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"Shell funded rebel meeting," headlines NRC Handelsblad. The Amsterdam daily reports on one of the reasons why the oil company has been summoned to appear before a multiparty committee in an exceptional session of the Dutch parliament on 26 January. Shell will have to answer questions about its support for rebel groups, and its involvement "in corruption, organised crime and environmental disasters." Concern over Shell’s behaviour in Nigeria, voiced by human rights and environmental groups since 2005, has recently been highlighted by information released by WikiLeaks and published by NRC. Shell is the biggest oil company in Nigeria, reports Trouw: the company controls 6,000 km of pipelines and has 1,000 wells in 90 oilfields. In 2009, it reported 130,000 barrels of oil spills, which resulted in major damage to the environment. As the main operator in Nigeria, Shell provides crucial support for the country’s "corrupt authorities," and for that reason alone it should now be obliged "to show its hand."
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