I ask all Libyans to send the attached letter as is or in modified form to the CEOs of all the Oil Companies returning to Libya. The letter has to be modified to reflect the name of the CEO, the company he represents, and its address. Also, it should be noted that the attached letter addresses Occidental by name in the general body of the letter. The company's name will have to be modified appropriately. Regards Mohamed M. Bugaighis A list of corporations along with their contact personnel follows the letter.

Mohamed M. Bugaighis, Ph.D.
P.O.Box 22262
Lehigh Valley,PA 18017
Telephone: 610-868-8776

September 11, 2005

Dr. Ray R. Irani, CEO
Occidental Petroleum Corporation
10889 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA. 90024-4201

Re: Improving your company’s image in Libyan society

Dear Dr. Irani

We are concerned Libyan citizens living in the Diaspora. Like all Libyan citizens inside of Libya, we strive to peacefully affect a democratic transformation in Libyan Society. While working to end the thirty-six years of brutal dictatorship in Libya, we advocate its peaceful transition to a constitutional democracy. A new, democratic Libya will lead progress, stability, and peace in North Africa and the entire Middle East.

With the exceptions of King Rama IX of Thailand and Fidel Castro of Cuba, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi is the longest serving head of state in today's world, approaching the tenure of Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain. For thirty-six years, Gadhafi has made life miserable for the average Libyan. For thirty-six years he has driven Libya into the ground developmentally and economically. He has squandered Libya's oil wealth on idiotic pet projects like the Great Man-Made River, while propping up corrupt African dictators, financing strife, and funding terrorist activities all over the world.

Although Gadhafi’s crimes against the outside world are well documented and well known, little is known of what has gone on inside Libya for the past thirty-six years. Tens of thousands of Libyan citizens have languished and perished in prisons where the Gadhafi regime has the dubious distinction of holding the longest serving political prisoner in the entire world. Ahmad al-Zubair al-Sanusi spent 31 years behind bars, many of them in solitary confinement, without a trial.

As a corporate citizen in Libya, Occidental Petroleum has the unique ability and opportunity to be an instrument of positive change in the country. By investing in the future and the long term instead of pursuing short term benefits, Occidental will guarantee its longer term operations in Libya. In a lawless country like Libya, as it is now, Gadhafi could cancel or nationalize on a whim and Occidental would have virtually no recourse against the dictatorship. In order to safeguard Occidental's operations and create a mutually beneficial relationship between Occidental and the average Libyan citizen, it is crucial that Occidental pursue the following goals:

1.     All the dealings with Gadhafi's regime must be made in the open and with strict regard to transparency. Occidental must make sure that no bribes are paid to local officials, in order promote ethical conduct and fight corruption. We, as US citizens are intent on filing federal charges in US courts under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977, revised 1988) against any company that we discover to be guilty of such despicable acts.

2.     Understand the plight of local Libyan workers. They lack any form of bureaucratic oversight into their working environments, and work without any form of health or employment insurance. While it may seem beneficial to allow this to continue in the short run, employee theft, absenteeism, and sabotage will cut into Occidental's bottom line in the long term.

3.     As an aside to the previously mentioned point, the Libyan education system has also suffered under Gadhafi's reign, which means that the average Libyan worker lacks the advanced, and in many cases basic skills, necessary to be a productive employee in the oil fields. Proper training will create a better pool of workers for Occidental.

4.     While there is no corporate accountability for environmental pollution in Libya under Gadhafi, the day will come when the dictatorship ends and Libyan citizens finally control their own destinies. Companies like Occidental who care about long term profits should be mindful of the ways they handle industrial pollution, because they will be accountable for it in the future.

We urge you to sponsor Community projects in Libya, such as Libraries, educational centers, health clinics, sporting stadiums, and the like. We emphasize that such projects must be free of any Libyan government meddling, as this would surely doom those projects, and limit their accessibility to the regime’s surrogates and cronies. Such community-oriented project will enhance Occidental’s image in the eyes of Libyans, and will not only make Libya a better place to work and live for its people, but also a better place for Occidental to do business. Please contact us with any questions or concerns. We appreciate your consideration.

Sincerely,

Mohamed M. Bugaighis, Ph.D.