Solidarity Vigils for Ken Saro Wiwa 1PM & 5PM Shell HQ

dublin | miscellaneous | event notice Monday May 25, 2009 10:11 by Dublin Shell to Sea - Shell to Sea

Saro-Wiwa Vs Shell; Trial against Shell starts Tuesday 26th May in New York

Shell to Sea stands in solidarity with Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta in their fight against Royal Dutch Shell who sustained a systematic campaign of human rights violations in the Niger Delta. Saro-Wiwa's trial against Shell starts in New York on Tuesday 26th of May 2009. Dublin Shell to Sea are holding Solidarity Vigils at 1PM and 5PM at Shell HQ, on Adelaide Road, Dublin today, Monday 25th May 2009.

Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other members of the Ogoni tribe were executed in 1995 by Nigeria's former military regime. Fourteen years on Royal Dutch Shell will stand trial in New York for crimes against humanity in connection with their murders. Shell are being accused of using the former Nigerian regime to silence Saro-Wiwa and his comrades and abuse the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta. Shell has denied being complicit in environmental damage, collusion with repressive governments and contributing to human rights abuses. However the execution of 9 members of the Ogoni tribe has pointed the finger of blame squarely at Shell whose abusive behaviour has been vigorously resisted by the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta and condemned internationally.

Saro-Wiwa's family and other victims are gaining access to the Federal Courts in America after a Supreme Court decision in 2004 allows them bring a civil suit against Shell. Their current suit has been brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a law written in 1789 to fight piracy, which is increasingly being used for lawsuits asserting human rights violations that occurred overseas. The Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in 2004 that foreigners could use American courts in limited cases, like crimes against humanity or torture. While sovereign states cannot be sued, American courts have accepted that a wide variety of actors, including corporations, can be called to account. The law suit, filed by the Centre for Constitutional Rights based in New York, on behalf of Saro-Wiwa asserts that in the early 1990s, Shell became worried about Saro-Wiwa’s campaign to protest against the impact of oil production throughout the Niger Delta and that they feared Saro-Wiwa’s activities would disrupt its operations and tarnish its image abroad, and “sought to eliminate that threat, through a systematic campaign of human rights violations.” Shell are refuting these allegations saying they are “false and without merit” however a significant number of Business, Human Rights and Environmental agencies are sceptical of Shells protestations of innocence given their track record of violence for profit.