Please sign and network this Statement of Solidarity

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10 December 1998
To all student, youth and direct action groups:

The Ogoni are one of the few indigenous communities in the world to have forced a transnational corporation from their land by concerted and sustained non-violent direct action. Youth activists have been particularly involved in this mobilisation against environmental and human rights abuse, but during the Shell-backed military attacks on Ogoni many were forced to flee to refugee camps across West Africa.

Moral and practical support for the Ogoni is crucial at this time because Shell is planning to re-enter Ogoni against the people's wishes. It is also important to re-affirm the ideals of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

Please read and sign the following Statement of Solidarity, publish it and pass it on to all other groups and networks you are in contact with.

Send the name and contact details of your group to DELTA, preferably through e-mail to <lynx@gn.apc.org> by 31 December 1998, otherwise as soon as you can. The signed statement will be forwarded to Ogoni activists within Ogoni,
at the refugee camps, and to those in exile elsewhere. Ogoni Day is on January 4, 1999.

Thanks!

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OGONI:  Statement of solidarity from student, youth and direct action groups

A

We recognise the case of Ogoni and the Niger Delta as a classic example of the meeting of environmental and human rights, and of the growing abuse of these by corporate activity.

We condemn Shell's collusion with the Nigerian military regime, its theft of resources, contribution to poverty, racist double standards, devastating pollution and delays on compensation claims, within Ogoni and across the Niger Delta. We also condemn its attempts to re-enter Ogoni against the people's wishes.

We condemn the abusive activities of other oil companies working in the Niger Delta, particularly Chevron, Agip, Elf, Texaco and Mobil.

We condemn the military occupation of Ogoni and the massacres, killings, beatings, rapes and detentions of Ogoni people. We also condemn the militarisation of other oil producing areas in the Niger Delta.
 

B

We support the work of the late Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the demands of the Ogoni Bill of Rights for a clean environment and a fair share of oil wealth.

We acknowledge the progress made by MOSOP in terms of education and sensitising people to issues of environmental, social and economic justice, and recognise that this is part of genuine sustainable development. We admire MOSOP's history of grassroots participatory democracy, empowerment, mobilisation and non-violent challenges to environmental and human rights
abuses.

We support in particular the activist work of Ogoni students, youth and women through MOSOP units such as the National Union of Ogoni Students (NUOS), the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP), and the Federation of Ogoni Women's Associations (FOWA). We acknowledge the good work of their international representatives, including Anslem John-Miller, Komene Famaa, Bari Kumbe, and Diana Wiwa.

We recognise the inspiration given to activists worldwide by the Ogoni people in challenging corporate and State power and by surviving military attempts to destroy the spirit of resistance. We support the re-affirmation of MOSOP's ideals and the renewal of mass mobilisation.

We support MOSOP's calls to the Nigerian government for:

* the immediate return of the bodies of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues, an apology and compensation to the families
* an independent investigation into the trial and executions of the Ogoni Nine
* immediate demilitarisation of Ogoni
* implementation of the Ogoni Bill of Rights.

We support MOSOP's calls to Shell for:

* a clean up of the polluted sites within Ogoni, an apology and compensation to those affected, and full replacement of obsolete equipment and pipelines
* acceptance of an independent environmental assessment of sites in Ogoni, recognition of MOSOP as the legitimate voice of the Ogoni people and negotiation with communities only on their terms.

We call for a quick resolution to the Ogoni refugee crisis through an immediate review of the welfare and security issues at the refugee camps, for the granting of asylum in safe countries, and for the creation of a democratic and safe environment in Ogoni for the refugees' return.
 

C

We value the experience and wisdom of older generations, particularly regarding traditional sustainable practice, but recognise the new ideas, growing awareness and activist energy of students and youth.

We support direct action and other protest against the environmental and human rights abuses of oil companies and the military regime across the Niger Delta, and welcome the further growth of radical but peaceful action.

We recognise that any transition to democracy in Nigeria requires participation from all sectors of society, particularly the marginalised, and that students, youth and all people from the Niger Delta can have a major input into the democratisation of the political system.

We recognise that indigenous struggles in the Niger Delta complement struggles against injustice elsewhere in the world. We also acknowledge the crucial role there is to play in the West for the global struggle for justice: it is from here that most corporate decisions regarding the neo-colonialism of resource extraction are made and where the industrialism and consumerism that drives this practice is cultivated. We reject corporate sponsorship of education and university research and the application of skills and knowledge to unsustainable and unethical practice.

We recognise the oil industry as one of the engines of global capitalism and one of the causes of growing economic and social inequality, and environmental destruction. We also recognise that the oil industry is actively working against crucial preventive action on climate change and against the building of sustainable practice in general.

We reject neo-liberalism and 'free trade' as economic piracy, and call for the globalisation of resistance. We pledge to continue active resistance by challenging corporate and State power and by creating sustainable alternatives. We call for an end to fossil fuel dependency, for environmental best practice, participatory democracy, popular control and ownership of resources, and economic justice through fair trade.

We give strength to the Ogoni people and will continue to support those in the Niger Delta and elsewhere who are struggling for justice.
 

ends

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tel/fax: +44 116 270 9616  e-mail: lynx@gn.apc.org
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