6 May 1999 Edition
Ogoni people still waiting for justice
On 10 November 1995, the Nigerian government executed Ken Saro-wiwa and other eight leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) after what was widely regarded as a show trial. Saro-Wiwa was opposed to the injustice of Nigerian government and the abuses of the Shell Oil Company. Nigeria's membership of the British Commonwealth was suspended after the executions, and at the time, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said that the country should not be re-admitted. Cook, however, was one of the first members of a foreign government to visit Nigeria after the executions, and on Friday 30 April 1999, he recommended, together with the rest of the Commonwealth foreign ministers, that Nigeria's three-year suspension should be lifted. Meanwhile, for the Ogoni people, nothing seems to have changed.
The story of Ogoniland is very similar to the history of other suffering national groups. The Ogoni were allowed to live in peace until the discovery of oil reserves in their land in 1958. Since then, some 900 million barrels of oil worth around $30 billion have been taken from Ogoniland, without the population enjoying any of the benefits. They are poor and have neither electricity nor running water and very poor health facilities. In addition, their official political representation is reduced ``to two representatives out of the 582 that form the House of Representatives. As politics is a game of numbers, our only resort is to lobby'', points out Nyieda Nasipko, member of MOSOP.
Nasipko was one of the well known ``Ogoni 20'', a group of Ogoni activists who were released in September 1998, after four years and four months of imprisoment without trial. After their arrest, it was expected that the 20 Ogoni men would be facing the same military appointed tribunal as was faced by Ken Saro-wiwa and his eight colleagues. Only international campaigning saved their lives.
The Ogoni are a distintic ethnic group, with nearly 500,000 people living in the Niger Delta. But they are just a very small group, one more of the 252 in Nigeria. ``In Nigeria, there are dominant majority tribes and then small tribes. The smaller ethnic groups express fears of how the ethnic majorities are treating them,'' explains Nasipko. The structure of the Nigerian state, that impedes the participation of the minority groups in the power structures, developed from the colonial era. The region was dominated by three large ethnic groups -The Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruva and the Ibo. The British colonial government exploited the situation by ruling the country through these groups. The country's modern history has been marked by different conflicts between these three ethnic groups, which resulted in political instability and a number of coups.
``The fortune of the Ogoni people has been sacrified on the altar of the economic interests of Nigeria. All we get in return is prosecution, repression, oppression, unjust detentions, and extrajudicial and judicial murder,'' says Nasipko. Because of the rich crude oil resources in the area, the Ogoni land has been devastated by countless oil spillages, pipelines, and gas flares burning openly at ground level. In November 1990, the Ogoni adopted the Ogoni Bill of Rights, in which they demanded self-determination, adequate representation in all Nigerian national institutions, a fair proportion of the economic resources of their land for their development and the right to control their environment.
It was then that the Movement for Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) was formed. More than 200,000 Ogoni are members of the Movement. On 3 November 1992, after consulting with the Ogoni people, MOSOP issued a notice to oil companies operating in Ogoniland that they should pay back rent and royalties, as well as compensation for the devastated land, or leave the area. The oil companies ignored this call. In January 1993, more than 300,000 Ogoni men, women and children took the streets in a massive protest. ``While we were demostrating peacefully, little did we know that the government was putting its machinery in position, and that Ken Saro-wiwa, our leader and spokesperson, was going to be incarcerated and killed. Little did they know that by killing Ken they would cause an international outcry. We do not know about the silent deaths, we still have to get the real statistics of people killed in Ogoniland,'' points out Nasipko.
An unknown number of Ogoni people have lost their lives protesting against pipeline expansions onto their land. Although the Commonwealth countries seem to be happy with the Nigerian government's record for the last three years and the upcoming general elections, for Nasipko and the Ogoni people the battle is not over. MOSOP feels that the Ogoni have not been addressed by the Nigerian government or Shell - ``Until now, Shell has not shown any remorse for what they did.''
Five years after the Oslo Agreement was signed, Yasir Arafat, president of the Palestinian National Authority, considers that the peace process, in which Palestine and Israel are engaged is going through one of its worst times. Arafat, who visited Dublin on 3 May 1999, criticised the position of the Israeli government, leaded by Benyamin Netanyahu. Arafat pointed out that Netanyahu's strategy was to paralyse the process written into the Oslo Agreement, which signalled 4 May 1999 as the end of the transitional period that would facilitate the transformation of the autonomous territories into an independent state for the Palestinian people.
On 15 May 1998, the day Israel celebrated the 50th anniversary of its statehood, Arafat committed himself to declaring the independence of the Palestinian territories this 4 May. Speaking in Dublin, he said: ``I have visited 62 countries and listened to the advice of friends and brothers, and the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation listened to this advice. And because of the advice of our friends and brothers, we have decided to postpone the declaration of our independence.''
Arafat also pointed out that in an opinion poll carried out by the Israeli government, 68% of Israel's population supports the peace process and 55% will not object to a Palestinian state.
The story of Ogoniland is very similar to the history of other suffering national groups. The Ogoni were allowed to live in peace until the discovery of oil reserves in their land in 1958. Since then, some 900 million barrels of oil worth around $30 billion have been taken from Ogoniland, without the population enjoying any of the benefits. They are poor and have neither electricity nor running water and very poor health facilities. In addition, their official political representation is reduced ``to two representatives out of the 582 that form the House of Representatives. As politics is a game of numbers, our only resort is to lobby'', points out Nyieda Nasipko, member of MOSOP.
Nasipko was one of the well known ``Ogoni 20'', a group of Ogoni activists who were released in September 1998, after four years and four months of imprisoment without trial. After their arrest, it was expected that the 20 Ogoni men would be facing the same military appointed tribunal as was faced by Ken Saro-wiwa and his eight colleagues. Only international campaigning saved their lives.
The Ogoni are a distintic ethnic group, with nearly 500,000 people living in the Niger Delta. But they are just a very small group, one more of the 252 in Nigeria. ``In Nigeria, there are dominant majority tribes and then small tribes. The smaller ethnic groups express fears of how the ethnic majorities are treating them,'' explains Nasipko. The structure of the Nigerian state, that impedes the participation of the minority groups in the power structures, developed from the colonial era. The region was dominated by three large ethnic groups -The Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruva and the Ibo. The British colonial government exploited the situation by ruling the country through these groups. The country's modern history has been marked by different conflicts between these three ethnic groups, which resulted in political instability and a number of coups.
``The fortune of the Ogoni people has been sacrified on the altar of the economic interests of Nigeria. All we get in return is prosecution, repression, oppression, unjust detentions, and extrajudicial and judicial murder,'' says Nasipko. Because of the rich crude oil resources in the area, the Ogoni land has been devastated by countless oil spillages, pipelines, and gas flares burning openly at ground level. In November 1990, the Ogoni adopted the Ogoni Bill of Rights, in which they demanded self-determination, adequate representation in all Nigerian national institutions, a fair proportion of the economic resources of their land for their development and the right to control their environment.
It was then that the Movement for Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) was formed. More than 200,000 Ogoni are members of the Movement. On 3 November 1992, after consulting with the Ogoni people, MOSOP issued a notice to oil companies operating in Ogoniland that they should pay back rent and royalties, as well as compensation for the devastated land, or leave the area. The oil companies ignored this call. In January 1993, more than 300,000 Ogoni men, women and children took the streets in a massive protest. ``While we were demostrating peacefully, little did we know that the government was putting its machinery in position, and that Ken Saro-wiwa, our leader and spokesperson, was going to be incarcerated and killed. Little did they know that by killing Ken they would cause an international outcry. We do not know about the silent deaths, we still have to get the real statistics of people killed in Ogoniland,'' points out Nasipko.
An unknown number of Ogoni people have lost their lives protesting against pipeline expansions onto their land. Although the Commonwealth countries seem to be happy with the Nigerian government's record for the last three years and the upcoming general elections, for Nasipko and the Ogoni people the battle is not over. MOSOP feels that the Ogoni have not been addressed by the Nigerian government or Shell - ``Until now, Shell has not shown any remorse for what they did.''
``The peace process is frozen''
Five years after the Oslo Agreement was signed, Yasir Arafat, president of the Palestinian National Authority, considers that the peace process, in which Palestine and Israel are engaged is going through one of its worst times. Arafat, who visited Dublin on 3 May 1999, criticised the position of the Israeli government, leaded by Benyamin Netanyahu. Arafat pointed out that Netanyahu's strategy was to paralyse the process written into the Oslo Agreement, which signalled 4 May 1999 as the end of the transitional period that would facilitate the transformation of the autonomous territories into an independent state for the Palestinian people.
On 15 May 1998, the day Israel celebrated the 50th anniversary of its statehood, Arafat committed himself to declaring the independence of the Palestinian territories this 4 May. Speaking in Dublin, he said: ``I have visited 62 countries and listened to the advice of friends and brothers, and the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation listened to this advice. And because of the advice of our friends and brothers, we have decided to postpone the declaration of our independence.''
Arafat also pointed out that in an opinion poll carried out by the Israeli government, 68% of Israel's population supports the peace process and 55% will not object to a Palestinian state.