The Dominion - Nigeria

Nigerian militants free hostages

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:16:34 +0000

In a nighttime attack on June 7, the Nigerian militant group "MEND" killed six soldiers and abducted five Korean workers at a Shell Natural Gas plant in the Niger Delta. The soldiers were part of a Nigerian security force that has been assigned to protect the Delta's oil production. Thus far, their efforts have not been successful, as increased attacks have cut the region's extensive oil output by 25 per cent.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is an armed organization that seeks to localize control of the Niger Delta's oil wealth and, in the process, send more of its revenues to the region's poorer south. The latter point in particular is reported to be behind their desire for the liberation of Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, a prominent leader jailed last year on treason charges. Dokubo-Asari has called for autonomy for southerners and his release was demanded in exchange for the Korean hostages. It has been reported that the hostages were released by MEND at his insistence, though it is still unclear how, when or where he made contact.

This is not the first time the group has been involved in attacks against oil multinationals: MEND also kidnapped four foreign oil workers on January 11 and nine on February 18. In all instances, MEND has released its hostages unharmed and has in the past publicly stated that it has no intentions of killing those abducted. On this particular occasion, the attack occurred just after midnight, with the armed assailants arriving in speedboats. One member of the group was killed in the raid, which included the burning of a military boat used for security.

A direct provocation of the violence in the region has been Shell's refusal to adhere to a ruling by a Nigerian high court, which ordered the company to pay $1.5 billion to communities in the region that have been negatively impacted by Shell's activities. Thus far, the company has only appealed the verdict. MEND has vowed more attacks in the weeks ahead, specifically targeting "facilities of crucial importance to the oil industry." Currently, Nigeria is Africa's leading oil exporter, exporting 2.5 million barrels daily.

Sources:

Shell Shocked

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 22:12:48 +0000

People of the Niger Delta fight back against violence and corruption

Shell's gas flaring in the Niger Delta has environmental, health, and economic impacts on the local community. photo: Niger Delta Women for Justice

"Nothing has changed," says Patterson Ogon, founding director of the Ijaw Council for Human Rights in the Niger Delta. "Since 1995 when Ken Saro-Wiwa was hung, [Shell's] public relations and glossy reports seem to indicate that they're doing so much in the Niger Delta. But we are still waiting to see any practical change."

Over a decade has passed since the Nigerian government killed Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists. Saro-Wiwa led a non-violent struggle against Royal Dutch Shell and other oil multinationals whose operations in the region were devastating the environment and livelihoods of local people. In a statement made to the court before his verdict, Saro-Wiwa predicted that the end of the struggle was near, but warned, "Whether the peaceful ways I have favoured will prevail depends on what the oppressor decides, what signals it sends out to the waiting public."

Ten years later, the Niger Delta is once again making international headlines. The struggle remains the same but the tactics have changed. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a well-armed, well-organized group of youth who aim to localize control of the Niger Delta's oil wealth and are demanding compensation for communities environmentally devastated by oil operations.

MEND is targeting the oil multinationals that export 2.5 million barrels of oil from the region each day, specifically Shell, which is responsible for nearly half of those exports. The group kidnapped four foreign oil workers on January 11th and nine more on February 18th. MEND is threatening to bring oil exports from Nigeria to a halt.

The group has already shut down nearly one fifth of the country's oil production; a significant feat considering Nigeria is the eighth largest oil exporter in the world. "Violent attacks by militants in the Niger Delta" are having an effect on oil prices, the New York Times noted on February 20th.

The "violent attacks" referred to in the article are the blowing up of oil infrastructure in the region, including pipelines and loading platforms. Not mentioned in the article are the Nigerian soldiers which have been killed during skirmishes between the military and MEND. According to MEND, they "deeply regret" the deaths. In an email sent on January 17th MEND states, "We understand and sympathize with soldiers being sent into this conflict, that they are there without choice. We do not wish to kill them unless absolutely necessary and urge them to be passive observers so they do not share the fate of their colleagues in Benisede [an attack which destroyed one oil flow station and two military house boats]."

Ten out of the thirteen hostages taken have been released unharmed and MEND has publicly stated that it has no intention of killing hostages. "The hostages are being treated as well as we possibly can," read an email statement MEND released on January 20th, "But they must live under the same conditions we have been subjected to for the last 48 years."

These conditions, argues Ogon, are a different kind of violence imposed daily on the people of the Niger Delta. The region's environment has been devastated by oil operations, "It has affected agricultural and fishing yields," he says. "When people can no longer depend on fishing and farming, when they can no longer depend on the land, when they can no longer depend on the rivers and creeks that have fed them and their fathers and grandfathers... What do you expect them to do?" he asks. "We are talking about the security of the future."

"People feel like they are pushed against a wall," explains Annie Brisibe, founding Director of Niger Delta Women for Justice. Though she does not condone the hostage-taking, MEND's tactics do not surprise her. "It's come out of frustration, anger, and complete marginalization," she says from her home in the United States where she is now living. "This has created a lot of anger in the young men and women of the Niger Delta... People are forced into doing things that they're not supposed to do because of poverty."

Despite the region's oil wealth, seventy percent of people living in the Niger Delta survive on less than $1 US a day.

There have been many attempts to non-violently address the harsh inequality in the Niger Delta. Most recently, Ijaw communities took Shell to court. "They wanted to take a judicial path," explains Ogon. Nigeria's public assembly had previously passed a resolution compelling Shell to pay 1.5 billion for ecological damage. The case went to court after Shell refused to pay.

One of MEND's central demands is that Shell pay the 1.5 billion. In an email statement released on January 20th, MEND stated, "This money is to be paid directly to the affected communities and we ask no part of it. Shell must pay this sum or in the alternative, provide a firm commitment of its desire to settle this claim immediately. "

At the end of February, the federal high court in Nigeria ordered Shell to pay the 1.5 billion to communities in the Niger Delta for damage caused to their environment by Shell's activities. Shell is appealing the decision.

Although MEND's tactics have caught international attention, neither their demands nor the government's reaction to them are anything new, says Brisibe. "Retaliation is always the same," she says. "Always with force."

Two weeks after the first four hostages taken by MEND were released, Nigerian military helicopters attacked what the government says were barges used for smuggling oil. MEND accused the military's attack, dubbed"Operation Restore Hope," of targeting civilians, however, and accused Shell of providing the airstrip as the staging post for the helicopter attack.

This does not surprise Brisibe, who notes that the Nigerian military provides Shell with security. "The government has a better relationship with the multinational corporations than it has with its own citizens," she says. "Shell provides the guns and the helicopters and the pay and the government provides the military."

Ogon reports that the government response to MEND has had a far graver impact on communities than the tactics of MEND itself. "It's worse when federal troops invade local communities and subject innocent people to all forms of harassment and extrajudicial killings. It has made it really difficult for local people who depend on fishing and farming to go about their normal business."

According to a 2005 report released by Amnesty International, this kind of government response is not unusual . "Government security forces continue to kill people in the Niger Delta with impunity. Excessive force is used to protect the oil industry and restore law and order--and the human rights of communities are regularly violated."

Effectively confronting the impacts of oil multinationals in the region is almost impossible with a corrupt government that is benefiting from the oil wealth, says Brisibe. "The international community needs to pressure the government," she says. "All we're asking for is good governance. A government that respects human rights and eradicates corruption." That said, she continues, the international community has not often been a positive force in ending corruption and oppression in Nigeria. "The truth is the international community has a double standard when it comes to Nigeria. If you put pressure on Shell it will have to conform to international standards, which will decrease their profits. Is the international community ready to do this?"

In the meantime says Ogon, Shell is doing everything it can to project a facade of corporate responsibility. A recent posting on Shell Nigeria's website says that the company "is concerned about the likely effects on the environment of the oil spills resulting from the recent attacks on its pipelines and manifolds... As soon as it is safe to do so, we will commence immediate assessment of the environmental impact of such attacks and take necessary steps to clean up the affected areas."

Ogon is confident that Shell's glossy pamphlets and tokenistic "development" projects no longer fool the people of the Niger Delta. "The level of understanding and coordination in the communities gives me hope," he says. "They are saying 'We cannot let this go on.' They're not sitting down and allowing it to go on."

Hillary Bain Lindsay discovers that people in the Niger Delta are fighting back against violence, corruption and oppression.

Move over Hollywood, African film industry booming

Thu, 09 Mar 2006 18:03:29 +0000

The African film industry received another boost during the Academy Awards this year with the South African film Tsotsi taking home the best foreign language film award. Although the film was not the first academy award for South Africa, it comes at a time when African-made films are a booming domestic and international industry.

In the last five years, Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has been churning out between 600 and 2,000 films a year, becoming the third-largest film industry behind the US and India. "Nollywood" has become a multi-million dollar industry both in Africa and in the US, which has almost a million African-born citizens.

Most of the Nollywood films are extremely low budget, costing less than $15,000 US and usually shot with one digital camera over a two-week period. This, however, hasn't hindered their popularity in Africa. Nigerian actors from low-budget pulp films have become household names in Ghana and Zambia, while actors' guilds have seen a huge increase in membership.

Geordie Gwalgen Dent

New York Times

Washington Post

allAfrica.com

Shell comes under attack in the Niger Delta

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:02:41 +0000

Tensions are high in the Niger Delta, where a group calling itself the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is escalating its attacks on the oil multinational Royal Dutch Shell.

According to Amnesty International, Niger Delta communities see little of Nigeria's oil revenues, while frequent oil spills and gas flares have wreaked havoc on the local environment, culture and economy. Although government infrastructure, in the form of schools, health facilities and clean water, is almost non-existent in the Niger Delta region, the government does have a strong armed security presence, says
Amnesty.

On Feb. 17, Nigerian military helicopters attacked what the government says were barges used for smuggling oil, reports Alternet. Several people were injured and six are missing and feared dead after the attack.

MEND accused Royal Dutch Shell of providing its airstrip as the staging post for the helicopter attacks. The following day, nine foreign oil workers were kidnapped.

MEND has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and, according to African Dimension News, has given multinational oil firms seven days to vacate their offices in the country.

Hillary Bain Lindsay

Nigeria threatens Shell with environmental fine

Thu, 30 Sep 2004 22:23:35 +0000

Nigeria's senate has overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding US$1.5 billion in compensation from Shell Petroleum Development Corporation for environmental damage caused by oilfield development in the country. The resolution was raised from a petition submitted by the Ijaw of the southern state of Bayelsa, where many multinational companies are engaged in oil development. The resolution calls for Shell to pay US$1 billion immediately and US$100 million a year for the next five years. Representatives from the company claim they did not know about it.

Critics note that all of Shell's oil development in Nigeria is operated through a company that is 55% owned by the Nigerian government, while others suggest that Nigeria's near-nonexistent environmental laws are to blame for the damage.

» BBC: Shell 'faces $1.5bn Nigeria bill'