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MOSOP Exposes SHell's "Negotiating Committee" as a Ploy to Resume Operations in Ogoni Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria - MOSOP activists in Ogoni and in exile today accused Shell of `creating division in Ogoni, when all parties are working for real dialogue and lasting reconciliation'. In a statement issued by the movement's Crisis Management Committee in Port Harcourt, MOSOP warns that Shell is now actively stage-managing a process of `dialogue' with conservative Ogoni groups as a ploy to resume its operations in the region. MOSOP reports growing fears in Ogoni that Nigerian military forces - which have occupied Ogoni since 1993 - may still be openly engaged in intimidating and coercing communities perceived to be engaged in protesting against Shell's return to Ogoni [1]. This activity seems to contradict the apparent policy of the military authorities to lessen tension in occupied Ogoni. As recently as September 23rd troops from the Rivers State Internal Security Task Force (RVSISTF) [2] - stationed at the Kpor camp - may have been engaged by Shell to intimidate Ogoni communities. According to the MOSOP report, soldiers told town criers in all Ogoni villages to warn people not to engage in protests against Shell. In July 1998 Shell appointed an `Ogoni Negotiating Committee' of conservative Ogoni with close personal links to the oil-company. The group was formed with an apparent brief to negotiate `on behalf of the Ogoni people' for Shell's return to the oil-rich region. During a public meeting in Ogoni held on August 27th - which was also attended by Shell Nigeria (SPDC) staff [3] - the Committee was openly challenged by members of the audience to justify its mandate to represent 500 000 Ogoni people. As recently as September 15th 1998 more than 5000 Ogoni took to the streets of Kegbara Dere in Gokhana kingdom - the hometown of MOSOP Acting President Ledum Mitee -protesting Shell's plans to resume its operations. Responding to the developments in Ogoni, MOSOP's Acting President Ledum Mitee, (who is currently leading the movement from exile in London) said: "MOSOP has welcomed moves by the military authorities to begin to address some of the causes of the human rights crisis in Ogoni. We expect Shell to respond to the mood of change in Nigeria by adopting a fresh approach to the environmental crisis caused by their pollution of Ogoni land and rivers". "It is sad that Shell seems to believe its interests are best served by creating division in Ogoni, when all parties are working for real dialogue and lasting reconciliation". "Shell has promised to respect fundamental human rights, to listen to communities affected by its operations and to balance the need to make profits with ethical principles. These are fine words, and we have welcomed them in the hope that Shell is now sincere about entering into a real dialogue with the Ogoni people". "We must be able to be open and honest with each other about the past. We must find a common agenda for positive change in Ogoni, balancing the needs of the Nigerian State and international oil-companies for oil revenues, with the legitimate aspirations of the Ogoni people". "We now need practical action to be taken to demonstrate that the Ogoni people's human rights will be respected in the future, including our fundamental right to choose the use of our own land and its resources". "Shell will no longer be judged by sound-bites and Public Relations positioning. The Directors of Shell must now show they can honour their commitment to respect human rights by balancing principles with practice". "All parties will have to accept certain realities. The reality is that in Nigeria and Ogoni people cannot negotiate with guns pointed at us. There must be a complete military withdrawal and removal of the infrastructure of oppression in Ogoni before any dialogue could begin". [1] Shell ceased oil-production in Ogoni in 1993 after it was directly implicated in serious human rights abuses including the suppression of MOSOP and peaceful Ogoni environmental protests. Oil has continued to flow through Ogoni since then. [2] RVSISTF is a combined military operation that has occupied Ogoni since 1993. [3] Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd. is the Nigerian member of the Royal/ Dutch Shell group of companies. Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), MOSOP Nigeria: 20 Station Road,
Port Harcourt, Nigeria Tel./Fax. [+234] 84 230 250 International secretariat: Suite 5, 3 - 4 Albion Place, Galena Road, London W6 0LT,
United Kingdom. MOSOP mobile [+44] 7887 536 774 (urgent & media inquiries only please) e-mail: MOSOP International secretariat mosop@gn.apc.org "Lord take my soul, but the struggle continues" -- Ken Saro-Wiwa, the gallows, November 10th 1995. 'Ogoni is a land of half a million people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Since 1958, oil companies such as Shell have exploited Ogoni's oil wealth, while the Ogoni people have suffered economic deprivation, the environmental devastation of our land and the discriminatory policies of successive Nigerian governments'. 'The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People demands economic justice, human rights - including the right to choose the use of our land and its resources - and to a future free of violence. MOSOP is the democratic voice of the Ogoni people'. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
