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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Remember
Saro-Wiwa: Embargo Nigeria's Oil and
Boycott Shell
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
November
18, 1995
OVERVIEW
& SOURCE
Following
are appeals for action in support of the memory of Saro-
Wiwa
and his work with his Ogoni people in Nigeria. Ken Saro-Wiwa
and
other activists were executed recently for battling the oil
and gas
industry; by highlighting Shell Oil's failure to bring
meaningful
benefits, and the industry's resultant environmental
destruction. Rainforest Action Network and the Friends of
the
Earth
appeal for several actions in protest to the Nigerian
government
and Shell Oil.
g.b.
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/*
Written 3:43 PM Nov 17, 1995 by foedc in igc:env.oil */
/*
---------- "ALERT: Action on Nigeria/Shell" ---------- */
REMEMBER
SARO-WIWA: EMBARGO NIGERIA'S OIL AND BOYCOTT SHELL!
Appalled
by the denigrating poverty of my people, who live on a
richly
endowed land, distressed by their
political
marginalization
and economic strangulation, angered by the
devastation
of their land, their ultimate heritage, anxious to
preserve
their right to life, and to a decent living, and
determined
to usher to this country as a whole a
fair and just
democratic
system which protects everyone and
every ethnic group
and
gives us all a valid claim to human civilization, I have
devoted
my intellectual and material resources, my very life, to
a cause
in which I have total belief and from which I cannot be
blackmailed
or intimidated.
-Ken Saro-Wiwa, closing statement to
Nigerian military court
BACKGROUND:
Nigeria, Oil and the Ogoni's
Ken
Saro-Wiwa-human rights activist, poet, playwright, 1995
Goldman
Environmental Prize winner, Nobel Peace Prize nominee,
and
Ogoni tribesman-and eight fellow activists, were executed in
Nigeria
on November 10 for battling the oil and gas industry in
their
Ogoni homeland. Ogoniland is in the Niger River delta area
of
Nigeria. Shell Oil discovered petroleum there in 1958, and
since
then has extracted $30 billion worth of oil and natural
gas.
The Ogoni people derive little benefit from the oil
operations
in their country, suffering still from basic services,
lack of
health care and high poverty rates. Meanwhile, the
traditional
Ogoni fishing and farming life has been devastated by
oil
pollution, and--in the words of Wall Street Journal--the land
has
become "a ravaged environment".
The
Niger delta is home to coastal rainforest and mangrove
habitats.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development
classified the Nigerian coastal wetlands as a fragile
ecosystem,
and identified the Niger's mouth as the most
endangered
river delta in the world. This is the
direct result
of
nearly four decades of oil exploitation.
Ken
Saro-Wiwa rose to the occasion of this human and
environmental
tragedy, and founded the Movement for the Survival
of the
Ogoni People (MOSOP) in 1990. In a
non-violent campaign,
MOSOP
united hundreds of thousands of Ogonis, who demanded
economic
compensation for their sacrificed livelihoods, and
called
for a clean-up of the oil spills, pipeline breaks and
toxic
wastes that were the residue of industrial oil development.
The
reaction of the Nigerian military led government was swift
and
deadly. Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Texaco
and other oil
companies
generate 80% of Nigeria's annual revenue, and the
military
dictatorship sent troops into Ogoniland in a desperate
and
deadly maneuver to protect these interests.
Since 1993, 20
Ogoni
towns have been destroyed, 1,800 people have been killed,
and
50,000 left homeless.
According
to human rights groups, Shell has been linked to some
of
these human rights violations. An
internal Nigerian military
memo-written
in May, 1994-stated: "Shell operations [are] still
impossible
unless ruthless military operations are undertaken for
smooth economic
activities to commence". The
document suggested
that
400 soldiers should begin "wasting operations" and
"wasting"
Ogoni
leaders who are "especially vocal individuals". Twelve
days
later, Ken Saro-Wiwa was arrested under fabricated charges.
EXECUTION
OF SARO-WIWA: Global Outrage at Nigeria and Shell
On
November 10, those charges culminated in the execution of Ken
Saro-Wiwa
and the eight other Ogoni activists.
Since
then, governments have expressed their outrage toward the
Nigerian
Government's action to silence its critics.
Immediate
reaction
included suspending Nigeria's membership in the
Commonwealth,
recalling country's ambassadors and international
discussions
about an arms embargo and freezing Nigerian military
ruler's
assets held oversees.
But
most agree that the quickest way to cripple the Nigerian
military-led
government is to shut off their largest source of
revenue
and support: oil. Nelson Mandela has
joined the
condemnation
of the Nigerian Government and has called for a
global
embargo of Nigerian oil. The European
Parliament has
urged
the European Union to impose an oil embargo and the United
States
is reportedly discussing the issue.
Meanwhile,
Shell continues its operations, "business as usual".
A few
days after the executions, Shell announced its plans to go
ahead
with a liquified natural gas plant and pipeline project in
the
Niger Delta and Ogoniland, despite international and local
protest
to the project and the withdrawal of the World Bank's
private
sector arm, the International Finance Corporation.
ACTIONS
TO TAKE: Use your voice and consumer dollar.
A
strong global outcry against Ken's murder and the way the
people
and land have been exploited by the oil companies, like
Shell will
force Nigeria's government and its oil executive
patrons
heed the calls of the people.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO?
1. Write President Clinton and Congress and
demand that the
United
States take a strong stand against Nigeria.
The United
States
should be a leader, not a follower, in efforts to defend
basic
human rights and justice.
In the Senate, a bill entitled the
"Nigeria Democracy Act"
was
recently introduced and it calls on the President to work at
the
multilateral level towards an oil and arms sale embargo, as
well as
the freezing of assets.
President
Clinton Senator ______/Rep.
_____
The
White House U.S.
Senate/House of Representative
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue Washington,
DC/Washington, DC
Washington,
DC 20510 / 20515
2. If you own a Shell credit card, cut it up
and send it back to
Shell
Oil, explaining your action. You can
address letters to:
Mr.
Phillip J. Carroll, CEO
Shell
Oil Corporation
Houston,
Texas 77252
fax:
713-241-4044
Shell
Oil is a U.S. subsidiary of Royal-Dutch Shell, the parent
company
operating in Nigeria.
3. Organize and spread the word. Try to organize a
demonstration
at local Shell stations, talk to your local media
and
write letters to the editor urging more coverage.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Greenpeace,
Steve Kretzmann, 202-319-2515
Friends
of the Earth, Andrea Durbin, 202-783-7400, ext 209
Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization, Julie Berriault,
202-637-0475
Rainforest
Action Network, Kelly Quirke, 415-398-4404
Information
prepared by Rainforest Action Network and Friends of
the
Earth.
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