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Five protesters arrested at halliburton meeting { May 19 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5195845http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=5195845
Five Protesters Arrested at Halliburton Meeting
Wed May 19, 2004 02:05 PM ET
By Matt Daily and Erwin Seba
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Five people were arrested as hundreds of protesters chanting "war profiteers" converged on Iraq contractor Halliburton Co.'s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.
The four men and one woman arrested were charged with trespassing after they entered the downtown Houston hotel where the meeting was being held and handcuffed themselves to railings, a police spokeswoman said.
In a prepared statement, Halliburton said it respected the rights of protesters to demonstrate, but said it would continue its work in Iraq under the U.S. military contracts.
"Even if they don't have the facts right, they have a right to speak up," Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall said in the statement.
Mounted police pushed back a group of about 30 protesters who were trying to block traffic in front of Halliburton's executive offices about two blocks from the hotel.
Halliburton's engineering and construction arm, KBR, formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, is the U.S. military's largest contractor in Iraq, with contracts that could eventually be worth $18 billion.
In the past year, 35 KBR employees have been killed in Iraq and another 100 wounded, Chief Executive and Chairman Dave Lesar told shareholders, but the company would "stay the course" of supporting the U.S. military in the field.
'LIGHTNING ROD'
"Halliburton continues to be in a very unique position, I believe probably the most scrutinized company in corporate America today, and certainly a lightning rod for a number of issues," Lesar told reporters after the meeting.
On Monday, military auditors said they would suspend $159.5 million in payments for food services billed by KBR because of incomplete files and bills submitted by its subcontractors.
The Pentagon is also investigating whether KBR overcharged for fuel brought into Iraq.
Protest organizers said the company had become a symbol of the U.S. occupation in Iraq, and questioned its relationship with its former chief executive, Vice President Dick Cheney.
"I think this is the worst example of cronyism. It sends a terrible message around the world," Medea Benjamin, co-founder of women's group Code Pink, told Reuters.
At the meeting, shareholders approved a proposal to allow the company to increase its authorized common stock by 67 percent to 1 billion from 600 million. The company currently has about 440 million shares outstanding.
Halliburton has not indicated whether it would issue new shares, but said the measure would give it the flexibility to issue or reserve common stock without calling a special shareholder meeting.
The proposal also authorized the issuance of 5 million preferred shares. The company currently has no outstanding preferred shares.
A shareholder proposal sponsored by the United Association S&P 500 Index Fund requiring the chief executive officer and chairman positions be held by different people failed to gain approval. Dave Lesar currently holds both titles.
Another proposal brought by New York City Police and Fire Departments pension funds for the company to address financial and reputational damage from its operations in Iran also failed to pass.
The company has said its Iranian operations did not harm the company's reputation, and were run through a foreign subsidiary and so did not violate a ban on U.S. companies operating in states the U.S. government has designated as "sponsors of terrorism."
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