The
Swiss-based food giant, Nestle, has defended its
demand for $6m in compensation from
famine-stricken Ethiopia. The dispute with the
Ethiopian Government centres on a livestock firm
that was owned by Germany's Schweisfurth Group, a
Nestle subsidiary, before being nationalised by
the former communist regime in 1975.
Nestle, the world's largest coffee company, was
forced into a humiliating climbdown yesterday
after a wave of public outrage greeted its demand
for a $6m (£3.7m) payment from the government of
famine stricken Ethiopia. The company promised to
invest any money it receives from Ethiopia back
in the country after receiving thousands of
emails of protest in response to the story in
yesterday's Guardian. |
|
Die britische
Entwicklungsorganisation Oxfam hat den
Lebensmittelkonzern Nestlé wegen seiner
Millionenforderung an Äthiopien kritisiert.
Nestlé verlangt von Äthiopien eine
Entschädigung von 5,8 Millionen Dollar, weil die
frühere Militärregierung 1975 eines seiner
Unternehmen verstaatlichte. Oxfam verlangt die
Rücknahme der Forderung. Der Konzern solle
vielmehr darüber nachdenken, wie das Geld zur
Hilfe für die 11 Millionen hungernden Äthiopier
eingesetzt werden könne. Die äthiopische
Regierung soll sich nach Oxfam-Angaben inzwischen
bereit erklärt haben, 1,5 Millionen Dollar an
Nestlé zu zahlen.
Ethiopia, heavily reliant
on the coffee industry, has been hit by the
coffee crisis that resulted in a drastic fall in
revenue both for poor farmers and the country as
a whole. The slump in coffee prices is
compounding Ethiopia’s grave food crisis as
coffee areas are hit by hunger for the first time
– 11 million people are facing hunger in
2003. |
Nestlé
Compensation Claim Against Ethiopia Proceeds to
be Invested Locally - Statement
from Nestlé
|
|
"In the interest
of the continued flow of foreign direct
investment, which is critical for developing
countries, it is highly desirable that conflicts
are resolved according to international law and
in a spirit of fairness. A solution in this case
will constitute an important step in
re-establishing the confidence of potential
foreign investors, which is clearly in the
interest of the Ethiopian population and the
country's economic development. Nestlé will
therefore continue to cooperate with the World
Bank and with the Ethiopian authorities in order
to come to a solution. Furthermore, Nestlé
commits itself to invest the proceeds of the
compensation negotiation in a long-term, viable
investment in Ethiopia which will contribute to
the economic development of the
country." |
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