The Caspian: Rerouting The Rules?

Shivers must go down Tony Blair's spine, whenever he hears news of an earthquake, in case it is one in Kazakhstan.

The former U.S.S.R. republic is estimated to be the epicentre of the current global search for oil, with estimated reserves found here, and surrounding regions, totaling 1/4 of the worlds entire reserves.BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Oil flows from the Caspian

This reserve is at the forefront of the Trans Caspian pipeline strategy to reduce oil dependency on the Middle East, and therefore O.P.E.C. prices, with a view to future pluralist supplies to the world, enhancing greater stability to oil commodity prices.
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Oil money threatens to make killing fields of Kazakhstan

An offshoot of the Trans Caspian cutting through Afghanistan was commenced on the 20th of September, strengthening the argument, that the reason why the Taliban had to be forcibly removed from the country, was in order for progress to be made to one of the pipelines eventual destination to markets in Pakistan, India and China.  PPG| Policy Issues |Afghanistan.

Equally, one could argue that the N.A.T.O. led war in Kosovo, was in preparation for the pipelines forthcoming European destination, and not some altruistic "value" driven moral, which oddly enough was the same moral as Afghanistan, when the original reason given for attack was the war on terror search for Osama Bin Laden and Al Qu'eda.

An equally strong argument could be put forward to ascertain a second Trans Caspian offshoot through Iraq, for consumption in the European markets. British policy in Iraq's oil fields has been prevalent since or around the first world war. The Trans Caspian reaches Georgia on its way to Turkey, and it is in Turkey that the flies start to swirl.;

"By 1921 British policy makers had decided that the province of Mosul was to be part of the new Iraq. The chief reason for this was the presence of oil deposits in this province, (in Kirkuk district) ... Before the war, the Anglo Persian Oil Company had already held about half the shares of the concession holder, the Turkish Petroleum Company, while Shell and German capital each held another quarter."
Susan Meiselas (1997) Kurdistan in the Shadow of History, Random House, London  aka KURDISTAN | ABOUT THE BOOK | KURDISTAN - IN THE SHADOW OF HISTORY BBC News | The Company File | From Anglo-Persian Oil to BP Amoco

B.P., who are the operators of the Trans Caspian, have developed a "tunnel" through Turkey, which, according to the Kurdish Human Rights Project has resulted in a de facto B.P. democracy with EU approval. The consequences have split Turkey into effectively 3 separate countries.BBC News | BUSINESS | BP backs Caspian pipeline

Given the almost blanket media silence on B.P.'s little Turkish democracy, at a time when British troops are being engaged in the region for the build up to war with Iraq, questions must surely be raised as to the legitimacy of this operation.

Questions such as what are the rules of B.P.'s little democracy ?, do they meet International standards ?, what accountability measures are in place should there be failures in the regime, i.e. environmental, or human rights issues. The Umbrella Agreement by INOGATE and the Energy Charter Treaty appear to have;

"a legal instrument determining the behaviour of governments towards industry,' whereby states agree to surrender a degree of control over their natural resources (energy) and territory (access for energy transit) as a pre-requisite for foreign investment."

FlyingFish - A Meeting of Blood and Oil: The Balkan factor in Western energy security

Given that B.P.'s track record on pipeline objectives and human rights seemed to have caused an almost international diplomatic incident in Colombia before, it seems a reasonable request to ask. BP Refuses to Compensate Peasants For Pipeline Damage Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Human rights row over BP plan to lay Turkish pipeline

Further questions need to be answered too, regarding militarism. Is the British army involved in guarding the "tunnel" on behalf of B.P. ?, and if so, who is paying for that ? the British or European taxpayer ? What position do the various Export Credit Guarantees Department at Trade and Industry have in all this?

Geographically speaking, has the Turkish Government agreed to split its country into 3, and losing the troublesome Kurdish element, in order to obtain the potentially lucrative Southern Iraq oil fields and lands ? Does B.P. have an extension to extend the tunnel into Iraq after an expected invasion of Iraq ? That tunnel would then protrude from the tip of Northern Turkey, through Iraq oil fields, and enter Kazakhstan in the South.

Internationally speaking, does the UN Security Council have access to all this information, prior to the "decision to invade Iraq" which is demanded upon it by the largest gainers of such an exercise, U.S. and U.K. oil companies ? not to mention what approval it had of Kosovo and Afghanistan. Does the UNSC accept the price of wars to be an acceptable price for improved energy supplies, as dictated by companies ?

I am afraid these may be the gaps in information which Joe Public may be lacking, rather than some mysterious intelligence which cannot be revealed about WMD's, since it would reveal the hypocrisy of our Governments and their calls for a "return to democracy" when of course what they are really interested in is control of resources, a return to shareholders, and taxable income to their treasuries.

Further conclusions can be drawn, such as what was the UNSC, EU, Arab League et al doing with its head in the sand during all these conflicts ? Why on earth couldn't the various Governments tell Joe Public they were trying to restore Russian Chinese democracies and fully integrate them into western capitalism, have a multipipelined supply of oil to provide pluralist supplies, with a reduction of oil spills and greater environmental protection, without the dangers of OPEC price ransoms as we saw in the 1970's?

Why has the world been misled into believing wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan and soon Iraq, has been anything other than the aforementioned, and not some altruistic, moral judgement as claimed.

Copyright S Coleman 2003 24 February 2003 28/02/03 Last update 15: 12: 03.

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