This posting contains the original internet action alert posted by
Friends of the Earth; a quotation from a wire story on Nigeria, oil and
the IMF/World Bank; some addition addresses for sending protest
letters; and a sample letter to the Nigerian High Commissioner to
Canada, written by a recent visitor to our office.
To the information contained here, we'd like to add the fact that
Nigerian author Wole Soyinka has called for an international boycott
of Nigerian products in response to the assault on the Ogoni people
and the plan to execute Saro Wiwa. One effective way to act on this
boycott is to target Shell, which is the major buyer of Nigerian
petroleum and has had considerable influence over the Nigerian
government, up to and including its policies in regards to the Ogoni.
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/* Written 5:40 AM Nov 1, 1995 by foedc in igc:env.oil */
/* ---------- "Urgent: Death Sentence for Ken Saro" ---------- */
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH-US October 31, 1995
EMERGENCY ALERT****EMERGENCY
ALERT****EMERGENCY ALERT
NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENTALIST, KEN SARO-WIWA,
SENTENCED TO DEATH
Ken Saro-Wiwa, environmental activist and leader of the Ogoni
people in the Niger Delta, and nine others were sentenced today to
death by a Nigerian military tribunal. Saro-Wiwa, recipient of
the Goldman Environmental Prize and nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize, leads the struggle of the Ogoni people against Shell Oil,
whose operations have contaminated their land and resources for
more than three decades. Last year, Saro-Wiwa was jailed in
connection with the murder of four Ogoni leaders, which human
rights groups have said are false charges. Amnesty International
has declared Saro-Wiwa a Prisoner of Conscience.
The four year peaceful campaign of the Ogonis has been met by
repression from the Nigerian military dictatorship leading to the
deaths of more than 1,000 Ogoni. Shell Oil has also been
implicated in the violence that has transcended this region.
According to human rights groups, Shell has used military
personnel to defend their oil operations, resulting in some
injuries and deaths. Since 1958, Royal Dutch Shell has extracted
US $30 billion in oil from Ogoniland, but the Ogoni people still
lack basic services, healthcare, and jobs.
ACTIONS TO TAKE:
1. Contact the Clinton Administration and ask that the
Administration come out strongly against this sentencing and
demand the release of Saro-Wiwa and the others. The United States
has political pull with Nigeria, particularly given that the U.S.
consumes 70 percent of Nigeria's oil.
Specifically, we are asking that Clinton call General Abacha of
Nigeria, denouncing the verdicts and warn that if these people are
put to death, it will have profound political ramifcations.
Fax a letter or call: Anthony Lake
Assistant to the President for National
Security Affairs National Security
Council Washington, DC 20504 tel:
202-395-3000 fax: 202-456-2883
2. Send a letter to General Abacha, the military ruler of Nigeria,
asking for Saro-Wiwa's immediate release, citing the international
condemnation this sentencing has received.
Fax letter to: General Sani Abacha
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria c/o
The Nigerian Ambassador to the United States
Nigerian Embassy
1333 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 fax:
202-775-1385
3. Send a letter to Shell denouncing their role in the Ogoni
situation and asking for Shell to come out strongly for the
release of the wrongly accused.
Fax letter to: Phillip J. Carroll, CEO
Shell Oil Corporation Houston, Texas
fax: 713-241-4044
For more information, contact: Andrea Durbin, FoE-US tel:
202-783-7400, ext 209 fax: 202-783-0444 email: foedc@igc.apc.org
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH-US October 31, 1995
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---
Title: NIGERIA: Preparing for a Scrap with World Bank/IMF over
domestic
oil subsidies, exchange and interest rates
By Remi Oyo
LAGOS, Oct 28 (IPS) - Oil subsidies and interest rates are likely
to be high on the agenda when representatives of Nigeria's
government begin meeting with officials of the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund next month.
Nigeria's medium-term economic programme will be under
examination at the talks and the two Washington-based institutions
have already put their cards on the table.
If the West African nation hopes to enjoy debt relief or
restructuring, World Bank Vice-President for Africa Jim Jaycox
said recently, it must remove subsidies on domestic oil sales,
realign its exchange rates and deregulate interest rates.
This has come as unwelcome news for Nigerian consumers. They
fear that scrapping the oil subsidies would expose them to yet
another fuel price hike, the sixth since 1986, when then president
Ibrahim Babangida introduced the now much maligned economic
structural adjustment programme.....
Origin: Rome/NIGERIA/
----
[c] 1995, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)
All rights reserved
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Mr. M. Adenyanju,
Nigerian High Comissioner,
Nigeria High Commission
295 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa
Canada
FAX: 613-236-0529
Len Good
Executive Director
Canada World Bank
701, 19th Street
Washington, DC
Room 20433
FAX: 202-477-4155
Jean Chretien,
Prime Minister of Canada
613-941-6900
Andre Ouellet,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-996-3443
Sheila Copps,
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Minister of the Environment
FAX: 613-992-2727
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3.11.95
Dear Mr. Adeyanju,
Re. Reported Death Sentence for Ken Saro-Wiwa
I have been shocked and extremely disturbed to hear of the
handing down of death sentences to Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other
Ogoni colleagues, for alleged involvement in killings by an angry
crowd in May, 1994.
I believe that this is a grave injustice and strenuously protest this
decision. The continuing hardship that these people are facing for
the crime of trying to help their people is inexcusable.
The exploitation of the Ogoni peoples' lands for their oil has been
extremely profitable for some, but has not brought benefits to the
vast majority.
Ken Saro-Wiwa, in particular, has been recognized internationally
for his attempts to help his people and in protecting the fragile
environment of the region. It is unthinkable that he and Dr. Barinem
Kiobel, are currently in prison, facing the death sentence after
having non-violently supported the rights of the people and the
protection of the environment for so long.
My understanding is that the trail and every aspect of the case
including the arrests, investigations, prosecution, appointment of
the tribunal and the progress of the trail itself has been controlled
by the Federal Military Government. They have contravened
Nigerian and international standards for fair trail to which the
Nigerian government is supposedly committed.
For these reasons, I call upon the Government of Nigeria to
immediately release Ken Saro-Wiwa, Dr Barinem Kiobel, their
Ogoni colleagues and all detainees imprisoned for their political
views. I will be calling on my government to impose economic
sanctions on the military ruled Nigeria until justice and fair-play is
extended to all Nigeria's citizens.
Yours sincerely,
Anja Light,
Project Officer,
Rainforest Information Center,
PO Box 368,
Lismore, NSW, 2480.