Groups Ask Unocal to Dissolve

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Green group asks Calif official to dissolve Unocal

By David Brinkerhoff

LOS ANGELES, Sept 10 (Reuters) - A group of activists, claiming big
corporations are too often above the law, on Thursday demanded that
California's attorney general dissolve Unocal Corp. <<A HREF="aol://4785:UCL">
UCL.N></A> by invoking a rarely used state statute  that would put the company
out of business. 

The activists, including environmentalists, feminists and human rights
advocates, also said they will look into dissolving the charters of other
companies, but alleged Unocal stood out for its record of violations. 

In a 127-page petition filed with the attorney general, the group, which does
not have a name, blasted the El Segundo, Calif.-based firm for alleged crimes
against humanity and the environment, and demanded its charter be revoked. 

"What this will mean is the dissolution of the Union Oil Co. of California
(Unocal), the sale of its assets under careful court orders to others who will
carry on in the public interest," said Robert Benson, a law professor at
Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who co-wrote the proposal. Benson
was speaking at a news conference held outside the attorney general's office
here. 

A Unocal spokesman called the group's charges "ludicrous" and said they was no
legal basis for its action. 

"We've got a case of activists attempting to subvert the will of stockholders,
the buying public, the courts and leaders of nations around the world," said
Unocal spokesman Barry Lane. "Unocal has met highest the ethical standards in
all our activities," Lane said. 

The attorney general barred the group from entering the state office building,
but sent a representative to pick up the petition. 

Incorporated in 1890, Union Oil Company of California is the principle
operating subsidiary of Unocal Corp., a holding company incorporated in
Delaware. Lane said most of Unocal's $7.5 billion worth of assets reside in
Union's operations. 

Activists said if Attorney General Dan Lungren, the Republican contender for
governor, refuses their petition they will go to court to force him to
consider it. 

"Unocal is the mere creature of California law," said Michelle Sypert, an
attorney who co-authored the petition. 

The petition was the latest in a series of attacks on the company. At its
annual meeting in June some shareholders objected to Unocal's plan to build a
pipeline in Afghanistan, a country under control of the Taleban, an Islamic
movement that critics say represses women and violates human rights. 

The company said it had spent $10 million to $15 million on the project since
1995. 

At the June shareholders' meeting, Chief Executive Officer Roger Beach said
the company had not signed any commercial agreements with the Taleban or other
factions and was conducting itself according to U.N. regulations. 

Unocal has said it remained politically neutral and planned to donate $1
million in aid to the country in 1998. 

The company's Thailand project, which pipes in natural gas from offshore
Myanmar, formerly Burma, also has come under fire. 

The U.S. government has imposed unilateral sanctions on Myanmar, barring any
new investment in the former Burma because of allegations of human rights
abuses in connection with the pipeline's construction. 

Unocal's Lane said two lawsuits filed against the company over Burma have
turned up no evidence of human rights violations, according to the courts
hearing the cases. Both suits remain in pretrial stage. 

While Unocal has paid millions to settle pollution suits in its home state,
Lane said the company has acknowledged its mistakes and paid for them. 

"We've taken responsibility for them and corrected them," Lane said. 

21:33 09-10-98