Nigeria: Hunger strike by Ogoni prisoners thus once again "excised", this time from this supposedly epoch-making anti-nuclear-
Twenty Ogoni men awaiting trial for security force, known locally as the weapon pact.
Surely it would be in keeping with
Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed last year incidents of repression of peaceful general anti-colonial sentiments and the commitments of the Labour Party that Britain at once begin a process of the return of this ter-
Nigerian government refuses to grant Police replied that nothing can make us ritory to Mauritius.
This would be particularly apt, as it was actually under Harold Wilson's Labour
Government that the Chagos Archipelago was "excised" from Mauritius in 1965, by an
Order in Her Majesty's Council. It was under a Labour Government that the shameful transfer of three million pounds was paid for the "resettling" of the residents. It was also under a Labour Government that, from 1970.
hundreds of ilois (islander) families were tricked, then cajoled, and then removed forcibly from the islands. The last resisters imprisoned temporarily in Seychelles, which was also a British Colony. Had it not been for their demonstration on board the ship being used to deport them, they, too, would have been literally "dumped" in the slums of Port the same murder for which the writer have begun a hunger strike. Some have been in jail for over three years. The them bail, much less bring them to trial. According to the New York Times, "General Abacha knows that executing them or even trying them will draw unwanted attention. Instead, he seems prepared to let them die in jail untried" (NYT 6 August 1997)
The Ogoni 20 are in prison because, like Ken Saro-Wiwa, they opposed Shell's dirty operations in Nigeria and the devastation of Ogoni land through 30 years of oil drilling activities
Shell had a direct role in the arrest, detention, and subsequent torture of at least some of the accused. Shell's
"Shell Police" are accused of numerous protest and harassment of activists. According to two of the accused, "Shell free from their hand."
Since the Ogoni began a non-violent campaign against oil destruction, over 2,000 people have died at the hands of soldiers and policemen armed and paid for by Shell.* What to do: Protest to Shell: in the US, call 1 800 845-5264 or fax 713-241-4044 and address Mr. Philip J. Carroll, CEO, Shell Oil Corporation, Houston, TX 77252. Email Shell at "awesome-shell@shelloil.com" and cc: "projectunderground@moles.org" or visit their website at www.shell.com" Organise demonstrations at Shell stations. For more information, contact Steve Kretzmann, Project Underground 1847 Berkeley Way Berkeley, CA, 94703; Tel: 510-705. 8982; Fax: 510-705-8983; E-mail: steve@moles.org
Louis, the Mauritian capital, to fend for
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION themselves.
Labour in Mauritius also responsible
By strange co-incidence, the Labour
Party of Mauritius finds itself in power in
10 International Viewpoint #293
----- pull-quotes on this page -----
Populism in Latin America
The lean, mean, American university