Oil company Gazprom are about to start drilling for oil amidst the fragile, beautiful arctic ice of the Pechora Sea. One month ago, environmental activists tried to climb Gazprom's second-hand, thirty-year-old crumbling platform. Their aim was simply to hang a banner calling for the arctic to be protected from drilling for oil.
Gazprom's response? They shot at the peaceful activists in their inflatable boats. They called in flotillas of masked men armed with rifles and knives, to board the ship, the Arctic Sunrise. Now these activists, along with two journalists, have been sitting in a freezing Russian jail for over 4 weeks without trial. Their bail has been refused and they have seen no documents telling them why.
Despite this, FIFA, the world's governing body for football, have accepted undisclosed sums for Gazprom to sponsor the 2018 Football World Cup. Rumours abound that corruption exists at the highest levels of this organisation, and Gazprom is cashing in.
We must rise up to demand that FIFA stop accepting money from Gazprom immediately. This sponsor, a brutal oil giant, are fuelling the destruction of the planet and kidnapping anybody who stands in their way.
Let's show Gazprom that such behaviour should not be tolerated. Tell FIFA to show the world that football supports peaceful, ethical companies who protect our planet. Sign this petition now!
Dear Sepp Blatter,
We are all concerned that FIFA's association with Gazprom will tarnish the image of football. Gazprom's actions in the arctic show that it is a brutal company with no concern other than exploiting the earth's most fragile places for money.
After Greenpeace activists and their ship were illegally detailed at knife and gun-point, then jailed without trial for over four weeks (so far), Gazprom have showed their unwillingness to act rationally and peaceably. They have also displayed a remarkable lack of PR savvy. This could spell an international public relations disaster for FIFA if this situation continues through until the World Cup in 2018 and beyond.
Please cancel your contract with Gazrpom until it drops its court case against the Arctic 30 and agrees to stop drilling in the arctic.
Thank you.
Yours hopefully,
