NOTE BENE: As a followup to previous postings about the repression of the
struggles of the indigenous Ogoni people in Nigeria --a situation similar
to that in Chiapas-- and about the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and several
other Ogoni activists, I am posting the following report on the
continuing struggles in that area. As you will see, despite the
brutality of the Nigerian junta's repression, the Ogoni people continue
to struggle in massive numbers. They refuse to lie down and die as
their lands are raped by Shell Oil and the profits are shared by the
company and the Nigerian military. These struggles in Nigeria, as
those in Chiapas and in many other countries, should serve as a source
of inspiration and energy to all of us. Our time and energy are always
limited, but knowing that others continue to fight elsewhere should
bolster our ability to continue with our own efforts.
The National Indigenous Forum, whose first meetings just closed in
Chiapas, brought together representatives of indigenous people from
all over Mexico. There have also been meetings bringing together
indigenous peoples from all over the Americas. Such ties that bind and
provide support are needed on a global scale as well as regionally. And
what is true for the indigenous is true for all peoples who struggle for
self-determination everywhere.
Harry
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NIGERIAN DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT
NDM INFORMATION RELEASE
Tuesday, January 9, 1996
Please circulate
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EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT - OGONI DAY 1996 IN NIGERIA
Last Thursday, January 4, 1996 was Ogoni Day. Despite the occupation of
Ogoni villages by the Internal Security Task Force now led by Major Obi
Umahi (Col. Paul Okuntimo's replacement), over 100,000 Ogonis participated
in the massive non-violent demonstrations, resisting intimidation and
provocation by the military. Even Ledum Mitee, current head of MOSOP, and
recently released by the military-appointed tribunal that convicted the
November-10-executed Ogoni Nine (including Ken Saro-Wiwa), slipped the
military surveillance to return to his home village (K.Dere) in Ogoniland
with his younger brother Batom Mitee to take part in the event.
Ledum Mittee spoke on the phone today, January 9, with adjunct professor of
History Louis Sigel of the University of South Maine, Portland (he is also a
local official of Amnesty International and has been following the Ogoni
crises closely). From their brief conversation, Prof. Sigel filed this report
with NDM News.............
The scene was reminiscent of the pre-ban Ogoni Day outpouring of people
and spirit in 1993 that was so inspiring to Ken Saro-Wiwa. The Ogoni had
finally fulfilled their determination to celebrate Ogoni Day 1996 "in the
bush" if necessary.
The Internal Security Task Force vented their frustration that their
threats failed to prevent Ogoni Day observances by firing into the
crowd, killing six unarmed men. Tens of others were beaten and
arrested, some of whom remain in custody. The body of one of the six
murdered men was thrown into the river, but it was later recovered
and buried.
Major Obi Umahi, as commander of the Internal Security Task Force, continued
Okuntimo's policy of vicious midnight raids on sleeping Ogoni villages. On
the evening of Ogoni Day, several villages suffered these raids which
were marked by indiscriminate firing into the huts of sleeping
families, breaking and looting people's homes, and raping of women.
The military broke up Bori market on Friday, January 5, in retaliation for
the cancelling of the market on Thursday to observe Ogoni Day.
Throughout Ogoniland, the members of the task force were carrying out
an intensive manhunt to find the activists that they have identified
as leaders in the Ogoni Day observances. The military was also carrying out
house searches to find and destroy any videos documenting Ogoni Day
celebrations.
Ledum Mitee and his brother were briefly detained by the military and
their videocamera was seized and not returned when they were
released. During his time in custody, Ledum Mitee witnessed that
Paul Adams, the Lagos-based correspondent of the Financial Times of
London, was held for questioning. Ledum Mitee was unable to find out
how Paul Adams was dealt with by the task force.
On his release, Ledum Mitee was informed by Major Umahi that his
movements will be more restricted in the future. He is not free to
leave Port Harcourt and return to Ogoniland without prior notication
of his travel plans to the task force, which will provide a security
escort. Major Umahi also issued an ominous threat about Ledum
Mitee's fate if he should fail to abide by this new restriction.
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NDM Commentary:
The new round of intimidation being meted out on the Ogoni in their
expression of solidarity, human dignity and genuine bereavement for
the loss of their community leaders must stop. This military junta deserves
nothing but contempt and opprobrium for its continued crimes.
We commend the indomitable spirit of the Ogoni and urge them to
continue to express themselves non-violently and with courage. They should
be assured that day follows night.
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RELATED NEWSWIRE ITEMS
LAGOS, Jan 5 (Reuter) - A leader of the Nigerian minority rights group
of hanged activist Ken Saro-Wiwa was arrested on Thursday at a rally in the
southeastern Rivers state, a Nigerian human rights group said on Friday.
The Lagos-based Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) said in
a statement that the rally by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni Peoples
(MOSOP) marked the annual Ogoni day in Bori, the main town in Ogoniland. It
was disrupted by riot police, soldiers and plain clothes security operatives.
``At the end of the senseless operation, MOSOP vice-president Ledum Mitee
and one other person were forcefully arrested and whisked to an unknown
destination,'' the statement said.
There was no official confirmation of Mitee's arrest.
A Rivers state official said earlier on Friday that no one was arrested
at the rally and that Bori was now calm.
Nigeria hanged MOSOP president Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the
minority rights pressure group in November for the murder of four prominent
Ogoni chiefs, triggering worldwide condemnation of the African nation and
sanctions.
Mitee, a lawyer, was charged along with the executed Ogoni men over the
murders there in May 1994 but was discharged and acquitted by the tribunal
that sentenced the others to death.
CDHR criticised the disruption of the rally, saying it had shown the
``the regime is bent on ethnic cleansing.''
MOSOP demands self-determination for the 500,000 Ogonis in the
oil-producing Niger Delta and has also been asking for compensation from
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell for alleged ecological damage to the area from
its oil activities there.
Shell stopped all oil exploration and production activity in Ogoniland
more than two years ago following communal violence in the volatile area.
The leading Guardian newspaper reported on Friday from Ogoniland that
Ogoni youth gathered early for the rally in Bori chanting anti-Shell slogans.
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LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuter) - Jan. 8 - A British journalist working for the
Financial Times of London has been arrested in Nigeria's volatile
Ogoniland, his
newspaper said Monday.
It said in a statement circulated in Lagos that Paul Adams, the Financial
Times correspondent here since 1993, had been detained since Thursday by
Nigeria's State Security Service.
There has been no official comment on Adam's detention.
His paper said he was arrested in Bori, the main town in Ogoniland in
southeast Nigeria. It said he was on a reporting trip to the area where there
have been protests against pollution by oil firms and demands by the local
people for a greater share of oil revenues.
Nine Ogoni minority rights activists including the author Ken Saro-Wiwa
were hanged last November, triggering widespread condemnation of Nigeria's
military rulers and a series of sanctions against the politically-troubled
West African nation.
Adams is now held in Port Harcourt, capital of the southeastern Rivers
state which includes Ogoniland, the Financial Times said. An official of the
British High Commission (embassy) had met him there for 30 minutes, the
newspaper said.
Diplomatic efforts were continuing to secure his release and further
meetings would be held Tuesday between British and Nigerian officials, both
in Port Harcourt and Lagos, it said.
In June 1991, a previous military government expelled the then Financial
Times correspondent in Nigeria, William Keeling, after a a report he wrote
alleging misuse of the windfall in oil revenues arising from the Gulf crisis
at the time.