Commemorations to mark 10th anniversary of Nigerian executions

international | miscellaneous | press release Tuesday November 08, 2005 12:57 by R - Shell to Sea info at corribsos dot com

Shell resistance is fertile!

This week the Shell to Sea campaign, Afri and Ogoni Solidarity Ireland are amongst the groups organising commemorations and events to mark the 10th anniversary of the execution of Nigerian poet Ken Saro-Wiwa this week.

The anniversary will be commemorated internationally but will have a special resonance in Ireland where Ogoni support groups have played a key role in highlighting the plight of the Ogoni people in their battle against Shell and the Nigerian government.

The Shell to Sea campaign as part of their ongoing struggle to prevent a major Shell/Statoil gas pipeline and refinery being built in North Mayo is also keen to point out the similarities between the Nigerian and Irish situations.

Owens Saro-Wiwa, brother of the executed poet and lands rights activist, recently visited Ireland to lend his support for the Shell to Sea campaign. Speaking at the Dublin rally to mark the release of the rossport Five, who spent 94 days in prison for protesting against Shell, Mr Saro-Wiwa said 'we said to Shell that you will never, ever, drill one drop of oil from Ogoni land. In the same way you must say 'no to Shell and send Shell to sea".

Events planned this coming Thursday include an 11am memorial hour in Dublin City library on Thursday followed by a lunchtime vigil outside Shell's Irish HQ and an evening vigil at the Spire. In Galway there will be a mock funeral procession from the City Centre to the Shell depot on the docks whilst other events are planned for Cork, Kerry and Ennis.

The highlight of the week of commemorations will be on Sunday the 13th with the unveiling of a mural of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8 in rossport, Co. Mayo, which will include blessings by African and Irish clergy followed by a multicultural 'monster party' with Irish and African music, drumming and dance to celebrate the power of people to protect their rights and communities from those who seek to threaten them.

ENDS
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Background:

On November 10th 1995 at Port Harcourt Prison, Nigeria, Ken Saro-Wiwa,
Dr. Barinen Klobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate, Nordu Eawoh, Paul Levurah and Daniel Gbokoo were executed on the orders of the Nigerian military government.

These brave men had been campaigning against the environmental damage that a consortium led by Shell was causing to the Ogoni lands.

Their campaign had been so successful that an internal document from Shell in early 1993 stated that the company would have to pull out of Nigeria , ''unless ruthless military operations are undertaken for smooth economic activities to commence.''

Later that year military force was used in a series of brutal attacks which left 750 Ogoni dead and 30,000 homeless. In May 1994 Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned by the military police on fabricated charges of murder - two weeks later he and the eight other activists named above were sentenced to death.

Afri, Shell to Sea and Ogoni Solidarity Ireland activists will join together today to commemorate Ken Saro Wiwa and the Ogoni 8, in order to show solidarity with people all over the world who must struggle against corrupt governments and rapacious multi-national companies.

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Please join us, and if you can bring along flowers, wreaths, candles etc.
12 November '05
''KEN SARA WIWA'' AFRICAN MONSTER PARTY
rossport COUNTY MAYO 12th NOVEMBER 2005 @ 2:30 pm