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**Oilman fights for firm in standoff with thugs**
*NADIA MOHARIB*
*Calgary Sun*
Alex Rotzang is fighting to reclaim his Calgary based oil company in Siberia after a violent takeover and he hopes the Canadian government will help him in his battle, where relying on Russian authorities seems futile.
The chair of Calgary-based NoreX Petroleum wants Prime Minister Jean Chretien, during his goodwill trip to Russia next week, to put in a word with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding his plight.
"The building is occupied by the hoodlums and this is the reality now," said Rotzang from Moscow yestei'Asy.
"It happened in the daylight. There is no one. not the police, not district attorneys, not administration of the city, not anybody who would come to defend us. I'm hoping the Prime Minister will have a discussion with President Putin to get him to enforce the law."
The dramatic takeover occurred last week when more than a dozen men armed with machine-guns confronted employees — who are mostly women — at the office of Yugraneft, an oil company 98% owned by NoreX, and then then put new management in place.
The takeover is part of an ongoing war between NoreX and Tyumen Oil, a wealthy Moscow-based conglomerate said to have dose ties to the Kremlin.
"You wouldn't see this everyday In downtown Calgary", said Rotzang, a major NoreX owner who has been with the company since its inception 10 years ago.
"They have tried to close us down but not to take us over. In Moscow it's happened to other companies but I didn't have armed guards because we felt protected by the state. How would you feel if somebody pointed a machine-gun at you?"
The takeover is expected to be at the top of the agenda when Chretien meets with Putin next Friday during his visit to Moscow.
"Obviously, we're concerned with the use of force that was taken and the potential for violence. We are in close touch with the Russian government and are hoping to see some basic standards of corporate governance observed," said PMO spokeswoman Duncan Fulton.
*— with files by Anne Dawson*
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