stock.
That means Gore could ultimately benefit from the companys
operations in Colombia. Plus, Occidental is a major Democratic
Party donor, giving nearly $500,000 in soft money since 1992.
To environmental activists, the vice presidents duty is
clear.
If he wants to be an environmental champion,
says Atossa Soltani of Amazon Watch, he needs to make a
statement on this issue. And he needs to take personal
responsibility
for his family fortune.
Conflicting Political and Legal Pressures
It sounds simple: a multinational oil company, a threatened native
people, a powerful politician. But there are other factors at
work here that have put the vice president in a dilemma.
First, as executor of his fathers estate, Gore has
legal responsibilities that could prevent him from simply dumping
the Occidental stock.
And the Clinton administration is supporting the Colombian
government in its battle with guerillas and drug dealers, who
control 40 percent of the country.
Many foreign policy experts say developing the oil business
as an alternative to drugs is crucial to Colombias survival.
If they would stop oil exploration, says Lowell
Fleischer of the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
which seems to be the goal of some of these indigenous leaders,
I think that would just lead to more problems.
Vice President Gore refused several requests to speak with
ABCNEWS about the Uwa and his familys holdings with
Occidental.
But as the demonstrators dog him and Occidental begins
drilling in Colombia Gores public silence on the
issue leaves him open to the charge that for all his speechmaking
on the environment, he wont put his money where his mouth
is.