Protesting damage to the environment and alleged human-rights abuses, a group of activist Harvard students celebrated Shell Oil's "100 years of blood for oil" with cake, candles and song yesterday on the Widener Library steps.

The protest took place exactly 100 years after the formation of Shell, the organizers said.

"Now that Shell has grown up a bit, we hope that it will be less evil and abusive," said David S. Grewal '97-'98, one of the organizers, refering to Shell's presence in Nigeria and Myanmar (formerly Burma).

The spectacle, grabbing the attention of students on their way between classes, was organized by Harvard Amnesty International (HAI), the Harvard Burma Action Group (HBAG) and the Direct Action Committee (DAC).

The purpose of the protest was to get Harvard to reexamine its relation to the oil company, in which Harvard invests, Grewal said.

Grewal said the protest was a continuation of the activism of Hafsat O. Abiola '97, the daughter of Nigeria's imprisoned president-elect, Moshood K. Abiola.

Last year Hafsat Abiola helped focus the Harvard campus on issues in Nigeria. She also protested the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists in Nigeria in 1995, according to Grewal, who also charged that Shell was complicit in the hangings.

"Shell Oil is one of the largest and most irresponsible corporations in the world," said Marco B. Simons '97, the former chair of HBAG, who currently is working on a project to develop a conservation biology CD-ROM.

""We owe it to the people of Nigeria, the people of the Amazon, who could not be here today, to do our best to draw attention to Shell's 100 years of destruction," he added.

According to Shell's Internet Web page, the company has minimized its impact on the environment.

But Shell also acknowledged its limitations. "What Shell cannot do, however, is ignore the laws of economics," the Web site stated. "Profits matter."

Most students interviewed yesterday endorsed the protest against Shell.

"I'm totally in support [of the protest] because people in general don't find out too much about this kind of corporate misdeeds," said Peter T. Gage '01.

Surabhi Chopra '99 said "I think that they're taking irony too far, but I completely support the cause."

The irony was made clear to Hanna R. Shell '99, who is also a Crimson executive. Shell walked by the protest and was reminded of her own birthday exactly three months from yesterday.

"After reading Roald Dahl, Shell Oil seemed exciting, but now they are very exploitive," Shell said.

Before walking back to class, Daniel R. Morgan '99 said, "Happy birthday to Shell, we'll continue to give them hell."