[StBernard] In Louisiana Newspaper Near Sasol Energy Project, UANI Highlights Sasol's Business in Iran, Calls on State Lawmakers to Take Action

[Westley Annis]

In Louisiana Newspaper Near Sasol Energy Project, UANI Highlights Sasol's
Business in Iran, Calls on State Lawmakers to Take Action

UANI: "If Sasol Thinks the American People will Sympathize with this
Supposed Predicament, It is Mistaken"

 

New York, NY - On Monday, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyiJDUK9KOmSqPgYAtRz87M7yjfRo_n77H6O
1bCx1ltjE5sEDP0ndmCko0_BFSLHB7Sfp1bh4eCZF4NFtk4kF1v1jLZee9Uf38YGzTorPi1R2Ihy
9fWQW0pD5jCCk-5l3Jc=>  continued its Sasol campaign, by calling on Louisiana
lawmakers to force the South African energy giant to choose between doing
business in Iran or doing business in Louisiana. 

 

This weekend, the Shreveport Times published a UANI Op-Ed
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyi2wCU-EvAjc35WUKjvJAs5idsrSROt16uX
s5jzUhvs5Cq4V_E04zGwIOc7S1GT7tdNcoUet8ek-kO_xj49fPialvPaTnVEcsHuZKdQFrL8XdXc
pu-ikyeKy-A4WFOZtH1In_0JC4MFsC4ZreD0ppJVNtQBEtzUZYyih3jSX88K8JpxIvM6JO3CMVYj
tg3pmNt7ZlRETTejIhQ01AQHcrTLnFoPwscIV2TTW8oVSln8Uskm_UUUOjUZ>  highlighting
Sasol's business with the Iranian regime, and Sasol's failure to end that
business. Shreveport is located near the Haynesville Shale gas formation,
which will be a primary supplier of natural gas for Sasol's new
multi-billion dollar gas-to-liquids plant
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxygVnflnTj49mfTVOIO4Hav8tBA7iE7X6zc2
7RVYBdYShg14o8N4WC6HUZPKb8Y0sPUzALNooSj0Gjqz9AyZfZZY4FGmARPzQPbBORpBzZeXLC12
X-0YlhgSTsUozF2q4t8VVuCBOAfpW2Muh4GF2If4jfYeV8PUTlbZV5wp7G0-k8NXZbXrPmSY>
to be constructed in Louisiana.

 

UANI called on Louisiana lawmakers to enact an "Iran-Free Energy Zone,"
which would be "accessible only for responsible companies that have been
certified as having no Iran business dealings." 

 

Sasol maintains an active presence in Iran's energy sector, partnering with
a sanctioned Iranian entity to operate two polyethylene plants in Iran.
Sasol announced in October 2011
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyj0Do0DRrJyg9X-9evCaHK3wt4161FcIBeG
-w7zIGTNETkFfQBjy-3DwG53lONR5dRelHjAQq_Y89fNCVqWuwG-UGylkVNGSwkKW-7zV6RMPYRV
J_4TjsWAqIYRW5xtPzXext23C9xgYGFRMhH2NxG4v3HesH04yyIcaHXC9FDOHrCrLIebmgSt>
that it was divesting from Iran, but has since reneged on that commitment,
telling UANI that it plans to maintain its business indefinitely.

 

As UANI CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, wrote in the Shreveport Times:

 

... [M]ultinational energy companies are flocking to invest in Haynesville,
including one - Sasol - that has troubling ties to Iran. ... Despite the
economic good this project could bring, it's of great concern to many that
Sasol is a major and unrepentant player in Iran, a nation controlled by a
brutal regime responsible for killing American troops and pursuing a nuclear
weapon.

 

****

Fifteen months ago, Sasol said it would divest from Iran. However, Sasol has
now reneged on that commitment. ... Sasol stated that "We are unable to
commit to a fixed date for our activities to cease." It said the matter had
"proved to be more complicated than originally anticipated," and cited the
interest of its shareholders.

 

Too complicated? If Sasol thinks the American people will sympathize with
this supposed predicament, it is mistaken. There is no excuse for doing
business with the Iranian regime.

 

Sasol and other companies must be forced to make a choice: Get out of Iran
or get out of Louisiana. UANI has proposed an American "Iran-Free Energy
Zone," accessible only for responsible companies that have been certified as
having no Iran business dealings.

 

We call on Gov. Jindal and other Louisiana lawmakers to enact this into law,
and send a clear message to Sasol and others: Louisiana is open for
business, but only to companies willing to act responsibility.

 

Last month, UANI publicly called on Sasol
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyio2gA73tjL1m5JlPUVBFRWd9CDc-pzJHOx
7BMV3rj0mXTG-FBVoUwK6alBwXS4T-KXcTGlO2HW1OnFGkZwBOpTv99vZ3DwNvRrDEMyiyE-H2rr
b4rjxyJz40tqPQZutAlntOX8_DSx7eYYJeytcEKlYdgmUH5OJL2hY0rRCRqFVVs7EUuzHNGr_oAi
QfOzSWJjEXR_A23uSNkzOt3S8eXM>  to immediately end its business in Iran.

 

Click here
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyi2wCU-EvAjc35WUKjvJAs5idsrSROt16uX
s5jzUhvs5Cq4V_E04zGwIOc7S1GT7tdNcoUet8ek-kO_xj49fPialvPaTnVEcsHuZKdQFrL8XdXc
pu-ikyeKy-A4WFOZtH1In_0JC4MFsC4ZreD0ppJVNtQBEtzUZYyih3jSX88K8JpxIvM6JO3CMVYj
tg3pmNt7ZlRETTejIhQ01AQHcrTLnFoPwscIV2TTW8oVSln8Uskm_UUUOjUZ>  to read the
full Op-Ed, "Make La. Iran-free energy zone."

Click here
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyilLl4Q95Yu0qWJs3FzlUUW0GkzaZ03G2Bi
Jvf3CYPCkYQNRr2mihFhDTlgv5NY_lMZGCBJwz5Kx_TZnydHhwYI_fZ6lRkEY8Ib_xS8XeGMbNiY
kVlX98ufPp66aCjFd24xxnV4yIA9g1Cvlx__yHHPGZ4pityqFUQLGZ0JfxMl4tHqziM_UyIK9lpl
EZQkE9DxOYgvhPjEHnVeQUQgnV2_>  to read the full text of UANI's January 3
letter to Sasol.

Click here
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyh7fxePsx46bl2lI9bTaRIu_V_ZnwKT08sM
FOMSMs0r2uZ1cfr-6MqlLKhFlreFcZYincarhQQllkDgZ4lOhowKeOfPTQaaS-4dcdAPKSYe_cfa
r5n9FGdzwPHsAF-ZxKR8JW0kjtVGfTKfrXFAnEZwa7X-jntuKkvtCf6HjdQsu0HPizD0ulyvespF
fIDGNDSIZmpECNKRARNPaiPfK-dn>  to view UANI's December 19 letter to Sasol.

Click here
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001M2uGS87vxyhkSGWnzAJidX6U-ztTGQRmOj1NVTslRMre
tCem8mVAy5imla9ygmmZUmORocmTU4pl5xsuvyJ3MrZV1CvAEqR-C923e4OmcTR4ZvzTyrMQiSWz
hpdQeJ27ppzO559Zkjdk0WMORXhbWVNgtK79rtIZvGpNFrvnbeJtFsRRjrtA0gRQJ260D1SbG_3c
iW_aBC9SmCJysY3Ovw==>  to send a message to Sasol.


###

 

	
	
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition
Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 
 
The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be
unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime,
most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has
demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US
and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear
activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of
nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a
regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran
is a danger to world peace.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition
that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition
to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an
issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own
interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of
nuclear weapons.


The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran


1.	Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including
its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as
a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at
home and abroad; 
2.	Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger
that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world; 
3.	Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our
elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a
nuclear Iran; 
4.	Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with
European and other allies; 
5.	Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear
weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and; 
6.	Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international,
social, economic, political and diplomatic measures.
	

UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures
representing all sectors of our country.